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Updated: Sep 8, 2026

Synthesis and Performance Characterizations of Transition Metal Single Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Published on: April 10, 2018
Electrochemical Reconstruction of Cu-LDH Catalysts via Cyclic Voltammetry for Tunable CO2 Reduction Selectivity
Mingxin Qin1, Yuanyuan Ye1, Mengjie Zhang1
1Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu241002, China.
Abstract:
Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) enables sustainable conversion of CO2 into high-value fuels and chemicals, yet precise selectivity control toward methane (CH4) and multicarbon (C2+) products remains difficult. Herein, we develop a cyclic voltammetry (CV)-triggered electrochemical reconstruction strategy to modulate the CO2RR selectivity of Cu-LDH-derived catalysts. Tailoring the CV potential window and cycle number effectively tunes the catalyst microstructure and copper (Cu) valence state: narrow potential windows with limited cycles produce grain-boundary-rich Cu particles with low-valence sites, which promote *CO accumulation and C-C coupling to yield a high C2+ Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 83.3% at 400 mA cm-2. In comparison, expanded potential windows with prolonged cycling induce the formation of nanoclusters with abundant high-valence Cu sites, which suppress C-C coupling and favor the sequential deep hydrogenation of adsorbed *CO intermediates, achieving a CH4 FE of 64.7% at 300 mA cm-2. Ex situ characterizations and in situ spectroscopic analyses reveal that CV-driven dissolution-redeposition dominates the evolution of particle size, grain boundaries, and Cu valence, thereby governing the CO2RR reaction pathways. This work establishes a facile electrochemical reconstruction strategy for programmable modulation of CO2RR product selectivity.
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