The overuse of fossil fuels has resulted in massive CO2 emissions, causing global environmental problems. Renewable energy-driven electrocatalysis, which can convert CO2 into fuels and chemicals, is considered an emerging technology for carbon resource recycling. Cu-based catalysts sputtered on hydrophobic carbon paper and a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane were comparatively investigated, while the effect of the thickness of the Cu sputtering layer on the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction performance was investigated. Additionally, the effect of substrate properties on the distribution and morphology of sputtered Cu metal was investigated by SEM and XRD. With carbon paper as the substrate, the highest FEC2+ achieved was 70% at 200 mA/cm2, while the maximum value of FEC2+ on the Cu/PTFE electrode was realized with a Cu thickness of 400 nm (72%). Additionally, the PTFE substrate demonstrated a better inhibiting effect on HER, with a lower FEH2 and high FEC2+ over different applied current densities.
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