TY  - JOUR
AU  - Yoon, Aram
AU  - Bai, Lichen
AU  - Yang, Fengli
AU  - Franco, Federico
AU  - Zhan, Chao
AU  - Rüscher, Martina
AU  - Timoshenko, Janis
AU  - Pratsch, Christoph
AU  - Werner, Stephan
AU  - Jeon, Hyo Sang
AU  - Monteiro, Mariana Cecilio de Oliveira
AU  - Chee, See Wee
AU  - Roldan Cuenya, Beatriz
TI  - Revealing catalyst restructuring and composition during nitrate electroreduction through correlated operando microscopy and spectroscopy
JO  - Nature materials
VL  - 24
IS  - 5
SN  - 1476-1122
CY  - Basingstoke
PB  - Nature Publishing Group
M1  - PUBDB-2025-01663
SP  - 762 - 769
PY  - 2025
AB  - Electrocatalysts alter their structure and composition during reaction, which can in turn create new active/selective phases. Identifying these changes is crucial for determining how morphology controls catalytic properties but the mechanisms by which operating conditions shape the catalyst’s working state are not yet fully understood. In this study, we show using correlated operando microscopy and spectroscopy that as well-defined Cu<sub>2</sub>O cubes evolve under electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction conditions, distinct catalyst motifs are formed depending on the applied potential and the chemical environment. By further matching the timescales of morphological changes observed via electrochemical liquid cell transmission electron microscopy with time-resolved chemical state information obtained from operando transmission soft X-ray microscopy, hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, we reveal that Cu2O can be kinetically stabilized alongside metallic copper for extended durations under moderately reductive conditions due to surface hydroxide formation. Finally, we rationalize how the interaction between the electrolyte and the catalyst influences the ammonia selectivity. 
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:39856413
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:001404821000001
DO  - DOI:10.1038/s41563-024-02084-8
UR  - https://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/627888
ER  -