Di Zhang, Yu Zhang, Shenhua Dai, Yifeng Zheng
This study investigates the electrochemically driven exsolution of Cu nanoparticles from the perovskite Sr0.9Ti0.45Fe0.4W0.05Cu0.1O3-δ (STFWC) electrode. Following exsolution, the material exhibits notable changes in microstructure, morphology, physicochemical properties, and electrochemical behavior. The exsolved Cu nanoparticles promote CO2 adsorption and facilitate the formation of oxygen vacancies, thereby significantly enhancing the CO2 electrolysis activity of STFWC as a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) fuel electrode. A high current density of 1.85 A cm-2 is achieved at 850 °C and 1.8 V. In addition, the electrode demonstrates excellent resistance to carbon deposition together with good short-term operational stability.