Exploring copper’s properties as an electrocatalyst has brought scientists one step closer to us turning CO2 into solar fuels through artificial photosynthesis.
A research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has gained new insights into how copper works as an electrocatalyst, a mechanism that uses energy from electrons to chemically transform molecules into different products.
The work was made possible by combining a new imaging technique called operando 4D electrochemical liquid-cell STEM with a soft X-ray probe to investigate the same sample environment: copper nanoparticles in liquid.
Wang explained that soft X-rays are ideal for studying how copper electrocatalysts evolve during CO2 reduction. Yang explained that during CO2 electrolysis, the copper nanoparticles change their structure during a process called “electrochemical scrambling.” The copper nanoparticles’ surface layer of oxide degrades, creating open sites on the copper surface for CO2 molecules to attach. And as CO2 “docks” or binds to the copper nanograin surface, electrons are then transferred to CO2, causing a reaction that simultaneously produces ethylene, ethanol, and propanol along with other multicarbon products.
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