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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 65: Solid-liquid interfaces: Reactions and electrochemistry II

O 65.5: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 11. März 2026, 16:00–16:15, TRE/PHYS

Improving Carbon Dioxide Reduction Reactivity and Stability of Ultra-High Vacuum Prepared Cu(111) Surfaces by Crystalline Ultrathin Oxide Films — •Patrick Giesbrecht¹, Mauricio Prieto¹, Mikhail Belozertsev¹, Sergio Tosoni², Markus Heyde¹, Thomas Schmidt¹, Beatriz Roldan Cuenya¹, and Juan Navarro¹ — ¹Department of Interface Science, Fritz-Haber Institute of the Max-Planck Society, Berlin, Germany — ²Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy

Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reactions (CO2RR) to hydrocarbons at copper cathodes is one promising but complex route towards carbon capture and reutilization, where ultra-high vacuum (UHV) prepared single crystal electrodes can provide precise pre-catalyst structures to inform reactivity trends.[1,2] This work develops ultrathin crystalline Cu oxide phases and silica on Cu(111) electrodes under UHV conditions that activate Cu(111) toward hydrocarbon production and alter corrosion pathways under CO2RR conditions.[3] Ex situ and quasi-in situ UHV surface characterization as well as DFT computational analyses are presented that relate this altered reactivity and surface reconstruction to the pre-catalyst oxide structure, highlighting how atomic scale modifications of the surface can lead to macroscopic changes in electrocatalyst reactivity.

[1] Nguyen, K.C., et al. ACS Energy Lett. 9, 644-652 (2024). [2] Cheng, D., et al. Nat. Commun. 16, 4064 (2025). [3] Navarro, J.J., et al. J. Phys. Chem. C 124, 20942-20949 (2020).

Keywords: carbon dioxide reduction; single crystal electrochemistry; quasi-in situ characterization; copper oxide; surface reconstruction