Electrochemical CO reduction reaction has attracted much recent interest because CO is a known intermediate in CO2 reduction reaction. Oxide-derived copper (OD-Cu) has been shown to favor C2 and C3 products in electrochemical CO reduction at lower overpotentials than polycrystalline copper (Cu-poly). Despite numerous studies and proposed mechanisms, the exact nature of the active phase is still a topic of debate. In this work, we developed an operando cell for attenuated total reflection surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) to investigate different sites available on Cu-poly and OD-Cu surfaces using CO as a probe molecule. We identified a CO adsorption band on OD-Cu at 2058 cm−1 that is different from those on Cu-poly but resembles CO bound to the Cu(100) facet. In accordance with reactivity studies, we propose that this band corresponding to distinct CO binding sites is responsible for OD-Cu’s enhanced CO reduction activity.

Identification of active phase of oxide-derived Cu in electrochemical CO reduction reaction with <i>operando</i> surface enhanced spectroscopy

2019 Fall National Meeting

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Identification of active phase of oxide-derived Cu in electrochemical CO reduction reaction with operando surface enhanced spectroscopy