Boosting CO ₂ hydrogenation via the single‐atom alloy engineering in copper/yttria‐based catalysts

Abstract

The low‐temperature activity of reverse water‐gas shift reaction over the oxide‐supported metal catalysts is limited by the H ₂ activation. In this work, Co single atoms are introduced into the Y ₂ O ₃ ‐supported Cu nanoparticles to form the Co ₁ Cu ₉ single‐atom alloy (SAA). The atomically dispersed Co species regulates the electronic structure of Cu induced by the electronic interaction, leading to the enhanced H ₂ activation and boosting the charge transfer at the interfacial site. The Co ₁ Cu ₉ SAA facilitates the Cu ⁺ formation as well as the exposure of active Cu species. Combined with the results of density functional theory calculations and the in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy studies, the introduction of Co single atoms is favorable for CO production through the formate route thermodynamically and kinetically. Therefore, the Co ₁ Cu ₉ SAA catalyst exhibits an enhanced low‐temperature catalytic activity and considerable catalyst stability compared to the Cu catalyst.