Nickel (II) tetrapyridyl complexes as electrocatalysts and precatalysts for water oxidation

Two nickel complexes, [Ni(tpen)](ClO₄)₂.0.5CH₃COCH₃ ( 1 ) and [Ni(tpbn)](ClO₄)₂ ( 2 ), of tetrapyridyl ligands N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-pyridyl-methyl)-1,2-ethanediamine (tpen) and N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-pyridyl-methyl)-1,4-butanediamine (tpbn) were prepared and their catalysis for water oxidation reaction (WOR) studied. In 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) of pH 8.0, complex 1 is a homogeneous molecular catalyst with an overpotential of ~440 mV and a Faradaic efficiency of 89%. At pH ≥ 9.0, complex 1 degraded gradually during the catalytic process and formed NiO_x composite (nickel oxide with general formula Ni_xO_yH_z) active for WOR. In contrast, complex 2 deteriorated under measured conditions (pH 8.0–12.0) and formed NiO_x composite active for WOR. The NiO_x composite derived from 1 in 0.1 M PBS at pH 11.0 showed an activity with an overpotential of ~500 mV, a Tafel slope of ~90 mV/decade and a Faradaic efficiency of 97%. Mechanisms were proposed for water oxidation catalyzed by 1 and 2 . This work revealed that the catalytic activity of the nickel complexes was related to the flexibility of the tetrapyridyl ligands and the adaptability of the coordination sphere of the nickel(II) center.     

Facile synthesis of ordered mesoporous molybdenum carbide electrocatalysts for high-performance hydrogen evolution reaction

In this study, a simple method was designed to prepare ordered mesoporous carbons embedded with molybdenum without any extreme conditions. We prepared three different ordered molybdenum carbide materials with mesoporous structures to explore the influence of the structure of molybdenum-based materials on the HER catalytic efficiency. The ordered mesoporous molybdenum carbide catalysts (CMK-3-MoCx, fCMK-3-MoCx, CMK-8-MoCx) were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, nitrogen adsorption-desorption and XPS. The HER is catalyzed efficiently on the three electrocatalysts, fCMK-3-MoCx shows the best HER electro-catalytic performance with a small onset potential of −0.06 V vs. RHE, a low tafel slope of 66 mV dec⁻¹ and a small over-potential value of 89 mV at 10 mA cm⁻². This excellent performance on HER is due to its high specific surface area and highly ordered mesoporous structure that resulted in excellent proton transport efficiency and high electron transfer rate. Our results provide a new research direction for the application of flat ordered mesoporous structures in catalysis.     

电化学合成纳米材料和小分子材料在电解制氢领域的应用

氢气是一种清洁、高效、可再生的新型能源,并且是未来碳中和能源供应中最具潜力的化石燃料替代品。因此,可持续氢能源制造具有极大的吸引力与迫切的需求,尤其是通过清洁、环保、零排放的电解水方法。然而,目前的电解水反应受到其缓慢的动力学以及低成本/能源效率的制约。在这些方面,电化学合成通过制造先进的电催化剂和提供更高效/增值的共电解替代品,为提高水电解的效率和效益提供了广阔的前景。它是一种环保、简单的通过电解或其他电化学操作,对从分子到纳米尺度的材料进行制造的方法。本文首先介绍了电化学合成的基本概念、设计方法以及常用方法。然后,总结了电化学合成技术在电解水领域的应用及进展。我们专注于电化学合成的纳米结构电催化剂以实现更高效的电解水制氢,以及小分子的电化学氧化以取代电解水制氢中的析氧共反应,实现更高效、 增值的共电解制氢。我们系统地讨论了电化学合成条件与产物的关系,以启发未来的探索。最后,本文讨论了电化学合成在先进电解水以及其他能量转换和储存应用方面的挑战和前景。     

Highly Active Electrocatalyst Derived from ZIF-8 Decorated with Iron(III) and Cobalt(III) Porphyrin Toward Efficient Oxygen Reduction in Both Alkaline and Acidic Media

Zeolite imidazole frameworks 8(ZIF-8) and modified ones after pyrolysis are highly promising toward oxygen reduction reaction(ORR). Especially, the compositional modification of ZIF-8 is crucial to the enhancement of ORR performance, yet limited to the substitution of skeletal Zn(II) with other cations or simple physical adsorption of cations. Herein, we report the decoration of ZIF-8 with ORR active hemin(FeP) and Co(III) protoporphyrin(CoP) via the coordination between the peripheral carboxylic group of FeP and CoP with skeletal Zn(II). This allows well control over the quantity of loaded FeP and CoP, critical to the synthesis of advanced electrocatalysts. Subsequent pyrolysis of FeP and CoP co-decorated ZIF-8 leads to highly active ORR electrocatalysts with a half-wave potential(E_1/2) of 0. 913 V(vs. RHE) in 0.1 mol/L KOH aq. and an E_1/2 of 0.803 V(vs. RHE) in 0.1 mol/L HClO₄ aq. Moreover, our electrocatalyst shows much more improved and comparable durability in alkaline and acidic media, respectively, during 3000 cycles of cyclic voltammetry(CV) scanning relative to commercial Pt/C.     

Phase-Selective Syntheses of Cobalt Telluride Nanofleeces for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Catalysts

Cobalt-based nanomaterials have been intensively explored as promising noble-metal-free oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. Herein, we report phase-selective syntheses of novel hierarchical CoTe₂ and CoTe nanofleeces for efficient OER catalysts. The CoTe₂ nanofleeces exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity and stablity for OER in alkaline media. The CoTe₂ catalyst exhibited superior OER activity compared to the CoTe catalyst, which is comparable to the state-of-the-art RuO₂ catalyst. Density functional theory calculations showed that the binding strength and lateral interaction of the reaction intermediates on CoTe₂ and CoTe are essential for determining the overpotential required under different conditions. This study provides valuable insights for the rational design of noble-metal-free OER catalysts with high performance and low cost by use of Co-based chalcogenides.     

Monolayer 1T and 1T′ MoSO as Promising Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution based on First Principle Calculations

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) has been regarded as one of the most promising candidates for replacing Pt group noble metals as an efficient electrocatalyst to enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in consideration of its relatively high earth abundance. Recent studies show that the catalytic efficiency of MoS₂ for HER can be promoted by the presence of 1T-phase MoS₂. It is hard to precisely control the formation of 1T-MoS₂, however, due to its metastability relative to 2H-MoS₂. Elevating the stability of 1T phase allotrope is therefore of great importance and could be realized by replacing divalent S with monovalent elements or groups according to crystal field theory, which has been demonstrated through our first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculation results. Differential Gibbs free energy analysis for hydrogen adsorption (ΔG_H*) suggest that 1T and 1T′ MoSO (O doped MoS₂) might be taken as potential candidate catalysts for HER process with better performance than 1T and 1T′ MoS₂. We also propose a probable approach to synthesize 1T and 1T′ MoSO under oxidation circumstance environment of graphene oxide.     

Approaches to achieve surface sensitivity in the in situ XAS of electrocatalysts

In situ and operando techniques providing information regarding adsorbate bonding and atomic arrangements on the electrode surface along with pure electrochemical measurements are needed to more fully understand the detailed mechanism of electrocatalytic reactions on high surface areas/nanoparticle electrocatalysts. X-ray adsorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a powerful tool to interrogate the electronic structure and local coordination environment of such electrocatalysts under working conditions, but it should be acknowledged that standard XAS methods are not intrinsically surface sensitive. This review will present recent in situ XAS studies on single-atom, metal, and metal oxide electrocatalysts, highlighting the approaches taken to achieve surface sensitivity by careful designing of the sample under investigation.     

过渡金属电催化剂在硅基光阳极分解水产氧中的作用

光电化学分解水可将太阳能转换为绿色的氢能,为目前的能源危机和环境问题提供了一种理想的解决方案.在分解水反应中,涉及四空穴过程的产氧半反应是制约性能的关键步骤,往往需要在半导体表面沉积电催化剂以加速产氧反应动力学.因此,全面理解电催化剂在光电化学分解水体系中的作用至关重要.在目前的产氧电催化剂中,过渡金属羟基氧化物电催化剂(MOOH,M=Fe,Co,Ni)因其环保、廉价、高效以及稳定的特性,已被广泛用于半导体光阳极分解水器件中.而且,MOOH可用简单的电沉积方法沉积在光电极表面,易于大面积制备.然而,电沉积法制备的MOOH具有复杂的结构,对其作用机制的全面理解更加困难.因此,本文以电沉积MOOH修饰的硅基光阳极(n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/Fe/FeOx/MOOH)作为模型,研究了不同电催化剂对硅光阳极光电化学产氧性能的影响.实验发现电催化剂的界面优化在电催化剂修饰的光电极中发挥着重要作用,这是因为优化的界面可以提升界面电荷传输,提供更多的催化反应活性位点以及更高的本征催化活性,从而更有利于光解水性能的提升.该项研究揭示了电催化剂在光解水器件中的作用,并为今后高效光解水器件的设计提供了一定指导.首先在多晶n⁺p-Si基底上热蒸镀了一层30 nm的金属Fe膜,并通过电化学活化将Fe膜表面转换为FeOx得到Fe/FeOx(记作aFe)界面层,然后利用电沉积方法制备MOOH表面修饰层,最终得到n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:MOOH光阳极.X射线光电子能谱、拉曼光谱以及扫描电子显微镜表面元素成像的表征结果均证实电极表面由于界面层金属Fe元素的掺杂而形成了Fe1-xNixOOH.在模拟太阳光下用于光解水产氧时,n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:NiOOH电极的起始电位为~1.01 VRHE(相对于可逆氢电极的电势),在1.23 VRHE下的光电流为38.82 mA cm^-2,显著优于n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe、n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:FeOOH以及n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:CoOOH三个对比样品,且其稳定性达到75 h.另外,我们发现n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:MOOH电极的光电化学产氧性能均显著高于n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe电极,且p++-Si/SiO_x/aFe:MOOH的电催化产氧性能也高于p++-Si/SiO_x/MOOH,不仅证明了aFe界面层对Si与MOOH层之间的界面接触作用的有效调控,而且表明双电催化剂体系(aFe:MOOH)的电催化产氧活性高于单电催化剂(MOOH).热力学分析表明,n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:MOOH光阳极的光电压大小与其光解水产氧性能并不一致,从而排除了热力学因素对性能的关键影响.进一步从塔菲尔斜率、电化学活性表面积和电化学阻抗谱对各电极的动力学进行了分析,证明了动力学因素在上述光阳极产氧性能中的主导作用.同时发现,由于aFe:NiOOH双电催化剂具有更高的本征电催化产氧性能,提供了更多的表面活性位点以及更有效地促进了光生载流子的传输,对动力学的提升效果更显著,从而使n⁺p-Si/SiO_x/aFe:NiOOH光阳极表现出最高的光解水产氧性能.     

锌活化Fe/Co/N掺杂的生物质碳基高效氧还原催化剂

为了推动清洁能源-燃料电池的广泛应用, 迫切需要研发成本低、 原料来源广泛的过渡金属基高效氧还原反应(ORR)催化材料, 来替代目前使用的贵金属铂基催化材料. 本文以铁和钴等非贵金属离子作为催化材料的主要活性位点, 通过金属-羧基/羟基螯合键原位预锚定在具有三维(3D)孔道结构、 富含羧基和羟基以及极易在水溶液中形成凝胶网络的海洋生物质材料海藻酸钠上, 经冷冻干燥得到气凝胶; 然后通过高温碳化, 得到活性位点均匀分布在具有多级孔结构的碳骨架中的高活性、 高稳定的Co/Zn/Fe/N@bio-C-2氧还原催化剂材料, 该催化剂包含2种不同的铁基活性材料(Fe₂O₃和Fe)以及2种不同的钴基活性材料(CoO和Co).利用硝酸锌作为活化剂来改善催化材料的孔道结构, 使制备碳材料的总面积从149.3 m²/g增加到325.3 m²/g. 通过一系列对比实验发现, Fe/Co双活性位点与合适比表面积的协同作用使得Co/Zn/Fe/N@bio-C-2获得了最佳的ORR催化活性.其在0.1 mol/L KOH溶液中起始电位达到0.99 V, 半波电位可达0.87 V.     

精确可控串联策略触发高效的氧还原活性

探索高效、经济的非金属氧还原(ORR)电催化剂已成为电化学能源体系的关键.科学界最具挑战性的目标之一是通过合理地验证和精确地调节活性位点来设计结构明确、性能优异的催化剂材料.本文提出一种精确和可控的串联协同作用的活性位点策略,以提高MFCOFs的ORR催化活性.以亚胺-N、噻吩-S和三嗪-N等作为结构单元,通过精确的串联策略合成了三种MFCOFs,分别为亚胺-N构建的TFPB-TAPB-COF、亚胺-N和噻吩-S构建的BTT-TAPB-COF以及亚胺-N、噻吩-S和三嗪-N三种活性中心构建的BTT-TAT-COF.将三种MFCOFs置于超临界二氧化碳中活化处理后,采用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪、X射线衍射、交叉极化结合魔角旋转技术¹³C核磁共振法和热重分析法、氮气吸脱附曲线等表征手段对其进行了测试,并在含有0.1 M KOH的电解液中测试其ORR催化活性.结果表明,与BTT-TAPB-COF相比,BTT-TAT-COF展现出更优异的ORR催化性能;而BTT-TAPB-COF的催化性能优于TFPB-TAPB-COF.具体表现为,BTT-TAT-COF的半波电位(0.77 V)和起始电位(0.87 V)均高于BTT-TAPB-COF(0.71 V,0.80 V)和TFPB-TAPB-COF(0.65,0.73 V).此外,BTT-TAT-COF表现出较低的塔菲尔斜率和接近于4电子的ORR过程,说明其具有较高的反应速率.DFT计算结果表明,在费米能级附近,BTT-TAPB-COF比TFPB-TAPB-COF具有更窄的带隙,而BTT-TAT-COF具有最窄的带隙.因此,与TFPB-TAPB-COF和BTT-TAPB-COF相比,BTT-TAT-COF可以更有效地激发电子转移,增强ORR活性.此外,利用三种结构的吉布斯自由能图分析了ORR的过电位.结果表明,当亚胺-N、噻吩-S和三嗪-N结构被引入骨架后,相同位点的过电势降低.由此可见,亚胺-N、噻吩-S和三嗪-N作为催化活性位点诱导了正的ORR过程.此外,BTT-TAT-COF中部分碳原子(BTT-TAT-5,9,10)的过电势均低于BTT-TAPB-COF和TFPB-TAPB-COF中所有位点的过电势,表明多活性位点发挥了协同催化的作用.本文证明了精确串联协同催化的多活性位点策略提高ORR性能的可行性,并为构建高效的COF基非金属ORR催化剂提供新的见解.