Alkali cation-induced cathodic corrosion in Cu electrocatalysts

The reconstruction of Cu catalysts during electrochemical reduction of CO₂ is a widely known but poorly understood phenomenon. Herein, we examine the structural evolution of Cu nanocubes under CO₂ reduction reaction and its relevant reaction conditions using identical location transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, in situ X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Our results suggest that Cu catalysts reconstruct via a hitherto unexplored yet critical pathway - alkali cation-induced cathodic corrosion, when the electrode potential is more negative than an onset value (e.g., -0.4 V_RHE when using 0.1 M KHCO₃). Having alkali cations in the electrolyte is critical for such a process. Consequently, Cu catalysts will inevitably undergo surface reconstructions during a typical process of CO₂ reduction reaction, resulting in dynamic catalyst morphologies. While having these reconstructions does not necessarily preclude stable electrocatalytic reactions, they will indeed prohibit long-term selectivity and activity enhancement by controlling the morphology of Cu pre-catalysts. Alternatively, by operating Cu catalysts at less negative potentials in the CO electrochemical reduction, we show that Cu nanocubes can provide a much more stable selectivity advantage over spherical Cu nanoparticles.