Ag-Mediated Growth of Au/Ag–Cu Ternary Heterostructures for Selective Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Copper (Cu)-based nanocatalysts play crucial roles in the electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (ECO₂RR) for sustainable energy resources. Particularly, Cu-based nanostructures incorporating Au and Ag are promising, offering enhanced activity, selectivity, and stability. However, precise control over the structure and composition of heterostructures remains challenging, hindering the development of highly efficient catalysts. Herein, we present a silver (Ag) transition-layer-mediated approach to synthesize ternary heterostructures with two specific morphologies, namely, Au/Ag–Cu-side and Au/Ag–Cu-tip, which exhibit different Ag–Cu interface epitaxial patterns. The two heterostructures achieve high C2 product selectivity in ECO₂RR. Especially, the Au/Ag–Cu-side structure achieves 50.3% C2 selectivity with 35.5% ethanol, while the tip structure shows higher ethylene selectivity. Our study reveals the impact of the Ag layer in directing deposition sites on heterostructure growth and further facilitating the design of multicomponent Cu-based catalysts with enhanced structural integrity and ECO₂RR performance.