1 + 1′ > 2: Heteronuclear Biatom Catalyst Outperforms Its Homonuclear Counterparts for CO Oxidation

Abstract By means of density functional theory (DFT) computations, the CO/O2 adsorption and CO oxidation pathways on the biatom catalyst, namely the heteronuclear Fe1Cu1@C2N, in comparison with its homonuclear counterparts Fe2@C2N and Cu2@C2N are systemically investigated. The reactions of O2 dissociation and CO oxidization with preadsorbed CO or O2 are comparably studied. The computations find that the heteronuclear species Fe1Cu1@C2N possesses high stabilities and is feasible to be synthesized experimentally. More importantly, the heteronuclear Fe1Cu1@C2N catalyst has even better catalytic activity toward CO oxidation than its homonuclear counterparts, especially, without suffering the CO‐poisoning problem. Considering the myriad of unexplored heteronuclear dimers that can be potentially anchored at appropriate supports, this work opens a new avenue and provides a useful guideline for further developing bimetal‐based nanocatalysts.