Pd/C催化剂用于CO2电化学还原生成CO:Pd载量的影响

CO₂电化学还原反应可以将CO₂转化为燃料并同时实现再生能源的有效存储. 目前纳米结构的多相催化剂已经广泛应用于此反应,其中碳负载钯纳米粒子（Pd/C）表现出优异的CO₂电化学还原性能. 本工作研究了钯载量对于Pd/C催化剂结构以及其催化CO₂还原生成CO反应活性和选择性的影响. 不同载量的Pd/C催化剂通过液相还原方法制备,钯纳米粒子均匀地分散在碳载体上,载量并没有明显改变对纳米粒子的粒径. 在优选的电解质（0.1 mol·L^-1 KHCO₃）中,CO法拉第效率与载量呈现火山型曲线关系,-0.89 V时载量为20wt%的Pd/C催化剂达到最高的CO法拉第效率(91.2%). 生成CO的几何电流密度随着钯载量的增加而增加,但CO转换频率具有相反的趋势,载量为2.5wt%的Pd/C催化剂具有最高的转换频率. 这种载量对CO₂电化学还原反应活性和选择性的影响主要由活性位的数量、反应动力学、中间物种的稳定性以及反应物、中间物种和产物的传质过程等共同决定.     

Cu纳米针上电场促进C-C耦合增强CO2电还原生成C2产物

电催化CO₂减排技术利用电能将过量的CO₂转化为有附加值的化学品,是解决能源危机、实现碳中和的有效途径之一.电催化CO₂还原反应(CO₂RR)中的多碳产物(C₂),如乙烯和乙醇,因其比C1产物具有更高的能量密度和更广泛的应用而受到较大关注.目前为止,Cu基催化剂被认为是获得C₂产物的独特材料.研究者在提高Cu基催化剂C₂产物的活性和选择性方面做了大量的工作,如催化剂形貌工程、活性位点设计和中间吸附性能调控等.许多理论和实验研究已经证明,Cu基催化剂上的C-C偶联过程是C₂产物生成的速率决定步骤.优化C-C偶联过程的能垒是提高C₂产物活性和选择性的重要而直接的策略.CO₂RR在Cu上是由CO₂还原吸附CO(*CO)并二聚生成C₂产物引起的.C-C偶联过程与*CO的吸附性能密切相关.众所周知,CO是一种典型的极性分子,因此其在催化剂表面的吸附性能可能会受到活性位点周围的局部电场的影响.构建合适的局部电场是调节CO吸附性能和C-C偶联过程的潜在手段之一.前期工作(Nature,2016,537,382-386)证明了高曲率金纳米针可以在尖端产生高的局部电场.高局域电场诱导K+聚集,使活性位点周围CO₂浓度升高,大大促进了Au纳米针上的CO生成.基于Au纳米针的局域电场促进了CO₂RR的CO生成.本文利用Cu纳米针促进并优化C-C偶联反应来提高C₂产物活性和选择性.结果表明,局部电场可以促进C-C偶联过程,进而增强CO₂电还原生成C₂产物.有限元模拟结果表明,高曲率铜纳米针处存在较强的局部电场;密度泛函理论计算结果表明,强电场能促进C-C耦合过程.在此基础上,制备了一系列不同曲率的Cu催化剂,其中,Cu纳米针(CuNNs)的曲率最高,Cu纳米棒(CuNRs)和Cu纳米颗粒(CuNPs)曲率次之.实验测得CuNNs上吸附的K+浓度最高,证明了纳米针上的局部电场最强.同时,CO吸附传感器测试表明,CuNNs对CO的吸附能力最强,原位傅里叶变换红外光谱显示,CuNNs的*COCO和*CO信号最强.由此可见,高曲率铜纳米针可以诱导高局部电场,从而促进C-C耦合过程.催化性能测试结果表明,在低电位(-0.6 V vs.RHE)下,Cu NNs对CO₂RR的生成C₂产物的法拉第效率值为44%,约为Cu NPs的2.2倍.综上,本文为CO₂RR过程中提高多碳产物提供了新的思路.     

具有特殊结构和电子性质的PdAu/Al2O3催化剂上蒽醌加氢反应性能

通过改变Pd和Au的负载顺序合成了一系列具有不同结构和电子性质的PdAu双金属催化剂, 并用于蒽醌加氢反应. 其中通过先负载Au后负载Pd的顺序制得的Pd/Au/Al₂O₃催化剂, 其加氢效率可高达14.27 g·L^-1.X射线衍射、透射电子显微镜、H₂程序升温还原和X射线光电子能谱等分析表征结果显示, Pd/Au/Al₂O₃催化剂中分散在Au颗粒表面的Pd纳米颗粒具有独特的爆米花结构, 其表面零价态的单质Pd含量最多, 而这种表面零价态的单质Pd是蒽醌加氢反应中的关键活性组分. 此外, Au的加入可有效抑制副反应的发生, 减少降解产物的生成, 从而大大提高了催化选择性.     

MgO和Au纳米颗粒共修饰g-C3N4光催化剂增强CO2-H2O光催化反应过程

光催化CO₂还原制备太阳燃料被广泛关注并逐渐形成研究热点,该过程利用可再生清洁能源太阳能,在低温低压的温和条件下驱动CO₂还原制备CO、CH₄、CH3OH等燃料气体或者高附加值的碳氢化合物.半导体光催化剂能够将清洁的太阳能有效地转化为化学能,其中,g-C₃N₄由于其成本低、毒性低、稳定性高和带隙窄等优点,被广泛应用于光催化领域.然而,纯g-C₃N₄具有光利用效率低和光生电子-空穴复合率高的缺点,导致光催化活性相对较低.因此,需要对g-C₃N₄进行修饰改性来提高其光催化性能.一方面,MgO具有强大的CO₂吸附能力,可用于修饰半导体以提高光催化还原CO₂的反应活性.另一方面,助催化剂尤其是贵金属,不仅能够捕获电子以提高光生电子-空穴对的分离效率,而且还能提供反应的活性位点.本文通过沉淀和煅烧法制备了不同复合量的MgO-g-C₃N₄催化剂,同时负载贵金属Au作为助催化剂,用于光催化CO₂和H2O反应,考察MgO含量和不同贵金属助催化剂对光催化活性的影响.发现Au和3%MgO共改性的g-C₃N₄光催化剂上表现出最佳的光催化性能,3 h后CO,CH₄,CH3OH和CH3CHO的产量分别高达423.9、83.2、47.2和130.4μmol/g.本文分别研究了MgO和贵金属Au作为助催化剂对光催化行为的影响.XPS结果表明,Au/MgO-g-C₃N₄纳米片中形成了Mg–N键;UV-vis漫反射光谱表明Au/MgO-g-C₃N₄复合催化剂能够大大地增强紫外和可见光的吸收,且Au纳米颗粒具有表示等离子体共振(SPR)效应;PL光谱、TRPL光谱和光电化学测试都显示了MgO和Au的加入可以有效地提高光生电荷载流子的分离效率,这是由于Mg–N键的存在以及Au纳米颗粒对电子的捕获作用.CO₂吸附曲线证明了MgO的存在能够增强对CO₂的吸附;CO₂-TPD测试则表明CO₂的有效吸附主要发生在MgO和Au纳米颗粒的界面处,而该界面正是光生电子和活化吸附后的CO₂反应的活性位点.值得注意的是,在Au/3%MgO-g-C₃N₄三元催化剂上CO的产量是纯g-C₃N₄的29倍.实验和表征结果均表明,MgO和Au的共修饰显著提高了纯g-C₃N₄的光催化活性,这是由于三元光催化剂各组分之间的协同作用所致.助催化剂MgO可以激活CO₂(吸附在MgO和Au颗粒之间的界面),并且MgO-g-C₃N₄纳米片中形成的Mg-N键在电荷转移中起着重要作用.同时,Au颗粒修饰的MgO-g-C₃N₄可以通过SPR效应增加可见光的吸收,并进一步降低H2O对CO₂的光还原活化能;且Au纳米颗粒能够捕获电子,从而促进光生载流子的分离.本研究通过MgO和Au纳米颗粒共修饰的方法改性传统的光催化剂,具有光催化还原CO₂的应用前景.     

双原子位点M-N-C电催化剂在CO2还原反应中活性位点的最佳分布

双原子位点M-N-C催化剂是催化CO₂还原反应(CO₂RR)性能最佳的催化剂之一. 然而, 目前的研究主要集中于M-N-C活性中心原子类型的调控, 低估了活性位点的配位模式及分布对其催化性能的影响. 本文选取典型的双原子位点M-N-C催化剂(NiFe-N-C)为研究对象, 采用密度泛函理论方法探究了9种活性位点具有不同配位环境的NiFe-N-C催化剂电催化CO₂RR的反应机理. 结果表明, 随着金属原子配位数、 双原子位点间距离的增加, M-N-C催化剂的稳定性、 催化CO₂还原至CO的活性及抑制氢析出反应的选择性均呈现先升高后下降的趋势. 其中, 金属原子四配位且对称分布的NiFe-N-C-model 3催化剂, 因其双原子位点的强相互作用表现出最优的催化性能.     

贫燃/富燃循环气氛下原位活化Pd负载钙钛矿催化剂促进NOx还原消除

稀燃发动机通过提高空燃比来改善燃油经济性,减少CO2排放.但由于空燃比较高,稀燃发动机尾气中的NO_x无法通过传统的三效催化技术有效消除.为了解决这一问题,适用于稀燃条件的NO_x储存还原(NSR)技术得到了开发和应用.传统的NSR催化剂以贵金属Pt作为其氧化还原活性中心.Pt基催化剂具有较高的NO_x消除活性,然而热稳定性差,高温下易团聚失活.据报道,Pd具有比Pt更好的热稳定性和抗硫性,且能够在更低的温度下活化还原剂,促进NO_x还原.但De-NO_x反应中的活性Pd物种至今仍无定论,这对设计高效的Pd基NSR催化剂提出了挑战.本文设计制备了具有高活性的Pd负载型钙钛矿催化剂(Pd-La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃).其中钙钛矿组分的加入提高了Pd基催化剂的NO氧化能力和热稳定性,并提供了可用于NO_x储存的碱性位点.通过调节金属-载体相互作用,使Pd催化剂在NSR反应气氛下发生了自活化现象,活化后催化剂的NO_x消除活性由56.1%提高到90.1%,同时副产物N2O的选择性降低.XRD、XAFS和XPS等表征结果显示,在反应气氛下催化剂中的Pd²⁺被部分还原为高活性的Pd0物种.相较于Pd²⁺,Pd0表现出更强的活化C3H6的性能,从而提高了催化剂在富燃阶段的NO_x还原效率.结合XPS、CO化学吸附和动力学的实验结果,计算得出Pd0位点的NO_x还原速率是Pd²⁺位点的8倍,从实验现象和动力学计算两个角度分别证明Pd0物种具有更优异的NO_x还原活性.然而,Pd0物种的生成需要适当强度的金属-载体相互作用.通过与传统的Pd/BaO/Al₂O₃催化剂进行对比研究,发现金属-载体相互作用过强时,在富燃阶段Pd2+物种难以被还原,且还原得到的Pd0物种并不稳定,会在随后的贫燃阶段被快速重新氧化为Pd²⁺.强相互作用虽然可以降低Pd物种粒径,提高Pd的分散度,但由于无法产生高活性的Pd0物种,催化剂的NO_x消除性能显著降低.此外,相较于传统的Pd/BaO/Al₂O₃和Pt/BaO/Al₂O₃催化剂,Pd负载型钙钛矿催化剂具有更为优异的NO氧化能力,且储存位碱性适中,因而表现出更强的抗H₂O、CO₂和SO₂的性能,具有良好的应用前景.本文的结果说明了金属-载体相互作用对催化剂活性的显著影响,同时也为理解和设计应用于动态氧化/还原气氛的金属催化剂提供了新的思路.     

Pd基多相催化剂上CO2加氢反应的研究进展

随着二氧化碳(CO₂)排放量的不断增加, 全球变暖和气候变化的加剧对人类的生存环境产生了巨大的影响. CO₂作为廉价、 可再生的碳氧资源, 将其转化为高附加值化学品是绿色化学及能源领域的重要研究课题之一, 受到广泛关注. Pd基催化剂由于具有优异的加氢能力以及良好的抗烧结、 抗毒化性能, 作为CO₂催化转化最有前途的催化剂被广泛应用和研究. 本文主要对Pd基催化剂上CO₂加氢制备HCOOH, CO, CH₄和甲醇等小分子能源化合物的研究进展进行综合评述, 重点关注Pd基催化剂上CO₂分子的吸附/活化位点、 催化剂的金属-载体强相互作用及表界面组成等对催化剂活性和选择性的影响以及催化反应机理.     

团簇Au/CeO2的制备及其催化CO氧化反应构效关系的研究

负载型Au催化剂因其在诸多反应过程中的高催化活性而备受研究者关注.然而针对负载型催化剂中Au物种结构的有效调控,以及催化过程中真实构-效关系的探索一直充满了挑战.用CeO₂为Au物种担载基底,通过简单煅烧处理引起的CeO₂结构变化,进而实现Au/CeO₂之间界面作用力的调控.此研究发现Au纳米颗粒中Au⁰物种具备更为高效的催化室温CO氧化活性,结合多种原位表征分析,其室温条件下催化转化效率更依赖于CO吸附能力.而相比于单原子Au₁和纳米Au颗粒,所制备的团簇Au/CeO₂催化剂在较高温度(>50℃)展现出优异的催化CO氧化反应性能.随着温度升高,催化剂表界面O参与的MvK反应路径更易发生,因此具有更多表界面活性O物种和Au^δ+位点的团簇Au/CeO₂催化剂展现出最为优异的催化CO氧化性能.这些发现为高效负载型Au催化剂的制备提供了新思路并深化了对Au/CeO₂催化作用机制的理解.     

构建Cu台阶位促进电催化CO2还原制醇类化学品的研究(英文)

电催化CO₂制备高附加值的化学品是解决当前碳排放问题的可行技术路线之一.其中,合成醇类化合物因具有广泛用途和高价值而备受关注.在电催化CO₂还原合成多碳醇反应中,关键中间体*CH₂CHO容易发生热力学有利的脱氧反应而生成C2H4,降低了醇类产物的选择性.由于电催化CO₂还原是一个表面结构敏感的反应,因此可以通过设计Cu基催化剂的特定表面结构,实现对反应路径的有效调节,从而提升醇类产物的选择性.本课题组前期通过密度泛函理论(DFT)计算和主成分分析法等对Cu基催化剂的构效关系进行解析,说明配位不饱和的台阶位点有望高效地促进醇类产物的生成.本文进一步从实验角度,证明了配位不饱和的台阶位点是生成醇类产物的活性位点.本文采用CO分子作为还原剂制备了CuO衍生的金属Cu催化剂(COD-Cu),利用CO分子对Cu表面的重构作用,获得了具有丰富台阶位点的Cu催化剂.而通过H₂还原制备的金属Cu催化剂(HOD-Cu)对照样表面则多为平面位点.X射线衍射和原位拉曼光谱结果表明, CuO前驱体经过...     

沉积沉淀法中制备条件对负载型纳米金催化剂性能的影响

CO的高效快速去除以及实现低(常)温催化氧化是现今研究的重点，而以尿素为沉淀剂，采用沉积沉淀法制备得到的低(常)温催化氧化CO负载型纳米金催化剂具有纳米金颗粒粒径更小、均匀分布于载体上的特点．本文对比了不同的搅拌方式、不同氧化铁载体的浸渍次数以及3种纳米金负载量制备条件下获得的Au/FeO_x/Al₂O₃催化剂的物化性质及催化氧化CO活性．结果表明用恒温水浴摇床振荡得到的负载型纳米金催化剂具有更好、更稳定的催化效果；其中，二次浸渍、摇床振荡、负载量为2%的制备条件下，纳米金催化剂具有最强的低温CO催化氧化活性．最后，本文分析了Al₂O₃,FeO_x/Al₂O₃和Au/FeO_x/Al₂O₃在不同温度下的CO催化氧化机理，认为CO催化氧化过程除了有CO₂产生，还存在副产物碳酸盐类物种．     

Atomic Layer Deposition Overcoating: Tuning Catalyst Selectivity for Biomass Conversion

The terraces, edges, and facets of nanoparticles are all active sites for heterogeneous catalysis. These different active sites may cause the formation of various products during the catalytic reaction. Here we report that the step sites of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) can be covered precisely by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method, whereas the terrace sites remain as active component for the hydrogenation of furfural. Increasing the thickness of the ALD‐generated overcoats restricts the adsorption of furfural onto the step sites of Pd NPs and increases the selectivity to furan. Furan selectivities and furfural conversions are linearly correlated for samples with or without an overcoating, though the slopes differ. The ALD technique can tune the selectivity of furfural hydrogenation over Pd NPs and has improved our understanding of the reaction mechanism. The above conclusions are further supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.     

CO adsorption and reaction on clean and oxygen-covered Au(211) surfaces

We have used primarily temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) to investigate CO adsorption on a Au(211) stepped single-crystal surface. The Au(211) surface can be described as a step-terrace structure consisting of three-atom-wide terraces of (111) orientation and a monatomic step with a (100) orientation, or 3(111) x (100) in microfacet notation. CO was only weakly adsorbed but was more strongly bound at step sites (12 kcal mol(-1)) than at terrace sites (6.5-9 kcal mol(-1)). The sticking coefficient of CO on the Au(211) surface was also higher ( approximately 5x) during occupation of step sites compared to populating terrace sites at higher coverages. The nu(CO) stretching band energy in IRAS spectra indicated that CO was adsorbed at atop sites at all coverages and conditions. A small red shift of nu(CO) from 2126 to 2112 cm(-1) occurred with increasing CO coverage on the surface. We conclude that the presence of these particular step sites at the Au(211) surface imparts stronger CO bonding and a higher reactivity than on the flat Au(111) surface, but these changes are not remarkable compared to chemistry on other more reactive crystal planes or other stepped Au surfaces. Thus, it is unlikely that the presence or absence of this particular crystal plane alone at the surface of supported Au nanoparticles has much to do with the remarkable properties of highly active Au catalysts.     

DFT investigation of CO adsorption on Pt(211) and Pt(311) surfaces from low to high coverage

Adsorption of CO on Pt(211) and Pt(311) surfaces has been investigated by the density functional theory (DFT) method (periodic DMol3) with full geometry optimization. Adsorption energies, structures, and C-O stretching vibrational frequencies are studied by considering multiple possible adsorption sites and comparing them with the experimental data. The calculated C-O stretching frequencies agree well with the experimental ones, and precise determination of adsorption sites can be carried out. For Pt(211), CO adsorbs at the atop site on the step edge at low coverage, but CO adsorbs at the atop and bridge sites simultaneously on both the step edge and the terrace with further increasing CO coverage. The present results interpret the reflection adsorption infrared (RAIR) spectra of Brown and co-workers very well from low to high coverage. For Pt(311), CO adsorbs also at the atop site on the step edge at low coverage. The lifting of reconstruction by CO adsorption occurs also for Pt(311), whereas the energy gain for lifting the reconstruction of the Pt(311) surface is smaller than that for Pt(110). The largest difference between the stepped Pt(211)/Pt(311) and Pt(110) surfaces is the occupation on the edge sites at higher coverage. For the stepped surfaces, the bridge site begins to be occupied at higher coverage, whereas the atop site is always occupied for the Pt(110) surface.     

Studies of CO adsorption on Pt(100), Pt(410), and Pt(110) surfaces using density functional theory

Adsorption of CO on Pt(100), Pt(410), and Pt(110) surfaces has been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) method (periodic DMol(3)) with full geometry optimization and without symmetry restriction. Adsorption energies, structures, and vibrational frequencies of CO on these surfaces are studied by considering multiple possible adsorption sites and comparing them with the experimental data. The same site preference as inferred experiments is obtained for all the surfaces. For Pt(100), CO adsorbs at the bridge site at low coverage, but the atop site becomes most favorable for the c(2 x 2) structure at 1/2 monolayer. For Pt(410) (stepped surface with (100) terrace and (110) step), CO adsorbs preferentially at the atop site on the step edge at 1/4 monolayer, but CO populates also at other atop and bridge sites on the (100) terrace at 1/2 monolayer. The multiple possible adsorption sites probably correspond to the multiple states in the temperature-programmed desorption spectra for CO desorption. For Pt(110), CO adsorbs preferentially at the atop site on the edge for both the reconstructed (1 x 2) and the un-reconstructed (1 x 1) surfaces. When adjacent sites along the edge row begin to be occupied, the CO molecules tilt alternately by ca. 20 degrees from the surface normal in opposite directions for both the (1 x 2) and (1 x 1) surfaces.     

A density functional theory approach to mushroom-like platinum clusters on palladium-shell over Au core nanoparticles for high electrocatalytic activity

Recently, it was found that Pt clusters deposited on Pd shell over Au core nanoparticles (Au@Pd@Pt NPs) exhibit unusually high electrocatalytic activity for the electro-oxidation of formic acid (P. P. Fang, S. Duan, et al., Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 531-539). In an attempt to offer an explanation, we used here carbon monoxide (CO) as probed molecules, and applied density functional theory (DFT) to simulate the surface Raman spectra of CO at this core-shell-cluster NPs with a two monolayer thickness of Pd shell and various Pt cluster coverage. Our DFT results show that the calculated Pt coverage dependent spectra fit the experimental ones well only if the Pt clusters adopt a mushroom-like structure, while currently the island-like structure is the widely accepted model, which follows the Volmer-Weber growth mode. This result infers that there should be a new growth mode, i.e., the mushroom growth mode as proposed in the present work, for Au@Pd@Pt NPs. We suggest that such a mushroom-like structure may offer novel active sites, which accounts for the observed high electrocatalytic activity of Au@Pd@Pt NPs.     

Acetate coverage effect on the reactivity of vinyl acetate synthesis on Pd/Au alloy surfaces

Vinyl acetate (VA) synthesis on Pd/Au(111) and Pd/Au(100) surfaces has been systematically investigated through first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The DFT results showed that for VA synthesis, the ‘Samanos’ reaction mechanism (i.e., direct coupling of coadsorbed ethylene and acetate species and subsequent β-hydride elimination to form VA) is more favorable than the ‘Moiseev’ mechanism (i.e., ethylene first dehydrogenates to form vinyl species which then couple with the coadsorbed acetate species to form VA). More importantly, it was found the surface coverage of acetate has a significant effect on the reactivity of VA synthesis, and the activation energy of the rate-controlling step on Pd/Au(100) surface is smaller than that on Pd/Au(111) surface (0.88 vs. 0.95 eV), indicating the former is more active than the latter.     

CO oxidation on Pd(100) and Pd(111): a comparative study of reaction pathways and reactivity at low and medium coverages.

We have performed density functional theory calculations with the generalized gradient approximation to investigate CO oxidation on a close-packed transition metal surface, Pd(111), and a more open surface, Pd(100), aiming to shed light on surface structure effects on reaction pathways and reactivity, an important issue in catalysis. Reaction pathways on both surfaces at two different coverages have been studied. It is found that the reaction pathways on both surfaces possess crucial common features despite the fact that they have different surface symmetries. Having determined reaction barriers in these systems, we find that the reaction on Pd(111) is strongly coverage dependent. Surface coverages, however, have little effect on the reaction on Pd(100). Calculations also reveal that the low coverage reactions are structure sensitive while the medium coverage reactions are not. Detailed discussions on these results are given.     

Adsorption of carbon monoxide on Pd (210) and (510) surfaces

Adsorption of carbon monoxide on Pd (210) and (510) stepped surfaces has been investigated by the extended London‐Eyring‐Polyani‐Sato method constructed using a five‐parameter Morse potential. Pd (210) and (510) stepped surfaces consist of terrace with (100) structure and step with (110) character. These results show that there exist common characteristics of CO adsorption on these two surfaces. At low coverage, CO adsorbs in twofold bridge site of the (100) terrace. The critical characteristics inherit that of CO molecule adsorbed in twofold bridge site of (100) original surface. When the coverage is increased, the top site of (110) step is occupied. The critical characteristics resemble that of CO molecule adsorbed in top site of (110) original surface. A number of new sites are exposed on the boundary regions, for example, the fivefold hollow site (H) of these two surfaces. There are stable adsorption sites at high coverage. Because of the different length of the (100) terrace, the (210) and (510) stepped surfaces have some different characteristics. First, CO is tilted adsorption on bridge site of terrace of (210), but perpendicular on terrace of (510) surface. Second, the bridge site (B₁) where one Pd atom at the top of the step and the other at the bottom of the step is a stable adsorption site on (210), but the same type of site on Pd (510) surface is not. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coverage effects and the nature of the metal-sulfur bond in S/Au(111): high-resolution photoemission and density-functional studies

The bonding of sulfur to surfaces of gold is an important subject in several areas of chemistry, physics, and materials science. Synchrotron-based high-resolution photoemission and first-principles density-functional (DF) slab calculations were used to study the interaction of sulfur with a well-defined Au(111) surface and polycrystalline gold. Our experimental and theoretical results show a complex behavior for the sulfur/Au(111) interface as a function of coverage and temperature. At small sulfur coverages, the adsorption of S on fcc hollow sites of the gold substrate is energetically more favorable than adsorption on bridge or a-top sites. Under these conditions, S behaves as a weak electron acceptor but substantially reduces the density-of-states that gold exhibits near the Fermi edge. As the sulfur coverage increases, there is a weakening of the Au-S bonds (with a simultaneous reduction in the Au --> S charge transfer and a modification in the S sp hybridization) that facilitates changes in adsorption site and eventually leads to S-S bonding. At sulfur coverages above 0.4 ML, S(2) and not atomic S is the more stable species on the gold surface. Formation of S(n)(n > 2) species occurs at sulfur coverages higher than a monolayer. Very similar trends were observed for the adsorption of sulfur on polycrystalline surfaces of gold. The S atoms bonded to Au(111) display a unique mobility/reactivity not seen on surfaces of early or late transition metals.     

Identifying the active photocatalytic H2-production sites on TiO2-supported Pt nanoparticles by the in-situ infrared spectrum of CO

Identifying the active catalytic centers on catalyst surface is significant for exploring the catalytic reaction mechanism and further guiding the synthesis of high-performance catalysts.However,it remains a challange in developing the site-specific technology for the identification of the active catalytic centers.Herein,in-situ infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed CO,photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) test and theoretical simulation were used to distinguish and quantify the different surface sites and their H2-production catalytic activity on TiO_2-supported Pt nanoparticles(Pt NPs).Two different types of surface Pt sites,tip Pt(Pt_(tip)) and edge/terrace Pt_(edge/terrace),on TiO_2-supported Pt nanoparticles(Pt NPs) were identified.The photocatalytic H2-production activity of TiO_2-supported Pt NPs shows a linear functional relationship with the number of Pt_(tip) sites.However,the number of Pt_(edge/terracesites) produced little effect on the activity of TiO_2-supported Pt NPs.First-principle simulations confirmed that H2-evolution at the Pttipsites owns a lower energy barrier than that at Pt_(edge/terrace).This findings would be helpful for the fabrication of high-performance Pt catalysts.