Nanoporous ultra-high-entropy alloys containing fourteen elements for water splitting electrocatalysis

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are near-equimolar alloys comprising five or more elements. In recent years, catalysis using HEAs has attracted considerable attention across various fields. Herein, we demonstrate the facile synthesis of nanoporous ultra-high-entropy alloys (np-UHEAs) with hierarchical porosity via dealloying. These np-UHEAs contain up to 14 elements, namely, Al, Ag, Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Ir, Mo, Ni, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru, and Ti. Furthermore, they exhibit high catalytic activities and electrochemical stabilities in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acidic media, superior to that of commercial Pt/graphene and IrO₂ catalysts. Our results offer valuable insights for the selection of elements as catalysts for various applications.

Nanoporous ultra-high-entropy alloys containing 14 elements (Al, Ag, Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Ir, Mo, Ni, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru, and Ti) were obtained by dealloying. The products showed excellent electrocatalytic performance for water splitting in acidic media.     

CO\begin{document}$ _{2} $\end{document} Reduction on Metal-Doped SnO\begin{document}$ _{2} $\end{document}(110) Surface Catalysts: Manipulating the Product by Changing the Ratio of Sn:O

The electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) producing HCOOH and CO is one of the most promising approaches for storing renewable electricity as chemical energy in fuels. SnO₂ is a good catalyst for CO₂-to-HCOOH or CO₂-to-CO conversion, with different crystal planes participating the catalytic process. Among them, (110) surface SnO₂ is very stable and easy to synthesisze. By changing the ratio of Sn: O for SnO₂(110), we have two typical SnO₂ thin films: fully oxidized (stoichiometric) and partially reduced. In this work, we are concerned with different metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Os, Ir, Pt, and Au)-doped SnO₂(110) with different activity and selectivity for CO₂RR. All these changes are manipulated by adjusting the ratio of Sn: O in (110) surface. The results show that stochiometric and reduced Cu/Ag doped SnO₂(110) have different selectivity for CO₂RR. More specifically, stochiometric Cu/Ag-doped SnO₂(110) tends to generate CO(g). Meanwhile, the reduced surface tends to generate HCOOH(g). Moreover, we also considered the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The catalysts SnO₂(110) doped by Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, and Pt have high activity for HER, and others are good catalysts for CO₂RR.     

Synthesis of Ir Catalysts Featuring Amide-functionalized NHC Ligands and Survey of their Activity on Formic Acid Dehydrogenation

2 a and 2 b , [Ir(CI)(COD)(NHC)] (COD=1,5-cyclooctadiene), have been prepared via transmetallation from NHC−Ag complexes. [Rh(CI)(COD)(NHC)] ( 4 ) was prepared analogously. [Ir({κ-C,N-(NHC-acetamide−1H)}(COD)] ( 3 c ) has been synthesized via transmetallation from the deprotonated NHC−Ag complex. [IrCp*({κ-C,N-(NHC-acetamide−1H)}] ( 5 ) (Cp*=pentamethylcyclopentadienyl), has been obtained analogously. [Ir(CI)(CO)₂(NHC)] ( 6 ) and [Ir({κ-C,N-(NHC-acetamide−1H)}(CO)₂] ( 7 ) have been prepared by carbonylation of 2 b and 3 c , respectively. The catalytic activity of these complexes has been evaluated in the dehydrogenation of formic acid, under solventless conditions, in the presence of water as a cosolvent, and in a 5 : 2 HCOOH/Et₃N mixture, with the best TOF values being obtained in the case of the latter. Stoichiometric experiments suggest COD hydrogenation as the preactivation step.     

Application of Metalfix Chelamine prior to the determination of noble metals by the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Metalfix Chelamine chelating resins of two different bead sizes (150-300 and 40-80 μm) were examined and compared regarding their application for sorption of Au, Ir, Pd, Pt, Rh and Ru ions from medium of HCl, HNO₃ and mixtures of HCl and HNO₃. The quantitative enrichment of Au, Ir, Pd and Pt was established for the resin of 150-300 μm particle size and for solutions acidified with HCl and HNO₃ (3:1) up to the concentration of 0.50 mol l⁻¹. In the case of Rh and Ru, the uptake of these metals by the resin was lower than 50%. For the elution, solutions of different reagents, i.e. HCl, HNO₃, KCN, KI, KSCN and (NH₂)₂CS, were studied with respect to the complete release of the analytes retained by the resin. In addition, influence of various base metals, i.e. Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, on the retention of the noble metals was investigated. Under the selected conditions for the retention and elution of Au, Ir, Pd and Pt, the analytical performance of the proposed pre-concentration procedure was evaluated and it was applied to the determination of these noble metals in anodic sludge sample.     

A theoretical study of electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis on single metal atom/MXene

Electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis under mild conditions is an attractive and challenging process in the earth's nitrogen cycle, which requires efficient and stable catalysts to reduce the overpotential. The N₂ activation and reduction overpotential of different Ti₃C₂O₂-supported transition metal (TM) (Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, and Au) single-atom catalysts have been analyzed in terms of the Gibbs free energies calculated using the density functional theory (DFT). The end-on N₂ adsorption was more energetically favorable, and the negative free energies represented good N₂ activation performance, especially in the presence Fe/Ti₃C₂O₂ (?0.75 eV). The overpotentials of Fe/Ti₃C₂O₂, Co/Ti₃C₂O₂, Ru/Ti₃C₂O₂, and Rh/Ti₃C₂O₂ were 0.92, 0.89, 1.16, and 0.84 eV, respectively. The potential required for ammonia synthesis was different for different TMs and ranged from 0.68 to 2.33 eV. Two possible potential-limiting steps may be involved in the process: (i) hydrogenation of N₂ to *NNH and (ii) hydrogenation of *NH₂ to ammonia. These catalysts can change the reaction pathway and avoid the traditional N–N bond-breaking barrier. It also simplifies the understanding of the relationship between the Gibbs free energy and overpotential, which is a significant factor in the rational designing and large-scale screening of catalysts for the electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis.     

Density functional theory study of CO2 capture and storage promotion using manipulation of graphyne by 3d and 4d transition metals

In this work, the electronic and structural properties of 3d and 4d transition metal (TM)-decorated graphyne (GY) (TM-GY) toward CO₂ adsorption were studied using the D3-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3) method. Then, CO₂ capture and storage (CCS) of the most stable structures were investigated. Results show that the most stable site for all TM decoration is the center of the 12-membered ring with various distances from carbon plane, and GY decorated with Ni and Zn from 3d and Zr and Cd from 4d TMs are also the most and the least stable, energetically with E_b of −5.834, −0.467, −6.181, and −0.963 eV, respectively. Evaluation of the adsorption behavior of CO₂ on TM-GY reveals that the strongest adsorption energies belong to Cr and Mo-GY (−1.502 and −1.117 eV, respectively), and for all 3d and 4d TMs, the horizontal direction of CO₂ is more stable, energetically. Increasing CO₂ molecules, step by step, on Cr and Mo-GY shows that they can hold 13 and 18 CO₂ molecules with average E_ads of −0.374 and −0.330 eV/CO₂ and corresponding CO₂ storage capacities of 47.66 and 54.10 wt%, respectively. These findings show that Cr and Mo-GY can be used in the future as suitable candidates for CCS applications.     

Density Functional Study of Catalytic Activity of Cu<Subscript>12</Subscript>TM for Water Gas Shift Reaction

Based on density functional theory calculations, we have systematically studied the WGS reaction on various nanosized Cu₁₂TM of Co, Ni, Cu (from the 3d row), Rh, Pd, Ag (from the 4d row), Ir, Pt, Au (from the 5d row). The reaction mechanism proposed by Langmuir–Hinshelwood has been followed, which corresponds to \({\text{CO* + OH* }} \to {\text{COOH*}} \to {\text{CO}}_{2} {\text{ + H*}}\). The comparison of the Gibbs free energy profiles of carboxyl mechanism on different Cu₁₂TM systems concludes that WGS reaction is determined by the steps of H₂ forming and OH* reacting with CO* to form COOH*. BEP relationship between activation barriers (Ea) and reaction energies (ΔH) on a series of Cu₁₂TM clusters is very good. What’s more, the activation barrier of rate-determining step of Cu₁₂Au is the smallest. TOF, with the aid of An Energetic Span Model (ESM), is used to estimate the efficiency of the different Cu₁₂TM clusters. The results show that the values of TOFs in doping Cu₁₂Rh, Cu₁₂Ir and Cu₁₂Pt are smaller than that in pure Cu. Moreover, the values of TOFs in doping Cu₁₂Co, Cu₁₂Ni, Cu₁₂Pd, Cu₁₂Ag, and Cu₁₂Au are higher than that in Cu₁₃. The higher value of TOF, the more favorable catalysts they are. This results shoud be helpful in developing efficient catalysts for WGS reaction. Finally, d-band center is used to explain the binding energy of CO and H₂O. It shows that there is a good liner relationship between d-band center and binding energy of CO but not for H₂O.     

General π‐Electron‐Assisted Strategy for Ir,Pt, Ru,Pd, Fe,Ni Single‐Atom Electrocatalysts with Bifunctional Active Sites for Highly Efficient Water Splitting

Both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are crucial to water splitting, but require alternative active sites. Now, a general π‐electron‐assisted strategy to anchor single‐atom sites (M=Ir, Pt, Ru, Pd, Fe, Ni) on a heterogeneous support is reported. The M atoms can simultaneously anchor on two distinct domains of the hybrid support, four‐fold N/C atoms (M@NC), and centers of Co octahedra (M@Co), which are expected to serve as bifunctional electrocatalysts towards the HER and the OER. The Ir catalyst exhibits the best water‐splitting performance, showing a low applied potential of 1.603 V to achieve 10 mA cm^?2 in 1.0 m KOH solution with cycling over 5 h. DFT calculations indicate that the Ir@Co (Ir) sites can accelerate the OER, while the Ir@NC₃ sites are responsible for the enhanced HER, clarifying the unprecedented performance of this bifunctional catalyst towards full water splitting.     

General π‐Electron‐Assisted Strategy for Ir,Pt, Ru,Pd, Fe,Ni Single‐Atom Electrocatalysts with Bifunctional Active Sites for Highly Efficient Water Splitting

Both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are crucial to water splitting, but require alternative active sites. Now, a general π‐electron‐assisted strategy to anchor single‐atom sites (M=Ir, Pt, Ru, Pd, Fe, Ni) on a heterogeneous support is reported. The M atoms can simultaneously anchor on two distinct domains of the hybrid support, four‐fold N/C atoms (M@NC), and centers of Co octahedra (M@Co), which are expected to serve as bifunctional electrocatalysts towards the HER and the OER. The Ir catalyst exhibits the best water‐splitting performance, showing a low applied potential of 1.603 V to achieve 10 mA cm^?2 in 1.0 m KOH solution with cycling over 5 h. DFT calculations indicate that the Ir@Co (Ir) sites can accelerate the OER, while the Ir@NC₃ sites are responsible for the enhanced HER, clarifying the unprecedented performance of this bifunctional catalyst towards full water splitting.     

Theoretical Investigations of the Activation of CO_2 on the Transition Metal-doped Cu(100) and Cu(111) Surfaces

Periodic density functional theory calculations have been performed to investigate the chemisorption behavior of CO_2 molecule on a series of surface alloys that are built by dispersing individual middle-late transition metal(TM) atoms(TM = Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Os, Ir, Pt, Au) on the Cu(100) and Cu(111) surfaces. The most stable configurations of CO_2 chemisorbed on different TM/Cu surfaces are determined, and the results show that among the late transition metals, Co, Ru, and Os are potentially good dopants to enhance the chemisorption and activation of CO_2 on copper surfaces. To obtain a deep understanding of the adsorption property, the bonding characteristics of the adsorption bonds are carefully examined by the crystal orbital Hamilton population technique, which reveals that the TM atom primarily provides d orbitals with z-component, namely d_z~2, d_(xz), and d_(yz) orbitals to interact with the adsorbate.     

Neutron activation analysis of platinum metals in airborne particulate matter

A method is described for the determination of Au, Pt, Pd, Ag and Ir in two atmospheric aerosol samples, namely in Ghent and in the Milanese intercomparison sample. After neutron irradiation the samples are fused with Na₂O₂. Gold is extracted with ethylacetate, Pt precipitated as (NH₄)₂PtCl₆ Pd as dimethylglyoximate, Ag as chloride and Ir separated by anion-exchange adsorption and batch extraction. Ge(Li) gamma-spectrometry is applied for all determinations. The concentrations in ng·g⁻¹ in the samples are respectively: Au: 49 and 3000; Pt: below 100 for both samples; Pd: 7 and 28; Ag: 6000 and 14 000; Ir: 2.5 and 1.3.     

Improvement in Hydrogen Desorption from β‐ and γ‐MgH2 upon Transition‐Metal Doping

A thorough study of the structural, electronic, and hydrogen‐desorption properties of β‐ and γ‐MgH₂ phases substituted by selected transition metals (TMs) is performed through first‐principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). The TMs considered herein include Sc, V, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Y, Zr, and Nb, which substitute for Mg at a doping concentration of 3.125 % in both the hydrides. This insertion of TMs causes a variation in the cell volumes of β‐ and γ‐MgH₂. The majority of the TM dopants decrease the lattice constants, with Ni resulting in the largest reduction. From the formation‐energy calculations, it is predicted that except for Cu and Ni, the mixing of all the selected TM dopants with the MgH₂ phases is exothermic. The selected TMs also influence the stability of both β‐ and γ‐MgH₂ and cause destabilization by weakening the Mg?H bonds. Our results show that doping with certain TMs can facilitate desorption of hydrogen from β‐ and γ‐MgH₂ at much lower temperatures than from their pure forms. The hydrogen adsorption strengths are also studied by density‐of‐states analysis.     

Novel Nanoporous Binary Au?Ru Electrocatalysts for Glucose Oxidation

In this work, we study the fabrication, structural characterization, and electrochemical activity of titanium‐supported binary Au? Ru catalysts for glucose oxidation. The catalysts including Au₉₉Ru₁, Au₉₅Ru₅, Au₉₃Ru₇ and Au₈₈Ru₁₂ were prepared by a hydrothermal method using formaldehyde as a reduction agent. The morphologies of the prepared Au? Ru catalyst structures are characterized by porous dendritic particles with roughened surfaces with nano‐sized flakes. Electrochemical catalytic activity of the binary Au? Ru catalysts towards glucose oxidation in alkaline solutions was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. All binary Au? Ru catalysts facilitate glucose oxidation at the lower potentials and deliver higher anodic oxidation currents compared to pure Au catalyst. Among them, the binary Au₉₅Ru₅ catalyst presents the most negative onset potential of ?0.872 V (vs. Ag/AgCl, 3 M KCl) for glucose oxidation in 0.1 M NaOH solution. For the Au₉₅Ru₅ catalyst, chronoamperometric data at the potential step of ?0.65 V (vs. Ag/AgCl,3 M KCl) exhibit a well linear dependence of the anodic oxidation current density on glucose concentration in the range of 0 to 15 mM glucose.     

Enhanced Electrochemiluminescence from a Stoichiometric Ruthenium(II)–Iridium(III) Complex Soft Salt

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) and electrochemistry are reported for a heterometallic soft salt, [Ru(dtbubpy)₃][Ir(ppy)₂(CN)₂]₂ ( [Ir][Ru][Ir] ), consisting of a 2:1 ratio of complementary charged Ru and Ir complexes possessing two different emission colors. The [Ru]²⁺ and [Ir]^? moieties in the [Ir][Ru][Ir] greatly reduce the energy required to produce ECL. Though ECL intensity in the annihilation path was enhanced 18× relative to that of [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺, ECL in the co‐reactant path with tri‐n‐propylamine was enhanced a further 4×. Spooling spectroscopy gives insight into ECL mechanisms: the unique light emission at 634 nm is due to the [Ru]²⁺* excited state and no [Ir]^?* was generated in either route. Overall, the soft salt system is anticipated to be attractive and suitable for the development of efficient and low‐energy‐cost ECL detection systems.     

The application of discontinuous,countercurrent, liquid-liquid extraction to the study of the distribution of metal ions between hydrochloric acid and methyl isobutyl ketone

Summary The extraction of the elements Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Ga, As, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, La, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb and Bi from hydrochloric acid into methyl isobutyl ketone has been studied as a function of hydrochloric acid concentration. The results are presented in graphical form. The data were obtained by studying the distribution patterns of the elements after equilibration on a Craig countercurrent liquid-liquid extraction apparatus.

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Zusammenfassung Die Extraktion der Elemente Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Ga, As, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, La, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb und Bi mit Methylisobutylketon aus salzsaurer Lösung als Funktion der Säurekonzentration wurde studiert. Die Ergebnisse wurden aus den Spitzen der Verteilungskurven nach Einstellung des Gleichgewichts in einem diskontinuierlichen Gegenstrom-flüssig-flüssig-Extraktionsapparat berechnet.

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Résumé On a étudié l'extraction des éléments Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Ga, As, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, La, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb et Bi en solution chlorhydrique par la méthylisobutylcétone. On présente les résultats sous forme graphique. Les données ont été obtenues en étudiant les diagrammes de distribution des éléments après équilibrage sur un appareil Craig à extraction à contre-courant liquide-liquide.

     

Der chemische Transport von Cu,Ag, Au,Ru, Rh,Pd, Os,Ir, Pt unter Mitwirkung von Gaskomplexen. Al2Cl6, Fe2Cl6 oder Al2J6 als Komplexbildner

The Chemical Transport of Cu, Ag, Au, Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt in the Presence of Al₂Cl₆, Fe₂Cl₆ or Al₂I₆, Causing Complex Formation Chemical transport experiments show, that the title elements (with exception of Os) in the presence of halide forming agents (HCl, Cl₂ or I₂ resp.) and of complex forming agents (Al₂Cl₆, Fe₂Cl₆ or Al₂I₆ resp.) give gaseous complex compounds with a remarkable stability. This leads to novel possibilities for the chemical transport of the elements and their compounds. The effect of complex formation can be predicted on the basis of qualitative thermodynamic considerations. The corrosion of the wall of the quartz ampoule at temperatures above 600°C by Al₂Cl₆/AlCl₃ is avoidable by the usage of Fe₂Cl₆/FeCl₃ instead of Al₂Cl₆/AlCl₃. Experiments in the system Pd/I₂, Al₂I₆ lead to the formation of crystals of Pd₂Al.     

Ternäre Komplexboride in den Dreistoffen: {Mo,W}−{Ru,Os}−B und W−Ir−B

Zusammenfassung Die ternären Phasen {Mo, Ru}B und {W, Ru}B kristallisieren im Feb-Typ, {Mo, Os}B₂, {W, Os}B₂ und {W, Ir}B₂ im ReB₂-Typ.

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Ternary complex borides in the systems: {Mo, W}–{Ru, Os}–B and W–Ir–B

The ternary compounds {Mo, Ru}B and {W, Ru}B crystallize with the FeB-type structure; {Mo, Os}B₂, {W, Os}B₂ and {W, Ir}B₂ were found to be isotypic with ReB₂. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A3615139 00016

     

Ir Nanoparticles Anchored on Metal-Organic Frameworks for Efficient Overall Water Splitting under pH-Universal Conditions

The construction of high-activity and low-cost electrocatalysts is critical for efficient hydrogen production by water electrolysis. Herein, we developed an advanced electrocatalyst by anchoring well-dispersed Ir nanoparticles on nickel metal-organic framework (MOF) Ni-NDC (NDC: 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic) nanosheets. Benefiting from the strong synergy between Ir and MOF through interfacial Ni−O−Ir bonds, the synthesized Ir@Ni-NDC showed exceptional electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and overall water splitting in a wide pH range, superior to commercial benchmarks and most reported electrocatalysts. Theoretical calculations revealed that the charge redistribution of Ni−O−Ir bridge induced the optimization of H₂O, OH* and H* adsorption, thus leading to the accelerated electrochemical kinetics for HER and OER. This work provides a new clue to exploit bifunctional electrocatalysts for pH-universal overall water splitting.     

Enhancing hydrogen evolution reaction performance of transition metal doped two-dimensional electride Ca2N

Two-dimensional electride Ca₂N has strong electron transfer ability and low work function, which is a potential candidate for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst. In this work, based on density functional theory calculations, we adopt two strategies to improve the HER catalytic activity of Ca₂N monolayer: introducing Ca or N vacancy and doping transition metal atoms (TM, refers to Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Hf, Ta and W). Interestingly, the Gibbs free energy ΔG_H1 of Ca₂N monolayer after introducing N vacancy is reduced to -0.146 eV, showing good HER catalytic activity. It is highlighted that, the HER catalytic activity of Ca₂N monolayer can be further enhanced with TM doping, the Gibbs free energy ΔG_H1 of single Mo and double Mn doped Ca₂N are predicted to be 0.119 and 0.139 eV, respectively. The present results will provide good theoretical guidance for the HER catalysis applications of two-dimensional electride Ca₂N monolayer.