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The 6th “NSRRC Outstanding Paper Award” Announced

NTU Research Team Honored for Breakthroughs in CO2 Conversion Mechanisms
2026/08/26
Outstanding Paper Award Ceremony
The National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) held the award ceremony for the 6th “NSRRC Outstanding Paper Award” on August 25, 2026. This year’s top honor went to the research team led by Professor Heng-Liang Wu from the Center for Condensed Matter Sciences at National Taiwan University (NTU), who received a trophy and a cash prize of NT$300,000.

The team was recognized for its significant discoveries concerning the mechanisms of electrocatalytic CO2 conversion, and its innovative integration of in-house infrared spectroscopy with synchrotron-based in situ spectroscopy techniques at NSRRC. The work earned unanimous praise from the review committee. Published in the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) in 2020, the paper has ranked among the top 1% most-cited publications in its field for five consecutive years, reflecting its sustained impact on the international scientific community.

The “NSRRC Outstanding Paper Award” was established in 2021 through the generosity of Academician Chien-Te Chen, a recipient of Taiwan’s Presidential Science Prize. Academician Chen donated the trophy and the entire cash prize to encourage technological innovation and scientific research using Taiwan’s synchrotron facilities. To uphold this initiative, the donated funds were used to install a solar panel system at NSRRC. Revenue from the sale of the electricity it generates now supports the Outstanding Paper Award, exploring scientific knowledge through sustainable energy.

Amid the global challenges of climate change and net-zero carbon emissions, converting atmospheric CO2 into value-added chemicals has emerged as a major scientific challenge. Among electrocatalysts materials, copper is the only transition metal capable of converting CO2 into multicarbon hydrocarbons. However, conventional copper electrodes are hindered by poor product selectivity and declining conversion efficiency. 

Professor Wu described copper catalysts as a “black box” in the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction. To unravel the mystery behind product selectivity, the research team used in situ soft and hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy at NSRRC’s Taiwan Light Source to observe the dynamic evolution of the oxidation states and electronic structure of copper electrode surfaces under rapidly changing electrochemical conditions. At the same time, infrared spectroscopy was employed to monitor reaction intermediates in real time. By combining these techniques, the team successfully established a causal link between the catalyst’s electronic structure, reaction intermediates, and product selectivity.

The team discovered that the simultaneous presence of Cu(I) and Cu(0) oxidation states on the copper catalyst surface promotes the formation of two CO intermediates with distinct adsorption configurations and binding strengths. The synergistic interaction between these two intermediates plays a crucial role in the conversion of CO2 into ethylene, a high-value chemical product. This finding challenges the previous understanding of reaction intermediates and provides new insights for the design of highly efficient electrocatalysts.

Upon receiving the award, Professor Wu expressed his special appreciation for the strong technical support provided by NSRRC and for the long-standing support of the National Science and Technology Council and National Taiwan University. He emphasized that his team will continue using synchrotron techniques to investigate the catalytic mechanisms of emerging green-energy materials, with the goal of developing new solutions that contribute to global net-zero emissions and a sustainable carbon cycle.