Tuning the Product Selectivity of Single-Atom Alloys by Active Site Modification

There is widespread interest in developing catalysts with uniform active sites that consist of single atoms, thereby simplifying the reaction mechanism and improving product selectivity. We examine experimentally how CO can be used to modify the active sites on a strong binding single-atom alloy and examine how this in turn impacts product selectivity for a reaction that has two different pathways. Specifically, we find that CO can be used to selectively block isolated Rh atom active sites in a RhCu(111) model single-atom alloy catalyst surface and promote the dehydrogenation pathway for adsorbed ethyl groups by suppressing the hydrogenation pathway.