Christina W. Li

TL;DR: Modified Cu electrodes were prepared by annealing Cu foil in air and electrochemically reducing the resulting Cu(2)O layers, which resulted in electrodes whose activities were indistinguishable from those of polycrystalline Cu and a higher level of activity than all previously reported metal electrodes evaluated under comparable conditions.

TL;DR: Electrokinetic studies indicate that the improved catalysis is linked to dramatically increased stabilization of the CO(2)(•-) intermediate on the surfaces of the oxide-derived Au electrodes.

TL;DR: The results demonstrate the ability to change the intrinsic catalytic properties of Cu for this notoriously difficult reaction by growing interconnected nanocrystallites from the constrained environment of an oxide lattice, demonstrating the feasibility of a two-step conversion of CO2 to liquid fuel that could be powered by renewable electricity.

TL;DR: It is proposed that the active sites for CO reduction on OD-Cu surfaces are strong CO binding sites that are supported by grain boundaries that are distinct from the terraces and stepped sites found on polycrystalline Cu foil.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors used density functional theory to study adsorption of representative adsorbates, CO and O, on the late transition metals Co, Ni, Cu, Ir, Pd, Ag, Rh, Pt and Au.