Perovskite-Socketed Sub-3 nm Copper for Enhanced CO₂ Electroreduction to C₂

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• In situ socketing of metal nanoparticles onto perovskite oxides shows promise in heterogeneous catalysis.
• The application of this technique to boost ambient carbon dioxide electroreduction (CER) remains unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a novel CER catalyst by anchoring sub-3 nm copper (Cu) nanoparticles onto perovskite oxides.
• To investigate the role of strong metal-support interactions (SMSIs) in promoting efficient and stable CO2-to-C2+ conversion.

Main Methods:

• Homogeneous and epitaxial anchoring of sub-3 nm ellipsoid Cu particles onto perovskite backbones.
• Characterization of catalyst structure and evaluation in ambient CO2 electroreduction.

Main Results:

• The constructed catalyst exhibits significant SMSIs, modulating the electronic structure of Cu and facilitating intermediate adsorption/activation.
• The catalyst demonstrates enhanced perovskite-Cu adhesion and resistance to structural degradation.
• The catalyst shows comparable or superior performance to reported Cu-based heteronanostructures in CER, with up to 6.2-fold improvements in C2+ activity and selectivity, and stability exceeding 80 hours.

Conclusions:

• The developed perovskite-socketed Cu catalyst with SMSIs is highly effective for efficient and stable CO2 electroreduction to C2+ products.
• SMSIs play a crucial role in enhancing catalyst activity, selectivity, and durability.
• This work presents a new strategy for designing advanced Cu-based heteronanostructures for CER applications.