Elucidating the structure-stability relationship of Cu single-atom catalysts using operando surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38097617.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-44078-1 and PMC identifier 10721631.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Understanding the structure-stability relationship of catalysts is imperative for the development of high-performance electrocatalytic devices. Herein, we utilize operando attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) to quantitatively monitor the evolution of Cu single-atom catalysts (SACs) during the electrochemical reduction of CO<sub>2</sub> (CO<sub>2</sub>RR). Cu SACs are converted into 2-nm Cu nanoparticles through a reconstruction process during CO<sub>2</sub>RR. The evolution rate of Cu SACs is highly dependent on the substrates of the catalysts due to the coordination difference. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the stability of Cu SACs is highly dependent on their formation energy, which can be manipulated by controlling the affinity between Cu sites and substrates. This work highlights the use of operando ATR-SEIRAS to achieve mechanistic understanding of structure-stability relationship for long-term applications.