LAUSR

CO2 electrochemical reduction to formate has emerged as one of the promising routes for CO2 conversion to useful chemicals and energy storage. Palladium has been shown to make formate with a high selectivity at minimal overpotential. However, production of CO as a minor product quickly deactivates the catalyst during extended electrolysis. Here, we present nanoporous Pd alloys (np-PdX) formed by electrochemical dealloying of Pd15X85 alloys (X = Co, Ni, Cu, and Ag) as active free-standing electrocatalysts with high formate selectivity and CO poisoning tolerance. Rate of deactivation under constant potential electrolysis, due to CO passivation, is strongly correlated to the identity of the transition metal alloying component. We purport that this composition dependent behavior is due to the induced electronic changes in the active Pd surface, affecting both the CO adsorption strength and the near surface hydrogen solubility, which can impact the adsorption strength of active/inactive intermediates and react...