Copper Nanocrystal Morphology Determines the Viability of Molecular Surface Functionalization in Tuning Electrocatalytic Behavior in CO₂ Reduction

Molecular surface functionalization of metallic catalysts is emerging as an ever-developing approach to tuning their catalytic performance. Here, we report the synthesis hybrid comprising copper nanocrystals (CuNCs) and imidazolium ligand for electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). We show that this organic modifier steers selectivity cubic CuNCs toward liquid products. A comparison between spherical reveals impact reconstruction on viability schemes. Indeed, intrinsic instability leads ejection functionalized atoms. Finally, also demonstrate more stable nanocrystal catalysts, which include CuNCs, can be transferred into gas-flow CO2RR cells testing under industrially relevant conditions.