Noble metal aerogels (NMAs) are an emerging class of porous materials. Embracing nano-sized highly-active noble metals and porous structures, they display unprecedented performance in diverse electrocatalytic processes. However, various impurities, particularly organic ligands, are often involved in the synthesis and remain in the corresponding products, hindering the investigation of the intrinsic electrocatalytic properties of NMAs. Here, starting from laser-generated inorganic-salt-stabilized metal nanoparticles, various impurity-free NMAs (Au, Pd, and Au-Pd aerogels) were fabricated. In this light, we demonstrate not only the intrinsic electrocatalytic properties of NMAs, but also the prominent roles played by ligands in tuning electrocatalysis through modulating the electron density of catalysts. These findings may offer a new dimension to engineer and optimize the electrocatalytic performance for various NMAs and beyond.

中文翻译：

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通过配体定向调节促进贵金属气凝胶的电催化性能。

贵金属气凝胶（NMA）是一类新兴的多孔材料。包含纳米级高活性贵金属和多孔结构，它们在各种电催化过程中显示出空前的性能。然而，各种杂质，特别是有机配体，经常参与合成并保留在相应的产物中，从而阻碍了对NMAs固有电催化性能的研究。在此，从激光生成的无机盐稳定的金属纳米颗粒开始，制造了各种无杂质的NMA（Au，Pd和Au-Pd气凝胶）。因此，我们不仅证明了NMA的固有电催化性能，而且还证明了配体在通过调节催化剂的电子密度来调节电催化作用中所发挥的重要作用。