Atomically Dispersed Cu–Au Alloy for Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Monoxide to Acetate

Abstract

Electrocatalytic carbon monoxide reduction reaction (CORR) is a promising strategy to convert carbon monoxide into high-value multi-carbon products such as acetate. Nonetheless, the activity and selectivity for CO-to-multi-carbon product conversion remains low due to the lack of efficient catalysts. Herein, we report a Cu–Au alloy catalyst with abundant atomic Cu–Au interfaces to drive efficient CORR for acetate production. The unique geometric and electronic structure of atomic Cu–Au interfaces affords improved acetate activity and selectivity, surpassing metallic Cu nanoparticles and CuAu bulk alloys. A Faradaic efficiency of 39% was achieved with a large partial current density of 217 mA cm–2 for acetate production in an alkaline flow cell. Density functional theory calculation reveals that the introduction of Au atoms into the Cu support promotes C–C coupling and improves acetate formation by weakening the binding strength of *CO +*CO on the catalyst surface.