The development of advanced electrocatalysts with satisfactory C1 pathway selectivity for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) is critical. Herein, a bubbling CO-induced gelation method is developed in acetic acid at 50 °C to construct single-atom W-doped Pd metallene aerogels (denoted as SA W-Pd MAs) within 1 h. In light of the metallene structural advantages of noble metal aerogels and single-atom W decoration, the resultant SA W-Pd MAs exhibit an outstanding EOR performance with high C1 pathway selectivity. Density functional theory calculations validate that the SA W-Pd MAs greatly improve the formation of the CH3O intermediate and the transformation of poisonous CO species to CO2, thus resulting in high C1 pathway selectivity. Therefore, this work not only offers an effective gelation method to fabricate noble metal aerogels with atomic-scale building blocks but also presents guidance to develop high-efficiency EOR electrocatalysts.
Keywords: aerogels; electrocatalysis; ethanol oxidation reaction; metallene; single-atom doping.