Dynamic Evolution of Copper Nanowires during CO2 Reduction Probed by Operando Electrochemical 4D-STEM and X-ray Spectroscopy

Yang, Yao; Shi, Chuqiao; Feijóo, Julian; Jin, Jianbo; Chen, Chubai; Han, Yimo; Yang, Peidong

doi:10.1021/jacs.4c06480

Dynamic Evolution of Copper Nanowires during CO₂ Reduction Probed by Operando Electrochemical 4D-STEM and X-ray Spectroscopy

Journal Article · Mon Aug 12 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c06480· OSTI ID:2500271

^[1]; Shi, Chuqiao ^[2]; Feijóo, Julian ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[3]; ^[2]; ^[5]

University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Rice University, Houston, TX (United States)
University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, CA (United States)

Nanowires have emerged as an important family of one-dimensional (1D) nanomaterials owing to their exceptional optical, electrical, and chemical properties. In particular, Cu nanowires (NWs) show promising applications in catalyzing the challenging electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to valuable chemical fuels. Despite early reports showing morphological changes of Cu NWs after CO₂RR processes, their structural evolution and the resulting exact nature of active Cu sites remain largely elusive, which calls for the development of multimodal operando time-resolved nm-scale methods. Here, in this study, we report that well-defined 1D copper nanowires, with a diameter of around 30 nm, have a metallic 5-fold twinned Cu core and around 4 nm Cu₂O shell. Operando electrochemical liquid-cell scanning transmission electron microscopy (EC-STEM) showed that as-synthesized Cu@Cu₂O NWs experienced electroreduction of surface Cu₂O to disordered (spongy) metallic Cu shell (Cu@Cu^S NWs) under CO₂RR relevant conditions. Cu@Cu^S NWs further underwent a CO-driven Cu migration leading to a complete evolution to polycrystalline metallic Cu nanograins. Operando electrochemical four-dimensional (4D) STEM in liquid, assisted by machine learning, interrogates the complex structures of Cu nanograin boundaries. Correlative operando synchrotron-based high-energy-resolution X-ray absorption spectroscopy unambiguously probes the electroreduction of Cu@Cu₂O to fully metallic Cu nanograins followed by partial reoxidation of surface Cu during postelectrolysis air exposure. This study shows that Cu nanowires evolve into completely different metallic Cu nanograin structures supporting the operando (operating) active sites for the CO₂RR.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division (CSGB); National Science Foundation (NSF); Welch Foundation; National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; SC0019445

OSTI ID:: 2500271

Journal Information:: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society Journal Issue: 33 Vol. 146; ISSN 0002-7863

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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