Coupled Stacking\nFaults in Silver Nanorods for CO<sub>2</sub> Electroreduction

The\ninteraction of defects has been proven effective in regulating\nthe mechanical properties of structural materials, while its influence\non the physicochemical performance of functional materials has been\nrarely reported. Herein, we synthesized Ag nanorods with dense stacking\nfaults and investigated how the defect interaction affects the catalytic\nproperties. We found that the stacking faults can couple with each\nother to form a unique structure of opposite atoms with extortionately\nhigh tensile strain. Experimental and theoretical analyses reveal\nthat the opposite-atom structure facilitates the adsorption and activation\nof CO<sub>2</sub> molecules, thus improving the catalytic performance\nof the carbon dioxide electroreduction reaction (CO<sub>2</sub>RR).\nAs a result, Ag nanorods achieve high CO partial current density (−11.87\nmA cm<sup>–2</sup> at −0.8 V vs RHE) and high Faraday\nefficiency (>95%), superior to most Ag-based catalysts. Our work\nindicates\nthat the defect interaction is an effective means to boost the performance\nof functional materials.