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Updated: Mar 18, 2026
10:57
Synthesis and Performance Characterizations of Transition Metal Single Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Published on: April 10, 2018
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Interatomic Spacing-Dependent Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction: Inert Te Heteroatom Modulation in Hexagonal Pd
Ya-Lin Song1, Yu-Feng Tang1, Mulin Yu1
1School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|March 16, 2026
Summary
Precise control over metallic interatomic spacing in palladium-tellurium nanoplates enables highly efficient electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) to CO. This breakthrough optimizes catalyst performance and stability for carbon capture technologies.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Metallic interatomic spacing is a critical factor in electrocatalysis.
- Precisely controlling interatomic spacing and understanding its structure-activity relationship remain significant challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a phase-controlled strategy for continuous interatomic spacing modulation in palladium-tellurium nanoplates.
- To investigate the effect of precisely tuned interatomic spacing on electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) activity.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of hexagonal palladium-tellurium (Pd-Te) nanoplates with various intermetallic phases.
- Modulation of adjacent palladium-palladium distances (dPd-a-Pd) from 2.75 to 4.07 Å.
- Electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) experiments.
- In situ spectroscopy and theoretical calculations.
Main Results:
- Achieved continuous interatomic spacing modulation in Pd-Te nanoplates, realizing precise tuning of dPd-a-Pd.
- Demonstrated a volcano-shaped dependence of ECR activity on dPd-a-Pd, with Pd20Te7 NPs (dPd-a-Pd = 2.88 Å) achieving 99.9% CO Faraday efficiency (FECO).
- Pd20Te7 NPs maintained over 90% FECO at ~120 mA cm−2 during long-term stability tests.
- Confirmed that interatomic spacing, rather than electronic effects, dominated ECR activity.
- Identified optimal *CO adsorption configuration and balanced *COOH adsorption/*CO desorption on Pd20Te7 NPs.
Conclusions:
- Interatomic spacing is a pivotal parameter in regulating intermediate adsorption configurations for electrocatalysis.
- The developed phase-controlled strategy offers a pathway for designing highly active and stable electrocatalysts.
- Optimized interatomic spacing in Pd20Te7 nanoplates leads to exceptional ECR activity and anti-poisoning capacity.
Keywords:
CO poisoningPd‐Te nanoplateelectrocatalysiselectrochemical CO2 reductioninteratomic spacingphase controlMore Related Videos
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