Unravelling the dynamic characterization of electrocatalysts during the electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is a critical factor to improve the production efficiency and selectivity, since most pre-electrocatalysts undergo structural reconstruction and surface rearrangement under working conditions. Herein, a series of pre-electrocatalysts including CuO, ZnO and two different ratios of CuO/ZnO were systematically designed by a sputtering process to clarify the correlation of the dynamic characterization of Cu sites in the presence of Zn/ZnO and the product profile. The evidence provided by in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) indicated that appropriate Zn/ZnO levels could induce a variation in the coordination number of Cu sites via reversing Ostwald ripening. Specifically, the recrystallized Cu site with a lower coordination number exhibited a preferential production of methane (CH₄). More importantly, our findings provide a promising approach for the efficient production of CH₄ by in situ reconstructing Cu-based binary electrocatalysts.

中文翻译：

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原位探索用于减少二氧化碳的铜-锌电催化剂的动态重建

揭示电化学 CO ₂还原反应 (CO ₂ RR) 过程中电催化剂的动态表征是提高生产效率和选择性的关键因素，因为大多数预电催化剂在工作条件下会进行结构重构和表面重排。在此，通过溅射工艺系统地设计了包括CuO、ZnO和两种不同比例的CuO/ZnO在内的一系列预电催化剂，以阐明在Zn/ZnO存在下Cu位点的动态表征与产物分布的相关性。原位X 射线吸收光谱 (XAS)提供的证据表明，适当的 Zn/ZnO 水平可以引起 Cu 位点配位数的变化通过逆转奥斯特瓦尔德成熟。具体而言，具有较低配位数的重结晶Cu位点表现出优先产生甲烷（CH ₄）。更重要的是，我们的研究结果为通过原位重构铜基二元电催化剂高效生产 CH ₄提供了一种有前景的方法。