A protocol relying on the use of silver nanostructures with well-defined dimensions and morphologies (e.g., nanocubes and nanowires) has been developed to differentiate and quantitatively determine the atom-specific activities of different surface atoms toward catalyzing electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO2RR). The atom-specific activity of the twin-boundary edges (TBEs) is comparable to (or slightly higher than) that of the single-crystal edges (SCEs) formed from the crossing of two {100} surfaces, and it is on the order of ∼16 attoampere/atom (aA/atom) toward electrochemical CO2RR. This value is more than two orders higher than the atom-specific activity of the {100} surface atoms, i.e., ∼0.1 aA/atom. The high catalytic activity of the TBEs, which represent a class of commonly existing surface defects in stable metal nanostructures with face-centered cubic lattices, is consistent with the DFT calculations, in which the bridge-type binding configuration of COOH∗ at the TBEs stabilizes this intermediate to promote overall CO2RR.

已经开发出了一种协议，该协议依赖于使用具有明确定义的尺寸和形态的银纳米结构（例如，纳米立方体和纳米线）来区分和定量确定不同表面原子对催化电化学CO ₂的原子比活性。还原反应（CO2RR）。双边界边缘（TBE）的原子比活性可与（或略高于）由两个{100}表面的交叉形成的单晶边缘（SCE）的原子比活性，并且其数量级约16 atto安培/原子（aA /原子）对电化学CO2RR的影响。该值比{100}表面原子的原子比活度高两个数量级，即〜0.1 aA /原子。TBE的高催化活性代表了具有面心立方晶格的稳定金属纳米结构中一类常见的表面缺陷，这与DFT计算结果一致，其中DOH处COOH *的桥式结合构型稳定该中间体可促进整体CO2RR。