Tuning Nanoparticle Catalysis for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Advances in chemical syntheses have led to the formation of various kinds of nanoparticles (NPs) with more rational control of size, shape, composition, structure and catalysis. This review highlights recent efforts in the development of Pt and non‐Pt based NPs into advanced nanocatalysts for efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under fuel‐cell reaction conditions. It first outlines the shape controlled synthesis of Pt NPs and their shape‐dependent ORR. Then it summarizes the studies of alloy and core–shell NPs with controlled electronic (alloying) and strain (geometric) effects for tuning ORR catalysis. It further provides a brief overview of ORR catalytic enhancement with Pt‐based NPs supported on graphene and coated with an ionic liquid. The review finally introduces some non‐Pt NPs as a new generation of catalysts for ORR. The reported new syntheses with NP parameter‐tuning capability should pave the way for future development of highly efficient catalysts for applications in fuel cells, metal‐air batteries, and even in other important chemical reactions.     

Single-Atom Alloys for the Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Single-atom alloys (SAAs) consisting of isolated transition-metal atoms doped in the surface of coinage metal hosts exhibit unique catalytic properties, harnessing the high activity of the dopant metals with the selectivity of the coinage metal hosts. Here we use density functional theory (DFT) to study SAAs comprised of Ni, Pd, Pt, Co and Rh doped into Ag and Au hosts, as candidate electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel-cells. Our calculations reveal that the PdAu SAA exhibits a slightly lower theoretical overpotential, enhanced selectivity for 4-e⁻ ORR, and tolerance to CO-poisoning compared to Pt(111). While the number of active sites of PdAu SAA is lower than that of Pt(111), the aforementioned desirable properties could bring the overall catalytic performance thereof close to that of Pt/C, indicating that the PdAu SAA could be a viable material for electrocatalytic ORR in PEM fuel-cells.     

Axial Ligand Coordination Tuning of the Electrocatalytic Activity of Iron Porphyrin Electrografted onto Carbon Nanotubes for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is essential in many life processes and energy conversion systems. It is desirable to design transition metal molecular catalysts inspired by enzymatic oxygen activation/reduction processes as an alternative to noble-metal-Pt-based ORR electrocatalysts, especially in view point of fuel cell commercialization. We have fabricated bio-inspired molecular catalysts electrografted onto multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in which 5,10,15,20-tetra(pentafluorophenyl) iron porphyrin (iron porphyrin FeF₂₀TPP) is coordinated with covalently electrografted axial ligands varying from thiophene to imidazole on the MWCNTs’ surface. The catalysts’ electrocatalytic activity varied with the axial coordination environment (i. e., S-thiophene, N-imidazole, and O-carboxylate); the imidazole-coordinated catalyst MWCNTs-Im-FeF₂₀TPP exhibited the highest ORR activity among the prepared catalysts. When MWCNT-Im-FeF₂₀TPP was loaded onto the cathode of a zinc−air battery, an open-cell voltage (OCV) of 1.35 V and a maximum power density (P_max) of 110 mW cm⁻² were achieved; this was higher than those of MWCNTs-Thi-FeF₂₀TPP (OCV=1.30 V, P_max=100 mW cm⁻²) and MWCNTs-Ox-FeF₂₀TPP (OCV=1.28 V, P_max=86 mW cm⁻²) and comparable with a commercial Pt/C catalyst (OCV=1.45 V, P_max=120 mW cm⁻²) under similar experimental conditions. This study provides a time-saving method to prepare covalently immobilized molecular electrocatalysts on carbon-based materials with structure–performance correlation that is also applicable to the design of other electrografted catalysts for energy conversion.     

铂基燃料电池氧还原反应催化剂研究进展

质子交换膜燃料电池中,空气电极上进行的氧还原反应动力学过程迟缓,是贵金属铂催化剂的主要消耗反应,但铂储量有限、成本过高、稳定性差等缺点严重制约了质子交换膜燃料电池大规模商业化应用. 开发低载量、高催化活性、高稳定铂催化剂是降低燃料电池成本的重要途径之一. 本文以作者课题组近年工作为基础,综述了铂基催化剂的稳定性研究,以及以铂合金为代表的低铂氧还原反应催化剂的最新研究进展. 文章重点讨论了催化剂的结构设计与制备,并对未来氧还原催化剂的发展提出了展望     

多尺度炭材料担载铂作为稳定的电催化剂用于氧还原反应

炭载体的稳定性对于燃料电池电催化剂是至关重要的. 本文中采用酚醛树脂作为前驱体,二氧化硅为模板剂,制备了多介孔且石墨化程度高的炭载体（HGMC）. 相比于商品Vulcan XC-72,HGMC具有中等的比表面积和高的石墨化程度,因此在电位循环扫描过程中具有较高的化学稳定性,然而HGMC碳层堆叠的结构不利于传质. 为克服这一劣势,多壁碳纳米管（MWCNTs）作为隔离物加入至HGMC中以构建具有三维多尺度结构的载体（MSGC）. 与HGMC为载体担载Pt以及商品催化剂Pt/C-JM相比,由于炭载体的具有高稳定性以及三维多尺度结构,MSGC担载Pt后不仅使电催化剂的电化学稳定性提高,且氧还原反应过程中传质得到显著改善.     

Precise Tuning of the Charge Transfer Kinetics and Catalytic Properties of MoS2 Materials via Electrochemical Methods

MoS₂ has become particularly popular for its catalytic properties towards the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). It has been shown that the metallic 1T phase of MoS₂, obtained by chemical exfoliation after lithium intercalation, possesses enhanced catalytic activity over the semiconducting 2H phase due to the improved conductivity properties which facilitate charge‐transfer kinetics. Here we demonstrate a simple electrochemical method to precisely tune the electron‐transfer kinetics as well as the catalytic properties of both exfoliated and bulk MoS₂‐based films. A controlled reductive or oxidative electrochemical treatment can alter the surface properties of the film with consequently improved or hampered electrochemical and catalytic properties compared to the untreated film. Density functional theory calculations were used to explain the electrochemical activation of MoS₂. The electrochemical tuning of electrocatalytic properties of MoS₂ opens the doors to scalable and facile tailoring of MoS₂‐based electrochemical devices.     

三元合金氧还原电催化剂

质子交换膜燃料电池作为重要的电化学能源转换装置,在提高能量转换效率、减少环境污染等方面具有诱人的前景.然而,阴极氧还原过电位较大、活性较低、稳定性差,且铂基催化剂昂贵,使该燃料电池难以商业化.纳米结构电催化剂的发展有望解决此难题。对纳米合金电催化剂其组分和结构的设计是开发高活性、高稳定性和低成本的燃料电池电催化剂的重要因素.本文综述了近期由分子设计和热化学控制处理法制备的三元纳米合金电催化剂对燃料电池氧还原反应催化性能的最新进展.该方法可控制纳米合金的尺寸、组成以及二元和三元纳米催化剂的合金化程度.以高活性的三元纳米合金催化剂PtNiCo/C为例,综述了在设计燃料电池电催化剂时结构和组成的纳米级调优的重要性.PtNiCo/C电催化剂的质量比活性远高于其二元合金催化剂和Pt/C商业电催化剂.三元电催化剂的催化活性可通过控制其组成来调节.文章还讨论了三元纳米合金催化剂的结构及其协同效应对增强其电催化性能的影响.     

Recent Progress in ZIF-Derived Carbons for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalysis

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) represents a cornerstone for many clean energy conversion technologies such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Nevertheless, the commercialization of these technologies is largely impeded by the slow kinetics of ORR, for which active, durable and cost-effective ORR catalysts are needed. In recent years, zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) derived carbon materials emerge as a new class of non-precious metal catalysts (NPMCs) toward ORR, largely benefiting from their high surface area, abundant porosity, tunable chemical/electronic structure, and superior ORR activity which is comparable or even surpasses those state-of-the-art Pt-based ORR catalysts. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in ZIF-derived carbons for ORR. The synthesis strategies and the key factors affecting the ORR performance of ZIF-derived carbon materials are discussed. Future research directions and perspectives on exploring ZIF derived carbons as efficient ORR catalysts are highlighted, with a focus on the principles of rationally engineering the coordination structures of active sites.     

Bioinspired Transition-Metal Complexes as Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the most important reactions in life processes and energy conversion systems. To alleviate global warming and the energy crisis, the development of high-performance electrocatalysts for the ORR for application in energy conversion and storage devices such as metal–air batteries and fuel cells is highly desirable. Inspired by the biological oxygen activation/reduction process associated with heme- and multicopper-containing metalloenzymes, iron and copper-based transition-metal complexes have been extensively explored as ORR electrocatalysts. Herein, an outline into recent progress on non-precious-metal electrocatalysts for the ORR is provided; these electrocatalysts do not require pyrolysis treatment, which is regarded as desirable from the viewpoint of bioinspired molecular catalyst design, focusing on iron/cobalt macrocycles (porphyrins, phthalocyanines, and corroles) and copper complexes in which the ORR activity is tuned by ligand variation/substitution, the method of catalyst immobilization, and the underlying supporting materials. Current challenges and exciting imminent developments in bioinspired ORR electrocatalysts are summarized and proposed.     

Different Bonding Defects on Dual-Metal Single-Atom Electrocatalyst CoZnN6(OH) for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Since dual-metal single-atom catalyst (CoZnN/C) has been experimentally synthesized by atomically arching CoZn on N-doped carbon nanofibers and exhibited potential electrocatalysis activity towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), we perform first-principles calculations to identify the highly active sites at different defects by comparing the four-step ORR processes on the constructed four CoZnN₆ models on graphene. The corresponding N-edge effect, dopant effect, and C-edge ring-closing effect are evaluated with the ORR evolution on different bonding environments, including pristine CoZnN₆(OH), nanoribbon (NR) along zigzag direction, substitution of carbon/oxygen (C/O substitution), and C-edge ring-closing configurations. OH-ligand is shown to significantly improve the ORR activities for all the considered structures. Especially, C-substituted CoZnN₆(OH), NR-CoZnN₅O(OH) and CoZnN₆(OH) with C-edge-effect exhibit obviously reduced overpotentials (η_lim=0.28, 0.48 and 0.41 V) of rate-determining steps among all the considered nine candidates. By plotting the relationship between the limiting potentials (U_lim) and free energies of intermediate *OH (ΔG_OH*), two prior catalysts of pristine-CoZnN₅C(OH) and defect-CoZnN₆CH(OH) are located near the top of the volcano curve with higher U_lim=0.95 and 0.82 V than Pt(111) (U_lim=0.80 V), implying that C-substitution could facilitate ORR performance in pristine- and defect-CoZnN₆(OH) bonding situation.     

Boosting Activation of Oxygen Molecules on C60 Fullerene by Boron Doping

The activation of oxygen molecules on boron‐doped C₆₀ fullerene (C₅₉B) and the subsequent water formation reaction are systematically investigated by using hybrid density functional calculations. Results indicate that C₅₉B shows a favorable ability to activate oxygen molecules both kinetically and thermodynamically. The oxygen molecule is first adsorbed on the boron atom, which is identified to be the most reactive site in C₅₉B for O₂ adsorption because of its high positive charge and spin density. The adsorption structure C₅₉B?O₂ can further isomerize to form two products with small reaction barriers. Water formation reactions upon these two structures are energetically favorable and suggest a four‐electron mechanism for the oxygen reduction reaction catalyzed by C₅₉B. This work provides a reliable theoretical insight into the catalytic properties of boron‐doped fullerene, which is believed to be helpful to explore fullerene catalysts.     

Oxygen Reduction on Ag(100) in Alkaline Solutions—A Theoretical Study

Silver is much more reactive to oxygen than gold; nevertheless, in alkaline solutions, the rates of oxygen reduction on both metals are similar. To explain this phenomenon, the first, rate‐determining step of oxygen reduction on Ag(100) is determined by a combination of DFT, molecular dynamics, and electrocatalysis theory. In vacuum, oxygen is adsorbed on Ag(100), but in the electrochemical environment, the adsorption energy is offset by the loss of hydration energy as the molecule approaches the surface. As a result, the first electron transfer should take place in an outer‐sphere mode. Previously, the same mechanism for oxygen reduction on Au(100) has been predicted, and these calculations have been repeated by using a more advanced version of the electrocatalysis theory discussed herein to confirm previous conclusions. The theoretical results compare well with experimental data.     

双中心MOFs衍生的Co-ZnO@CN纳米材料作为电化学催化剂用于氧还原反应的研究

采用水热法合成了一系列的Co-Zn-MOF材料,随后将其在高温下热解,采用自模板的方式得到双中心MOFs衍生的Co-ZnO@CN纳米催化剂.通过调节前驱体的比例和热解温度,优化了制备Co-ZnO@CN纳米催化剂的条件.利用粉末X射线衍射(XRD)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)对Co-ZnO@CN纳米催化剂的结构及表面化学性质进行表征,采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和能量色散谱仪(EDS)考察了Co-ZnO@CN纳米催化剂的形貌和表面化学元素的种类和组成.通过氧还原反应(ORR)测试了催化剂的催化性能.实验结果表明当热解温度为800℃,Co与Zn摩尔质量之比为1∶2时,所得到的Co-ZnO(1∶2)@CN-800纳米催化剂的催化活性最高,其起始电势和半波电势分别为0.90和0.78 V,此外,通过计算表明该纳米催化剂在氧还原反应中氧分子还原过程遵循4e-反应路径.     

多孔碳基材料中氰基桥连双金属活性位用于氧还原反应

以双金属化合物{[Co （bpy）₂]₃[Fe （CN）₆]₂}[Fe （CN）₆]_1/3为前驱体,采用纳米灌注法制备了具有Fe—N、Co—N和Fe—C≡N—Co活性结构的Fe、Co、N掺杂介孔Fe-Co-N-GC催化剂。Fe-Co-N-GC具有较高的比表面积和石墨化程度,使其氧还原反应（ORR）催化性能显著提高。Fe-Co-N-GC催化剂在ORR过程中表现出优异的稳定性和抗甲醇性能。     

On the nature of DNA-duplex stability

The unwinding free energy of 128 DNA octamers was correlated with the sum of interaction energies among DNA bases and their solvation energies. The former energies were determined by using the recently developed density functional theory procedure augmented by London dispersion energy (RI-DFT-D) that provides accurate hydrogen-bonding and stacking energies highly comparable with CCSD(T)/complete basis set limit benchmark data. Efficient tight-binding DFT covering dispersion energy was also used and yielded satisfactory results. The latter method can be used for extended systems. The solvation energy was determined by using a C-PCM continuum solvent at HF level calculations. Various models were adopted to correlate theoretical energies with experimental unwinding free energies. Unless all energy components (hydrogen-bonding, intra- and interstrand-stacking, and solvation energies) were included and weighted individually, no satisfactory correlation resulted. The most advanced model yielded very close correlation (RMSE=0.32 kcal mol(-1)) fully comparable with the entirely empirical correlation introduced in the original paper. Analysis of the theoretical results shows the importance of inter- and intramolecular stacking energies, and especially the latter term plays a key role in determining DNA-duplex stabilization.