Influence of morphology of electrodeposited copper on the electrochemical regeneration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (1,4-NADH)

This study investigates how copper electrode morphology influences the electrochemical regeneration of 1,4-NADH. Bioelectrochemical systems that couple enzymatic catalysis with electrochemical redox reactions are emerging as promising platforms for developing sustainable industrial processes, and efficient NADH regeneration is central to their performance. Electrochemical deposition (ED) offers a low-cost, rapid, and environmentally friendly route to fabricate metal electrodes with tailored surface morphologies. By adjusting deposition parameters - current density or overpotential, temperature, time, electrolyte type and composition, additives (levelers/brighteners), and agitation - as well as employing constant or periodically pulsed deposition regimes, the morphology of deposited copper can be precisely tuned. We show that the resulting copper morphologies markedly impact the efficiency and selectivity of 1,4-NADH electroregeneration, identifying copper as a promising electrocatalyst for bioelectrochemical applications.