Electrochemical C—N coupling has emerged as a promising strategy for the sustainable synthesis of nitrogen-containing chemicals. However, controlling C—N bond formation remains challenging due to the complexity of electrochemical reaction pathways, competing reactions, and the dynamic nature of electrocatalyst surfaces under operating conditions.

This presentation discusses the challenges and opportunities associated with electrochemical C—N coupling, with a particular focus on a Cu2O/ZnO-based electrocatalyst. Emphasis is placed on understanding the relationship between catalyst structure, active sites, and reaction intermediates, as well as on the dynamic evolution of the catalyst surface under electrochemical conditions. In situ and operando vibrational spectroscopic techniques are employed to investigate the evolution of surface species and reaction intermediates during electrochemical C—N coupling. The spectroscopic results provide insights into changes occurring at the catalyst-electrolyte interface and contribute to the identification of species potentially involved in C—N bond formation. Particular attention is given to the evolution of the Cu2O/ZnO catalyst under reaction conditions.

The presentation highlights the opportunities offered by combining electrochemical measurements with vibrational spectroscopy to establish connections between catalyst evolution, active sites and reaction intermediates. Such an approach provides a basis for a deeper understanding of C—N coupling mechanisms and for the rational development of electrocatalysts with improved performance.

Speaker:

Manuel Edgardo Gomez Winkler holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the State University of Maringá (UEM), Brazil, where he also obtained his Master’s (2017) and Ph.D. (2021) degrees in Chemistry. From 2022 to 2025, he conducted a postdoctoral research at the Institute of Chemistry of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. In 2024, he was a visiting researcher at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), Germany. Since 2025, he has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemistry of the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), Brazil. His research focuses on electrochemistry and electrocatalysis, with particular emphasis on catalyst evolution under operating conditions and the investigation of reaction intermediates and active sites using in situ and operando spectroelectrochemical approaches.

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