Dual-site catalysts featuring platinum-group-metal atoms on copper shapes boost hydrocarbon formations in electrocatalytic CO reduction.

Copper-based catalyst is uniquely positioned to catalyze the hydrocarbon formations through electrochemical CO reduction. The catalyst design freedom is limited for alloying copper with H-affinitive elements represented by platinum group metals because the latter would easily drive the hydrogen evolution reaction to override CO reduction. We report an adept design of anchoring atomically dispersed platinum group metal species on both polycrystalline and shape-controlled Cu catalysts, which now promote targeted CO reduction reaction while frustrating the undesired hydrogen evolution reaction. Notably, alloys with similar metal formulations but comprising small platinum or palladium clusters would fail this objective. With an appreciable amount of CO-Pd moieties on copper surfaces, facile CO hydrogenation to CHO or CO-CHO coupling is now viable as one of the main pathways on Cu(111) or Cu(100) to selectively produce CH or CH through Pd-Cu dual-site pathways. The work broadens copper alloying choices for CO reduction in aqueous phases.