- Köche, Ariadne;
- Hong, Kootak;
- Seo, Sehun;
- Babbe, Finn;
- Gim, Hyeongyu;
- Kim, Keon‐Han;
- Choi, Hojoong;
- Jung, Yoonsung;
- Oh, Inhyeok;
- Krishnamurthy, Gnanavel Vaidhyanathan;
- Störmer, Michael;
- Lee, Sanghan;
- Kim, Tae‐Hoon;
- Bell, Alexis T;
- Khan, Sherdil;
- Sutter‐Fella, Carolin M;
- Toma, Francesca M
Copper-tantalate, Cu2Ta4O11 (CTO), shows significant promise as an efficient photocathode for multi-carbon compounds (C2+) production through photoelectrochemical (PEC) CO2 reduction, owing to its suitable energy bands and catalytic surface. However, synthesizing CTO poses a significant challenge due to its metastable nature and thermal instability. In this study, this challenge is addressed by employing a flux-mediated synthesis technique using a sodium-based flux to create sodium-doped CTO (Na-CTO) thin films, providing enhanced nucleation and stabilization for the CTO phase. To evaluate the PEC performance and catalytic properties of the films, copper(II) oxide (CuO) at the Na-CTO surface is selectively etched. The etched Na-CTO shows a lower dark current, with decreased contribution from photocorrosion, unlike the non-etched Na-CTO which has remaining CuO on the surface. Furthermore, Na-CTO exhibits 7.3-fold ethylene selectivity over hydrogen, thus highlighting its promising potential as a photocathode for C2+ production through PEC CO2 reduction.