Designing Atomically Dispersed Au on Tensile-Strained Pd for Efficient CO₂ Electroreduction to Formate

Area of Science:

• Catalysis
• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Palladium (Pd) is an effective catalyst for CO2 electroreduction to formate.
• High CO affinity of Pd leads to catalyst deactivation via CO poisoning.
• Developing stable and active catalysts for CO2 conversion remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize atomically dispersed gold (Au) on tensile-strained palladium (Pd) nanoparticles.
• To investigate the effect of tensile strain and Au decoration on Pd catalyst performance for CO2 electroreduction.
• To understand the mechanism behind improved activity, selectivity, and CO tolerance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Au on tensile-strained Pd nanoparticles using metal-organic framework interactions.
• Electrochemical characterization including cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry.
• In-situ/operando spectroscopy and theoretical calculations to probe reaction intermediates and surface properties.

Main Results:

• The synthesized catalyst exhibits significantly enhanced formate production activity and selectivity.
• The catalyst demonstrates high CO tolerance and improved stability compared to Pd/C.
• Tensile strain stabilizes intermediates, while Au selectively destabilizes CO*, breaking the conventional scaling relation.

Conclusions:

• Atomically dispersed Au on tensile-strained Pd nanoparticles is a promising strategy for efficient CO2 electroreduction.
• The synergistic effect between tensile strain and Au decoration enhances catalytic performance and durability.
• This approach offers a new pathway for designing advanced electrocatalysts for CO2 conversion.