Role of Subsurface Oxygen on Cu Surfaces for CO2 Electrochemical Reduction
Open accessAbstract
Under ambient conditions, copper with oxygen near the surface displays strengthened CO 2 and CO adsorption energies. This finding is often used to rationalize differences seen in product distributions between Cu-oxide and pure Cu electrodes during electrochemical CO 2 reduction. However, little evidence exists to confirm the presence of oxygen within first few layers of the Cu matrix under relevant experimental reducing conditions. Using density functional theory calculations, we discuss the stability of subsurface oxygen from thermodynamic and kinetic perspectives and show that under reducing potentials subsurface oxygen alone should have negligible effects on the activity of crystalline Cu.
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- Authors
- Fields, M., Hong, X., Nørskov, J. K., & Chan, K.
- Affiliations
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Chan, Karen
- Venue
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2018-06-12
- Volume
- 122
- Issue
- 28
- Pages
- 16209-16215
- ISSN
- 1932-7447 (ISSN-L)
- 1932-7455
- OpenAlex
- W2807779371
- Cited by
- 97
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 2.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.osti.gov
- Locations
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry C (publishedVersion)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Division of Graduate Education
- Office of Science (DE-SC0004993)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Catalysis › Catalysts for Methane Reforming
- Keywords
- subsurface oxygen, copper electrode, electrochemical CO2 reduction, CO adsorption, CO2 adsorption, adsorption energy, reducing power, oxygen stability
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