Electro‐Conversion of a Cu‐Based Metal–Organic Framework Gel Into a Copper‐Sulfide Electrocatalyst: Toward Selective CO <sub>2</sub> Electroreduction to Formic Acid
Copper sulfide‐based materials (Cu x S) have been shown to exhibit promising electrocatalytic activity toward the electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) into formic acid. Nevertheless, obtaining fine control over the structure and chemical composition of these catalysts is often a key obstacle that limits the ability to extract CO 2 RR‐based structure–activity relations. Here, to this end, we show that using an electrochemical conversion of a copper‐based metal–organic framework into Cu x S, one can achieve precise tuning of the resulting catalyst's composition as well as its copper‐to‐sulfur atomic distribution. As an outcome, it allowed us to synthesize a Cu 2 S‐rich electrocatalyst, which substantially improves formic acid Faradaic efficiency to above 90%. Furthermore, via operando Raman spectroscopy analysis we were able to: (i) determine that the Cu x S converts CO 2 ‐to‐formic acid by a carbon‐bound *COOH intermediate, and (ii) follow the Cu x S's electrochemical transformation during catalytic working conditions. Consequently, these findings provide new tools to develop highly tunable and efficient electrocatalysts for a large variety of electrochemical applications.
Authors
- Shahar Binyamin
- Idan Hod (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4837-8793)
- G. Shiva Shanker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2265-0285)
- Ran Shimoni
- Yanai Pearlmutter
- Adi Fryder
- Naor Cohen
Institutions
- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (IL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small Structures
- Published
- 2026-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202500850
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Israeli Centers for Research Excellence
- H2020 European Research Council