AgCu Single-Atom Alloy Catalyst for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Abstract

Disclosed is a catalyst for producing a multicarbon product from CO 2 , comprising a copper (Cu) substrate having at least one silver copper (AgCu) single-atom alloy (SAA), and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) on the Cu substrate or on the AgCu SAA, wherein the AgCu SAA comprises at least one single Ag atom dispersed into a surface of the Cu substrate, and the Ag nanoparticles comprise Ag-Ag bonds between the Ag nanoparticles.

1 : A catalyst for producing a multicarbon product from CO 2 , comprising a copper (Cu) substrate having at least one silver copper (AgCu) single-atom alloy (SAA), and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) on the Cu substrate or on the AgCu SAA,
 wherein the AgCu SAA comprises at least one single Ag atom dispersed into a surface of the Cu substrate, and   the Ag nanoparticles comprise Ag-Ag bonds between the Ag nanoparticles.   
     
     
         2 : The catalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the AgCu SAA to the Ag NPs in the catalyst is about 1:7. 
     
     
         3 : The catalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the Cu substrate comprises Cu nanoparticles. 
     
     
         4 : The catalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the Cu substrate is polycrystalline. 
     
     
         5 : The catalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the catalyst exhibits at least about 94% Faradaic Efficiency (FE) towards the multicarbon product under about 720 mA cm −2 . 
     
     
         6 : The catalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the multicarbon product comprises C2-C6 products or any mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         7 : The catalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the multicarbon product comprises ethanol, ethylene, acetic acid, n-propanol or any mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         8 : The catalyst of  claim 1 , wherein the Ag NP catalyzes a production of CO from CO 2  and the AgCu SAA catalyzes the production of the multicarbon product from the produced CO.