Fig. 5: In situ nano-BCDI reconstructions of an individual eCO2RR catalyst NP.

a, b 2D, and c 3D reconstructions (real space) were obtained by applying a phase retrieval algorithm on the measured coherent X-ray diffraction pattern data. The size of the NP is ~450 nm. a, b the initial shape of the reconstructed crystal (at OCP) is shown as a guide to the eye (see black lines). Z is along the particle’s height, i.e., perpendicular to the substrate. The atomic displacement (u002) and the strain (\(\varepsilon\)002) along the [002] direction are displayed in a and in b–c, respectively. Note that all potentials were converted to the RHE scale and 100% iR-compensated.