Recent advances in single crystal and facet dependency of copper electrodes on electrochemical CO2 reduction

Investigations on electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR) on copper (Cu) provide instructive information for the understanding and development of Cu -based catalysts and thus help improve their eCO2RR selectivity toward desired products. Although most studies on the reaction mechanism rely on computational simulations, experiments conducted on well-defined single -crystal structures are able to effectively mirror the ideal surfaces employed in simulation studies and thus convey insightful knowledge on the structure-performance correlation of Cu catalysts in eCO2RR. This mini -review provides an overview on state-of-the-art development of Cu single crystals and their facet dependency in eCO2RR in the recent years, followed by an outlook and perspective on what can be expected in the future.