Revealing the CO Coverage-Driven C–C Coupling Mechanism for Electrochemical CO ₂ Reduction on Cu ₂O Nanocubes via Operando Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO ₂RR) is an attractive route to close the carbon cycle and potentially turn CO ₂ into valuable chemicals and fuels. However, the highly selective generation of multicarbon products remains a challenge, suffering from poor mechanistic understanding. Herein, we used operando Raman spectroscopy to track the potential-dependent reduction of Cu ₂O nanocubes and the surface coverage of reaction intermediates. In particular, we discovered that the potential-dependent intensity ratio of the Cu–CO stretching band to the CO rotation band follows a volcano trend similar to the CO ₂RR Faradaic efficiency for multicarbon products. By combining operando spectroscopic insights with Density Functional Theory, we proved that this ratio is determined by the CO coverage and that a direct correlation exists between the potential-dependent CO coverage, the preferred C–C coupling configuration, and the selectivity to C ₂₊ products. Thus, operando Raman spectroscopy can serve as an effective method to quantify the coverage of surface intermediates during an electrocatalytic reaction.