Electrocatalysis as the Nexus for Sustainable Renewable Energy: The Gordian Knot of Activity,Stability, and Selectivity

The use of renewable energy by means of electrochemical techniques by converting H₂O, CO₂ and N₂ into chemical energy sources and raw materials, is the basis for securing a future sustainable “green” energy supply. Some weaknesses and inconsistencies in the practice of determining the electrocatalytic performance, which prevents a rational bottom‐up catalyst design, are discussed. Large discrepancies in material properties as well as in electrocatalytic activity and stability become obvious when materials are tested under the conditions of their intended use as opposed to the usual laboratory conditions. They advocate for uniform activity/stability correlations under application‐relevant conditions, and the need for a clear representation of electrocatalytic performance by contextualization in terms of functional investigation or progress towards application is emphasized.     

Dynamic Changes in the Structure,Chemical State and Catalytic Selectivity of Cu Nanocubes during CO2 Electroreduction: Size and Support Effects

In situ and operando spectroscopic and microscopic methods were used to gain insight into the correlation between the structure, chemical state, and reactivity of size‐ and shape‐controlled ligand‐free Cu nanocubes during CO₂ electroreduction (CO₂RR). Dynamic changes in the morphology and composition of Cu cubes supported on carbon were monitored under potential control through electrochemical atomic force microscopy, X‐ray absorption fine‐structure spectroscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Under reaction conditions, the roughening of the nanocube surface, disappearance of the (100) facets, formation of pores, loss of Cu and reduction of CuO_x species observed were found to lead to a suppression of the selectivity for multi‐carbon products (i.e. C₂H₄ and ethanol) versus CH₄. A comparison with Cu cubes supported on Cu foils revealed an enhanced morphological stability and persistence of Cu^I species under CO₂RR in the former samples. Both factors are held responsible for the higher C₂/C₁ product ratio observed for the Cu cubes/Cu as compared to Cu cubes/C. Our findings highlight the importance of the structure of the active nanocatalyst but also its interaction with the underlying substrate in CO₂RR selectivity.     

Solubility‐Parameter‐Guided Solvent Selection to Initiate Ostwald Ripening for Interior Space‐Tunable Structures with Architecture‐Dependent Electrochemical Performance

Despite significant advancement in preparing various hollow structures by Ostwald ripening, one common problem is the intractable uncontrollability of initiating Ostwald ripening due to the complexity of the reaction processes. Here, a new strategy on Hansen solubility parameter (HSP)‐guided solvent selection to initiate Ostwald ripening is proposed. Based on this comprehensive principle for solvent optimization, N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) was screened out, achieving accurate synthesis of interior space‐tunable MoSe₂ spherical structures (solid, core–shell, yolk‐shell and hollow spheres). The resultant MoSe₂ structures exhibit architecture‐dependent electrochemical performances towards hydrogen evolution reaction and sodium‐ion batteries. This pre‐solvent selection strategy can effectively provide researchers great possibility in efficiently synthesizing various hollow structures. This work paves a new pathway for deeply understanding Ostwald ripening.     

纳米气泡电化学研究进展

纳米气泡广泛存在于许多自然现象和工业生产过程,其自身具有独特的物理化学性质.由于涉及气体反应的纳米电催化及能源转化技术的迅速发展,有关纳米气泡的电化学研究越来越受研究者的关注.针对电极界面纳米气泡的研究不仅有助于实现对气泡行为的调控,指导催化剂电极界面的合理设计以提高电催化效率,也可以从科学上去了解纳米催化剂本征电催化机制与特性,同时还能加深对相变成核这一基本物理化学现象的理解.本文重点综述了电极界面上微纳气泡的电化学研究方法和进展,介绍了基于纳米圆盘电极和电化学池显微镜的单个纳米气泡电化学研究方法,并分析了界面纳米气泡的动态稳定性机制.我们还概括了近年来光学显微术用于电化学产生的微纳气泡的成像研究.最后我们讨论了本领域的主要挑战并展望了未来的发展趋势.     

纳米孔道单分子电化学测量仪器的稳定性研究

纳米孔道分析技术是一种基于电化学空间限域效应的单分子检测技术。测量纳米孔道产生的单分子皮安级微弱电流信号对电化学测量仪器的电流分辨、时间分辨和抗噪音能力提出了挑战。Cube纳米孔道电化学测量仪器通过设计频率补偿电路、前置电流放大器测量系统和基于现场可编程逻辑门阵列(FPGA)的高速数字处理电路,实现了便携式超灵敏电化学测量仪器对微弱电流信号的高时间分辨、高电流分辨,以及低噪音的放大、采集和快速处理。稳定性是仪器能够应用于实际单分子测量分析的重要衡量指标之一。该文通过高阻值电阻对该仪器进行稳定性测试,在截止滤波频率为5、10、100 kHz条件下,Cube纳米孔道仪器获取的电流基线的噪音均方根(RMS)值分别比商品化仪器减小了80.0%、87.5%、48.2%,证明Cube纳米孔道仪器抑制噪音能力更强,电流分辨能力更好,仪器测量稳定性更佳。进一步通过统计比较施加电压值的实际值和标准偏差,结果显示该仪器施加电压误差小,其仪器施加电压标准偏差仅为施加电压变化量(10 mV)的0.14%。同时,通过Aerolysin纳米孔道检测Poly(dA)4的实验,对比Cube仪器和商品化仪器在不同施加电压下获取的单分子信号残余电流程度,得到两者误差均小于0.01,结果具有可重复性。因此,Cube纳米孔道仪器具有稳定性好、灵敏度高、便携性强的特点,可应用于纳米孔道单分子分析。     

Dendrite‐Free Epitaxial Growth of Lithium Metal during Charging in Li–O2 Batteries

Lithium (Li) dendrite formation is one of the major hurdles limiting the development of Li‐metal batteries, including Li‐O₂ batteries. Herein, we report the first observation of the dendrite‐free epitaxial growth of a Li metal up to 10‐μm thick during charging (plating) in the LiBr‐LiNO₃ dual anion electrolyte under O₂ atmosphere. This phenomenon is due to the formation of an ultrathin and homogeneous Li₂O‐rich solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer in the preceding discharge (stripping) process, where the corrosive nature of Br^? seems to give rise to remove the original incompact passivation layer and NO₃^? oxidizes (passivates) the freshly formed Li surface to prevent further reactions with the electrolyte. Such reactions keep the SEI thin (<100 nm) and facilitates the electropolishing effect and gets ready for the epitaxial electroplating of Li in the following charge process.     

Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy of Individual Catalytic Nanoparticles

Electrochemistry at individual metal nanoparticles (NPs) can provide new insights into their electrocatalytic behavior. Herein, the electrochemical activity of single AuNPs attached to the catalytically inert carbon surface is mapped by using extremely small (≥3 nm radius) polished nanoelectrodes as tips in the scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM). The use of such small probes resulted in the spatial resolution significantly higher than in previously reported electrochemical images. The currents produced by either rapid electron transfer or the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction at a single 10 or 20 nm NP were measured and quantitatively analyzed. The developed methodology should be useful for studying the effects of nanoparticle size, geometry, and surface attachment on electrocatalytic activity in real‐world application environment.     

结合光学成像技术研究单颗粒碰撞电化学

近年来,单颗粒碰撞技术在纳米电化学领域受到广泛关注. 该技术通常控制超微电极处于某一电位,检测单个纳米颗粒随机碰撞到电极表面后产生的瞬时电流. 通过分析电流信号,可以研究单个纳米颗粒的性质. 尽管该技术可以检测单个纳米颗粒的电化学或电催化电流,但是传统的单颗粒碰撞技术缺乏空间分辨率,难以识别和表征特定的纳米颗粒. 因此,结合光学成像技术研究单颗粒碰撞电化学来补充电化学技术缺失的空间信息已成为一种趋势. 本文首先简要综述了单颗粒碰撞技术的三种检测原理,主要介绍了近年来单颗粒碰撞技术与荧光显微镜、表面等离激元共振显微镜、全息显微镜和电致化学发光相结合的研究进展,最后展望了单颗粒碰撞技术未来的发展趋势.