The interaction of defects has been proven effective in regulating the mechanical properties of structural materials, while its influence on the physicochemical performance of functional materials has been rarely reported. Herein, we synthesized Ag nanorods with dense stacking faults and investigated how the defect interaction affects the catalytic properties. We found that the stacking faults can couple with each other to form a unique structure of opposite atoms with extortionately high tensile strain. Experimental and theoretical analyses reveal that the opposite-atom structure facilitates the adsorption and activation of CO₂ molecules, thus improving the catalytic performance of the carbon dioxide electroreduction reaction (CO₂RR). As a result, Ag nanorods achieve high CO partial current density (−11.87 mA cm^–2 at −0.8 V vs RHE) and high Faraday efficiency (>95%), superior to most Ag-based catalysts. Our work indicates that the defect interaction is an effective means to boost the performance of functional materials.

中文翻译：

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用于 CO2 电还原的银纳米棒中的耦合堆叠故障


缺陷的相互作用已被证明可以有效地调节结构材料的力学性能，而其对功能材料物理化学性能的影响却鲜有报道。在此，我们合成了具有密集堆叠缺陷的 Ag 纳米棒，并研究了缺陷相互作用如何影响催化性能。我们发现堆叠故障可以相互耦合，形成具有极高拉伸应变的相反原子的独特结构。实验和理论分析表明，相反原子结构促进了 CO₂ 分子的吸附和活化，从而提高了二氧化碳电还原反应 （CO₂RR） 的催化性能。因此，Ag 纳米棒实现了高 CO 部分电流密度（-11.87 mA cm^–2，-0.8 V vs RHE）和高法拉第效率（>95%），优于大多数 Ag 基催化剂。我们的研究表明，缺陷相互作用是提高功能材料性能的有效手段。