Se-based nanoalloys as an emerging
class of metal chalcogenide
with tunable crystalline structure, component distribution, and electronic
structure have attracted considerable interest in renewable energy
conversion and utilization. In this Letter, we report a series of
nanosized M–Se catalysts (M = Cu, Ni, Co) as prepared from
laser ablation method and screen their electrocatalytic performance
for onsite H2O2 generation from selective oxygen
reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. A flexible control on
2e–/4e– ORR pathway has been achieved
by engineering the alloying component. Moreover, through a feedback
loop between theory and experiment an optimized scaling relationship
between oxygenated ORR intermediates has been discovered on cubic
Cu7.2Se4 nanocrystals, that is, the ensemble
effect of isolated Cu component destabilizes O* binding while the
ligand effect of Se to Cu fine-tunes the binding strength of OOH*,
leading to a superb H2O2 selectivity above 90%
over a wide potential window even after 1400 potential cycles.
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