Homoleptic Alkynyl‐Protected Ag<sub>15</sub> Nanocluster with Atomic Precision: Structural Analysis and Electrocatalytic Performance toward CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction
Lubing Qin, Fang Sun, Xiaoshuang Ma, Guanyu Ma, Yun Tang, Likai Wang, Qing Tang, Rongchao Jin, Zhenghua Tang
Abstract
Abstract We report the fabrication of homoleptic alkynyl‐protected Ag 15 (C≡C‐ t Bu) 12 + (abbreviated as Ag 15 ) nanocluster and its electrocatalytic properties toward CO 2 reduction reaction. Crystal structure analysis reveals that Ag 15 possesses a body‐centered‐cubic (BCC) structure with an Ag@Ag 8 @Ag 6 metal core configuration. Interestingly, we found that Ag 15 can adsorb CO 2 in the air and spontaneously self‐assembled into one‐dimensional linear material during the crystal growth process. Furthermore, Ag 15 can convert CO 2 into CO with a faradaic efficiency of ca. 95.0 % at −0.6 V and a maximal turnover frequency of 6.37 s −1 at −1.1 V along with excellent long‐term stability. Finally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations disclosed that Ag 15 (C≡C‐ t Bu) 11 + with one alkynyl ligand stripping off from the intact cluster can expose the uncoordinated Ag atom as the catalytically active site for CO formation.