Ga-Modification Near-Surface Composition of Pt-Ga/C Catalyst Facilitates High-Efficiency Electrochemical Ethanol Oxidation through a C2 Intermediate.

In electrochemical ethanol oxidation reactions (EOR) catalyzed by Pt metal nanoparticles through a C2 route, the dissociation of the C-C bond in the ethanol molecule can be a limiting factor. Complete EOR processes producing CO were always exemplified by the oxidative dehydrogenation of C1 intermediates, a reaction route with less energy utilization efficiency. Here, we report a PtGa/C electrocatalyst with a uniform distribution of Ga over the nanoparticle surface for EOR that produces CO at medium potentials (>0.3 V vs SCE) efficiently through direct and sustainable oxidation of C2 intermediate species, i.e., acetaldehyde. We demonstrate the excellent performance of the PtGa-200/C catalyst by using electrochemical in situ Fourier transform infrared reflection spectroscopy (FTIR) and an isotopic labeling method. The atomic interval structure between Pt and Ga makes the surface of nanoparticles nonensembled, avoiding the formation of poisonous *CH and *CO species via bridge-type adsorption of ethanol molecules. Meanwhile, the electron redistribution from Ga to Pt diminishes the *O/*OH adsorption and CO poisoning on Pt atoms, exposing more available sites for interaction with the C2 intermediates. Furthermore, the dissociation of HO into *OH is facilitated by the high hydrophilicity of Ga, which is supported by DFT calculations, promoting the deep oxidation of C2 intermediates. Our work represents an extremely rare EOR process that produces CO without observing kinetic limitations under medium potential conditions.