Operando methodologies are widely used in heterogenous catalysis to understand unique state of catalyst materials emerging under specific reaction conditions and to establish catalyst structure-activity relationships. Recent studies highlight the importance of combining multiple operando techniques (multimodal approach) to gain complementary information as well as looking into chemical and material gradients and spatial variations on the reactor scale. In this work, we developed an operando UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) setup compatible with a common fixed-bed tubular reactor. The design is based on optical calculations, validation experiments and signals considerations. A spatial resolution of 1 mm along the axial direction of the reactor was successfully demonstrated and combined with a time resolution of seconds with good signal to noise. CO oxidation over Pt/Al₂O₃ was performed as a proof of principle experiment demonstrating the capabilities of the new setup. The information gained by the space-resolved operando UV–vis DRS was combined with other space-resolved operando studies such as diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), gas sampling and temperature profiling. The study shows that the nature of active sites (Pt redox state) and thus the reaction mechanism alter with reaction temperature and also in space. Spatiotemporal UV–vis DRS is also demonstrated, showing the capability for transient studies with space-resolution.

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) electrolysis on copper (Cu) catalysts has attracted interest due to its direct production of C2+ feedstocks. Using the knowledge that CO2 reduction on copper is primarily a tandem reaction of CO2 to CO and CO to C2+ products, we show that modulating CO concentrations within the liquid catalyst layer allows for a C2+ selectivity of >80% at 200 mA cm−2 under broad conversion conditions. The importance of CO pooling is demonstrated through residence time distribution curves, varying flow fields (serpentine/parallel/interdigitated), and flow rates. While serpentine flow fields require high conversions to limit CO selectivity and maximize C2+ selectivity, the longer CO residence times of parallel flow fields achieve similar selectivity over broad flow rates. Critically, we show that parts of the catalyst area predominantly reduce CO instead of CO2 as supported by CO reduction experiments, transport modelling, and achieving a CO2 utilization efficiency greater than the theoretical limit of 25% for C2+ products.@en