Lattice Strain Engineering Boosts CO₂ Electroreduction to C₂₊ Products.

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Catalysis

Background:

• Efficient electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to multicarbon (C2+) products is crucial for sustainable chemical synthesis.
• Controlling intermediate binding on electrode surfaces is key to enhancing CO2 electroreduction efficiency.
• Theoretical studies suggest lattice strain in copper (Cu) catalysts can optimize CO2 electroreduction pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of lattice tensile strain in single-component Cu catalysts on CO2 electroreduction to C2+ products.
• To fabricate Cu catalysts with controlled lattice tensile strain without additional components.
• To correlate catalyst strain with performance in CO2 electroreduction.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Cu catalysts with varying lattice tensile strain via electroreduction of CuO precursors with different crystallinities.
• Electrochemical testing of the as-prepared Cu catalysts for CO2 electroreduction.
• Analysis of Faradaic efficiency (FE) for C2+ products at different applied potentials.

Main Results:

• Lattice tensile strain in Cu catalysts effectively enhances the Faradaic efficiency (FE) for C2+ products.
• The Cu_TPA catalyst, exhibiting high lattice tensile strain, achieved a FE_C2+ of 90.9% at -1.25 V vs. RHE.
• A high partial current density of 486.1 mA cm⁻² for C2+ products was observed with the Cu_TPA catalyst.

Conclusions:

• Lattice tensile strain is a critical factor in improving the selectivity of Cu catalysts for CO2 electroreduction to C2+ compounds.
• Strain engineering offers a viable strategy for developing high-performance electrocatalysts for CO2 conversion.
• The developed single-component Cu catalysts demonstrate significant potential for industrial applications in CO2 valorization.