Electrochemical Deposition of Cu/Cu₂O Nanostructures for Enhanced CO₂ Reduction Reaction

We synthesized a dendritic-like Cu/Cu₂O nanocomposite using a facile electrochemical deposition method on functionalized carbon cloth. The morphology of the electrocatalyst was characterized by using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, which revealed the formation of a dendritic nanocomposite. The phase and surface composition were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Similarly, electrochemical properties were also studied using cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. The results demonstrated that the electrocatalyst exhibited excellent performance in the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to ethene. Specifically, the Faradaic efficiency (FE) at a shorter deposition time (250 s) reached 85.63%, with 62.08% for C2 products, at a current density of 63.57 mA/cm² at -0.97 V versus RHE in H-type cells. The electrochemically active surface area was calculated to be 41.95 cm². The enhanced catalytic activity was attributed to the synergistic effects between Cu⁺ and Cu⁰, which increased the number of active sites, facilitated faster electron transfer, and improved CO₂ adsorption capacity.