Vertical Cu Nanoneedle Arrays Enhance the Local Electric Field Promoting C₂ Hydrocarbons in the CO₂ Electroreduction

Abstract

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to multicarbon products is a potential strategy to solve the energy crisis while achieving carbon neutrality. To improve the efficiency of multicarbon products in Cu-based catalysts, optimizing the *CO adsorption and reducing the energy barrier for carbon-carbon (C-C) coupling are essential features. In this work, a strong local electric field is obtained by regulating the arrangement of Cu nanoneedle arrays (CuNNAs). CO₂ reduction performance tests indicate that an ordered nanoneedle array reaches a 59% Faraday efficiency for multicarbon products (FE_C2) at -1.2 V (vs RHE), compared to a FE_C2 of 20% for a disordered nanoneedle array (CuNNs). As such, the very high and local electric fields achieved by an ordered Cu nanoneedle array leads to the accumulation of K⁺ ions, which benefit both *CO adsorption and C-C coupling. Our results contribute to the design of highly efficient catalysts for multicarbon products.