A facile aqueous-phase synthesis method for small PdCu alloy nanocatalysts to enhance electrochemical CO2 reduction reactivity

In a catalytic reaction involving nanoparticles, the particle size is an important factor influencing the reactivity. In this research, small PdCu alloy nanoparticles with an average size of 2.7 nm were easily synthesized by the co-reduction of Pd and Cu precursors using potassium bromide (KBr) as a capping agent to achieve size control in an aqueous phase. When the synthesized 2.7 nm-sized PdCu alloy nanoparticles were applied as an electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), using a gas diffusion electrode system, Faradaic efficiency (FE) of over 80% for CO with a significantly low H-2 selectivity (<= 2% FE) at 100 mA/ cm(2) was achieved. The results revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles are highly suitable for CO2-to-CO conversion at high current densities. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.