Fig. 2: IL-TEM and CV characterization of Cu nanocubes with different reaction conditions.
From: Alkali cation-induced cathodic corrosion in Cu electrocatalysts
a–d Representative IL-TEM bright field images of Cu nanocubes before and after 20 min of reaction at about −1.1 VRHE (iR-corrected) in Ar-saturated 0.1 M KHCO3 (Table S1, entry 3). The morphology changes of individual nanocubes before (red) and after (blue) the reaction are highlighted using outlines, which are significantly beyond the surface oxide layer. The current recorded during the IL-TEM experiment can be found in Fig. S7. e Voltammetric profiles of the Cu nanocubes recorded after 20 min (black curve) and 65 min (red curve) of reactions at about −1.05 VRHE in Ar-saturated 0.1 M KHCO3 (Table S1, entry 3). f Voltammetric profiles of the Cu nanocubes recorded after 20 min (green curve) and 65 min (red curve) of reaction at about −1.05 VRHE in Ar-saturated 0.05 M H2SO4 (Table S1, entry 7). The purple curve represents the case where the Cu nanocubes first undergo 20 min of treatment in Ar-saturated 0.05 M H2SO4, followed by subsequent 45 min of reaction at about −1.05 VRHE (purple curve) after adding additional Ar-saturated K2SO4 (0.3 M) (Table S1, entry 8) to the electrolyte while withholding the electrode potential. 0.05 M H2SO4 was replaced by 0.05 M H2SO4 & 0.3 M K2SO4 through successive electrolyte replacement several times with half the volume of the electrolyte replaced each time. The arrows highlighted the changes at the region representing the {100} terraces and the regions representing surface defects on Cu, respectively.
