Tailoring the Selectivity of Bimetallic Copper–Palladium Nanoalloys for Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to CO

Abstract

Controlling the morphology and composition of bimetallic nanoalloys is an effective way to tailor their catalytic activity/selectivity for a given chemical reaction. Herein, we demonstrate the tailoring of bimetallic copper–palladium (Cu–Pd) nanoalloys with different morphologies and compositions for obtaining highly efficient electrocatalysts for the reduction of CO2 to CO. We further evaluate the catalytic performance of these Cu–Pd nanomaterials for the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to CO. In particular, the spherical Cu–Pd nanoalloys with Cu/Pd molar ratio of 1/0.3 have the highest Faradaic efficiency for CO conversion (93%), while the dendritic Cu–Pd nanoalloys have the highest Faradaic efficiency for H2 production (65.2%) via hydrogen evolution reaction at a polarized potential of −0.87 V. The balancing of the rate-determining steps during CO2 conversion is a key factor for the observed activity/selectivity of Cu–Pd nanoalloys with different morphologies/compositions. The findings revealed in th...