DFT Study of Methanol Adsorption on Defect-Free CeO2 Low-Index Surfaces

Methanol decomposition is a promising method for hydrogen production. However, the performance of current catalysts for this process is not sufficient for commercial applications. In this work, methanol adsorption on the CeO₂ low-index surfaces is studied by density functional theory (DFT). The results show that methanol always dissociates spontaneously on the (100) surface, whereas dissociation on the (110) surface is site-selective; dissociation does not occur at all on the (111) surface, where only weak physisorption is found. The results confirm that surfaces with higher energies are more catalytically active. Analysis of the surface geometries shows that the dominant factors for the dissociation of methanol are the degree of undercoordination and the charges of the surface ions. The adsorption energy of each methanol molecule decreases with increasing coverage and there is a transition threshold between dissociative and associative adsorption. The present work indicates that a strategy to design catalysts with high activity is to maximize exposure of surfaces on which the ions have a high degree of undercoordination and a strong tendency to donate/accept electrons. The results demonstrate the importance of appropriately selecting and controlling exposed facets and particle morphology for optimizing catalyst performance.     

In Situ Investigation of Methane Dry Reforming on Metal/Ceria(111) Surfaces: Metal–Support Interactions and C−H Bond Activation at Low Temperature

Studies with a series of metal/ceria(111) (metal=Co, Ni, Cu; ceria=CeO₂) surfaces indicate that metal–oxide interactions can play a very important role for the activation of methane and its reforming with CO₂ at relatively low temperatures (600–700 K). Among the systems examined, Co/CeO₂(111) exhibits the best performance and Cu/CeO₂(111) has negligible activity. Experiments using ambient pressure X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate that methane dissociates on Co/CeO₂(111) at temperatures as low as 300 K—generating CH_x and CO_x species on the catalyst surface. The results of density functional calculations show a reduction in the methane activation barrier from 1.07 eV on Co(0001) to 0.87 eV on Co²⁺/CeO₂(111), and to only 0.05 eV on Co⁰/CeO_2−x (111). At 700 K, under methane dry reforming conditions, CO₂ dissociates on the oxide surface and a catalytic cycle is established without coke deposition. A significant part of the CH_x formed on the Co⁰/CeO_2−x (111) catalyst recombines to yield ethane or ethylene.     

Interaction of Hydrogen with Ceria: Hydroxylation,Reduction, and Hydride Formation on the Surface and in the Bulk

The study reports the first attempt to address the interplay between surface and bulk in hydride formation in ceria (CeO₂) by combining experiment, using surface sensitive and bulk sensitive spectroscopic techniques on the two sample systems, i.e., CeO₂(111) thin films and CeO₂ powders, and theoretical calculations of CeO₂(111) surfaces with oxygen vacancies (O_v) at the surface and in the bulk. We show that, on a stoichiometric CeO₂(111) surface, H₂ dissociates and forms surface hydroxyls (OH). On the pre-reduced CeO_2−x samples, both films and powders, hydroxyls and hydrides (Ce−H) are formed on the surface as well as in the bulk, accompanied by the Ce³⁺ ↔ Ce⁴⁺ redox reaction. As the O_v concentration increases, hydroxyl is destabilized and hydride becomes more stable. Surface hydroxyl is more stable than bulk hydroxyl, whereas bulk hydride is more stable than surface hydride. The surface hydride formation is the kinetically favorable process at relatively low temperatures, and the resulting surface hydride may diffuse into the bulk region and be stabilized therein. At higher temperatures, surface hydroxyls can react to produce water and create additional oxygen vacancies, increasing its concentration, which controls the H₂/CeO₂ interaction. The results demonstrate a large diversity of reaction pathways, which have to be taken into account for better understanding of reactivity of ceria-based catalysts in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.     

Defect Chemistry of Singly and Doubly Doped Ceria: Correlation between Ion Transport and Energetics

Earlier studies have shown a strong correlation between the enthalpy of formation, ΔH_f,ox, and the ionic conductivity, σ_i, near room temperature in doped ceria systems, which are promising solid electrolytes for intermediate‐temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT‐SOFCs). The present work demonstrates that this correlation holds at the operating temperature of IT‐SOFCs, 600–700 °C. Solid solutions of Ce_1?xNd_xO_2?0.5x, Ce_1?xSm_xO_2?0.5x, and Ce_1?xSm_0.5xNd_0.5xO_2?0.5x are studied. The ΔH_f,ox at 702 °C is determined by considering the excess heat content between 25 and 702 °C combined with the value of ΔH_f,ox at 25 °C. Both σ_i and ΔH_f,ox show maxima at x=0.15 and 0.20 for the singly and doubly doped ceria, respectively, suggesting that the number of mobile oxygen vacancies in these solid solutions reaches a maximum near those compositions. An increase in temperature results in a shift of the maximum in both ΔH_f,ox and σ_i towards higher concentrations. This shift results from a gradual increase in dissociation of the defect associates.     

Structural and catalytic properties of lanthanide (La, Eu, Gd) doped ceria

Ce_0.9M_0.1O_2−δ mixed oxides (M=La, Eu and Gd) were synthesized by coprecipitation. Independent of the dopant cation, the obtained solids maintain the F-type crystalline structure, characteristic of CeO₂ (fluorite structure) without phase segregation. The ceria lattice expands depending on the ionic radii of the dopant cation, as indicated by X-ray diffraction studies. This effect also agrees with the observed shift of the F_2g Raman vibrational mode. The presence of the dopant cations in the ceria lattice increases the concentration of structural oxygen vacancies and the reducibility of the redox pair Ce⁴⁺/Ce³⁺. All synthesized materials show higher catalytic activity for the CO oxidation reaction than that of bare CeO₂, being Eu-doped solid the one with the best catalytic performances despite of its lower surface area.     

双模板法制备具有介孔孔壁的三维有序大孔二氧化铈及其改善的低温还原性能

以聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)为硬模板,三嵌段共聚物F127、十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)或聚乙二醇(PEG)为软模板剂(表面活性剂),柠檬酸为络合剂,硝酸铈为金属前驱体,采用双模板法成功地合成出具有介孔孔壁的三维有序大孔(3DOM)结构的立方相CeO2样品CeO2-F127,CeO2-CTAB和CeO2-PEG,...     

用于质子交换膜燃料电池抗CO的Pt-CeO2/C催化剂的制备和表征

采用一步沉淀法,制备了纳米级Pt-CeO2/C电催化剂.透射电镜和X射线衍射表征结果表明,制备的催化剂Pt颗粒均匀分散于碳载体表面,其粒径主要分布于1.5～2.5 nm.将Pt-CeO2/C催化剂制备成质子交换膜燃料电池膜电极,经循环伏安和单电池极化曲线测试发现,Pt-CeO2/C催化剂性能与Pt/C催化剂的相当.一氧...     

Challenges in the use of density functional theory to examine catalysis by M‐doped ceria surfaces

For CeO₂ or M‐doped CeO₂ catalysts, reliable energetics associated with surface reactivity requires accurate representation of oxidized and reduced metal states. Density functional theory (DFT) is used extensively for metals and metal oxides; however, for strongly correlated electron materials, conventional DFT fails to predict both qualitative and quantitative properties. This is the result of a localized electron self‐interaction error that is inherit to DFT. DFT+U has shown promise in correcting energetic errors due to the self‐interaction error, however, its transferability across processes relevant to surface catalysis remains unclear. Hybrid functionals, such as HSE06, can also be used to correct this self‐interaction error. These hybrid functionals are computationally intensive, and especially demanding for periodic surface slab models. This perspective details the challenges in representing the energetics of M‐doped ceria catalyzed processes and examines using DFT extensions to model the localized electronic properties. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Ce0.8Nd0.2O1.9-La0.95Sr0.05Ga0.9Mg0.1O3-δ固体复合电解质的结构和电性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法分别制备La_0.95Sr_0.05Ga_0.9Mg_0.1O_3-δ (LSGM)和Ce_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9 (NDC)电解质,并在NDC溶胶中加入0-15% (w,质量分数)的LSGM预烧粉体制得NDC-LSGM复合电解质,研究不同质量比复合电解质的结构和电性能. 采用X射线衍射(XRD)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(FE-SEM)和X能量色散谱仪(EDS)对样品进行结构表征,交流(AC)阻抗谱测试样品导电性能. 结果表明：NDC-LSGM复合体系主要由立方萤石结构相、钙钛矿结构相和杂质相组成;LSGM的添加可促进晶粒的生长,产生大量相界面,清除或降低SiO₂有害影响,明显提高晶界导电性;LSGM质量分数为10%的样品NL10 具有最高晶界电导率和总电导率,400 ℃时NL10 的晶界电导率σ_gb和总电导率σ_t分别为12.15×10^-4和3.49×10^-4 S·cm^-1,与NDC的σ_gb (1.41×10^-4 S·cm^-1)和σ_t (1.20×10^-4 S·cm^-1)相比分别提高了7.62和1.91倍,总电导率的提高主要归因于晶界电导率的影响.     

Effect of CeO2 preparation method and Cu loading on CuO/CeO2 catalysts for methane combustion

CeO2 was synthesized by sol-gel, hydrothermal, nitrate thermal decomposition methods, respectively, and used as support to prepare CuO/CeO2 catalysts. According to characterization and reaction results, preparation method of CeO2 had a great influence on the physicochemical properties and activities of CuO/CeO2 catalysts. CuO with high dispersion and strong interaction with CeO2 was highly active in methane combustion, while CuO particles less associated with CeO2 showed less activity. The CuO catalyst supported on CeO2 which was prepared via nitrate thermal decomposition method showed the largest area, the smallest particle size, the highest dispersion of copper species and strong support metal interactions. Therefore, it presented the highest redox ability and activity for methane combustion. Activities of the catalysts with different copper content kept increasing until 5% Cu loading and from then on kept constant. Moreover, methane conversion decreased as methane space velocities increased on CuO/CeO2 catalyst. Addition of CO2 to the feed did not produce a significant effect on the catalytic activity, but the presence of H2O provoked a remarkable decrease on the activity of CuO/CeO2 catalyst.