CO2 turnover at the atomic interfaces, what’s next?

Efficient and selective electrochemical CO2 catalysis hinges on the facile CO2 dissociation and the optimal binding energies of key reaction intermediates. However, optimizing these variables simultaneously poses a significant challenge, as the bindings of different intermediates are closely intertwined. Recently, single-atom alloys (SAAs) emerge as promising substances for catalytic applications that may provide a new approach to circumvent scaling relationships in electrochemical CO2 reduction reactions (CO2RR). In this discussion, we emphasize the complementary roles of the host metal and dopant atoms in SAAs for CO2RR and discuss future outlooks for turning over the host and dopant relationship in SAAs for designing more efficient and selective catalysts for CO2RR.