Transition metal carbides in electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Oxygen evolution reaction(OER) is admitted to an important half reaction in water splitting for sustainable hydrogen production.The sluggish four-electron process is known to be the bottleneck for enhancing the efficiency of OER.In this regard,tremendous efforts have been devoted to developing effective catalysts for OER.In addition to Ir-or Ru-based oxides taken as the benchmark,transition metal carbides have attracted ever-increasing interest due to the high activity and stability as low-cost OER electrocatalysts.In this review,the transition metal carbides for water oxidation electrocatalysis concerning design strategies and synthesis are briefly summarized.Some typical applications for various carbides are also highlighted.Besides,the development trends and outlook are also discussed.     

Synthesis of dual-doped non-precious metal electrocatalysts and their electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction

The pyrolyzed carbon supported ferrum polypyrrole(Fe-N/C) catalysts are synthesized with or without selected dopants, p-toluenesulfonic acid(TsOH), by a facile thermal annealing approach at desired temperature for optimizing their activity for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in O2-saturated 0.1 mol/L KOH solution. The electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry(CV) and rotating disk electrode(RDE) are employed with the Koutecky-Levich theory to quantitatively obtain the ORR kinetic constants and the reaction mechanisms. It is found that catalysts doped with TsOH show significantly improved ORR activity relative to the TsOH-free one. The average electron transfer numbers for the catalyzed ORR are determined to be 3.899 and 3.098, respectively, for the catalysts with and without TsOH-doping. The heat-treatment is found to be a necessary step for catalyst activity improvement, and the catalyst pyrolyzed at 600℃ gives the best ORR activity. An onset potential and the potential at the current density of-1.5 mA/cm2 for TsOH-doped catalyst after pyrolysis are 30 mV and 170 mV, which are more positive than those without pyrolized. Furthermore, the catalyst doped with TsOH shows higher tolerance to methanol compared with commercial Pt/C catalyst in 0.1 mol/L KOH. To understand this TsOH doping and pyrolyzed effect, X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscope(SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) are used to characterize these catalysts in terms of their structure and composition. XPS results indicate that the pyrrolic-N groups are the most active sites, a finding that is supported by the correspondence between changes in pyridinic-N content and ORR activity that occur with changing temperature. Sulfur species are also structurally bound to carbon in the forms of C–Sn–C, an additional beneficial factor for the ORR.     

Synthesis of dual-doped non-precious metal electrocatalysts and their electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction

The pyrolyzed carbon supported ferrum polypyrrole(Fe-N/C) catalysts are synthesized with or without selected dopants, p-toluenesulfonic acid(TsOH), by a facile thermal annealing approach at desired temperature for optimizing their activity for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in O2-saturated 0.1 mol/L KOH solution. The electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry(CV) and rotating disk electrode(RDE) are employed with the Koutecky-Levich theory to quantitatively obtain the ORR kinetic constants and the reaction mechanisms. It is found that catalysts doped with TsOH show significantly improved ORR activity relative to the TsOH-free one. The average electron transfer numbers for the catalyzed ORR are determined to be 3.899 and 3.098, respectively, for the catalysts with and without TsOH-doping. The heat-treatment is found to be a necessary step for catalyst activity improvement, and the catalyst pyrolyzed at 600℃ gives the best ORR activity. An onset potential and the potential at the current density of-1.5 mA/cm2 for TsOH-doped catalyst after pyrolysis are 30 mV and 170 mV, which are more positive than those without pyrolized. Furthermore, the catalyst doped with TsOH shows higher tolerance to methanol compared with commercial Pt/C catalyst in 0.1 mol/L KOH. To understand this TsOH doping and pyrolyzed effect, X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscope(SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) are used to characterize these catalysts in terms of their structure and composition. XPS results indicate that the pyrrolic-N groups are the most active sites, a finding that is supported by the correspondence between changes in pyridinic-N content and ORR activity that occur with changing temperature. Sulfur species are also structurally bound to carbon in the forms of C–Sn–C, an additional beneficial factor for the ORR.     

Tetrazole-functionalized two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks coordinated with metal ions for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

The search for functionalized covalent organic framework (COF) materials is significant on account of their great promise for frontline applications in various fields. Herein, a novel and convenient tactic is developed to design and fabricate the tetrazole-functionalized COF materials with abundant nitrogen atoms, which can provide active sites, facilitating the incorporation of COFs with metal ions. In particular, a β-ketoenamine-linked COF named COF-TpDb is selected as precursor for postsynthetic modification to introduce the tetrazole moieties to coordinate with metal ions cobalt (Co²⁺) and palladium (Pd²⁺), giving two functional metal-coordinated COFs complexes COF-TpDb-TZ-Co and COF-TpDb-TZ-Pd. The resultant COF-TpDb-TZ-Co displays a higher oxygen evolution reaction activity with a lower overpotential of 390 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^?2, which is much enhanced compared with COF-TpDb-TZ. The tactic for the fabrication of tetrazole-functionalized COFs with abundant nitrogen atoms implements rational design for the construction of functional COFs and expands the promising application of metal-coordinated COF materials in electrocatalysis.     

Noble metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Developing noble metal-free catalysts with low cost, high performance and stability for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in fuel cells is of great interest to promote sustainable energy devices. In this review, we summarized noble metal-free catalysts for ORR,including non-noble metal-based and heteroatom-doped carbon nanomaterials. Mesoporous structure, homogeneous distribution of nanocrystals and synergistic effect of carbon base and nanocrystals/doped heteroatoms have great effect on the ORR property.The noble metal-free nanomaterials showed comparable catalytic property, better stability and methanol tolerance than commercial platinum(Pt)-based catalysts, showing great potential as substitutes for noble metal-based catalysts. In addition, the challenges and chances of developing noble metal-free ORR catalysts are also discussed.     

Noble metal nanoparticles functionalized by natural asphaltenes as model phases for geochemical research

1. Download : Download high-res image (212KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Transition metal coordinated framework porphyrin for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

A series of transition metal coordinated framework porphyrin was evaluated regarding the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reactivity for an optimized selection of the coordinated metal ion.     

Nanostructured metal particlemodified electrodes for electrocatalytic and sensor applications

Nanotechnology has become one of the most exciting frontier fields in analytical chemistry. The huge interest in nanomaterials, for example in chemical sensors and catalysis, is driven by their many desirable properties. Although metal is a poor catalyst in bulk form, nanometre-sized particles can exhibit excellent catalytic activity due to their relative high surface area-to-volume ratio and their interface-dominated properties, which significantly differ from those of the bulk material. The integration of metal nanoparticles into thin film of permselective membrane is particularly important for various applications, for example in biological sensing and in electrocatalysis. We have already established different techniques to design permselective membrane-coated chemically modified electrodes with incorporated redox molecules for electrocatalytic, electrochromic and sensor applications. Recently, we have prepared nanostructured platinum and copper (represented M_nano, M = Pt and Cu) modified GC/Nafion electrodes (GC/Nf/M_nano) and characterized by using AFM, XPS, XRD and electrochemical techniques. The nanostructured M_nano modified electrodes were utilized for efficient electrocatalytic selective oxidation of neurotransmitter molecules in the presence of interfering species such as ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). It has been also shown that the modified electrodes could be used as sensors for the detection of submicromolar concentrations of biomolecules with practical applications to real samples such as blood plasma and dopamine hydrochloride injection solution. The GC/Cu_nano electrode has been used for catalytic reduction of oxygen.     

金属锑基硫族团簇的合成、结构及电催化氧还原反应性能

为探索金属硫族团簇材料的多样性结构及其光电应用, 利用溶剂热法, 以含孤对电子的金属 Sb(Ⅲ)与硫元素采用不对称的配位几何方式结合, 合成了 Sb 基硫族团簇化合物[Sb₄S₅(S₃)]·C₅H₁₁N(1)和(C₅H₁₂N)₂[In₂Sb₂S₇] (2)。2 种化合物分别由{SbS₃}或{InS₄}配位单元之间以顶点共享的方式组合而成。电催化氧还原反应(ORR)研究表明, 化合物2 的极限电流密度和半波电位均高于化合物1, 表明其 ORR性能更好。Koutecky-Levich图分析表明, 由混合金属构筑而成的层状化合物2 的 ORR催化过程以四电子路径为主。     

金属锑基硫族团簇的合成、结构及电催化氧还原反应性能

为探索金属硫族团簇材料的多样性结构及其光电应用,利用溶剂热法,以含孤对电子的金属Sb(Ⅲ)与硫元素采用不对称的配位几何方式结合,合成了Sb基硫族团簇化合物 [Sb₄S₅(S₃)]·C₅H₁₁N (1)和(C₅H₁₂N)₂[In₂Sb₂S₇] (2)。2种化合物分别由{SbS₃}或{InS₄}配位单元之间以顶点共享的方式组合而成。电催化氧还原反应(ORR)研究表明,化合物2的极限电流密度和半波电位均高于化合物1,表明其ORR性能更好。Koutecky-Levich图分析表明,由混合金属构筑而成的层状化合物2的ORR催化过程以四电子路径为主。     

Staircase cyclic voltammetry of electrocatalytic reaction inhibited by the product

A model of electrocatalytic reaction influenced by the potential dependent inhibition is developed. The response of investigated mechanism is anomalous voltammogram consisting of two anodic peaks. The relationship between two peak currents and the parameters of electrode reaction was analysed theoretically.

     

Phase engineering two-dimensional nanostructures for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction

Hydrogen(H₂) is considered to be a promising substitute for fossil fuels. Two-dimensional(2D) nanomaterials have exhibited an efficient electrocatalytic capacity to catalyze hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).Particularly, phase engineering of 2D nanomaterials is opening a novel research direction to endow 2D nanostructures with fascinating properties for deep applications in catalyzing HER. In this review, we briefly summarize the research progress and present the current challenges on...     

Metal-organic framework based nanomaterials for electrocatalytic oxygen redox reaction

Due to the severe environmental issues, many advanced technologies, typically fuel cells and metal-air batteries have aroused widespread concerns and been intensively studied in recent years. However, oxygen redox reactions including oxygen evolution reaction(OER) and oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) as the core reactions suffer from sluggish kinetics of the multiple electron transfer process. Currently, Pt, RuO_2, and IrO_2 are considered to be the benchmark catalysts for ORR and OER, but their high price, scarcity and instability hinder them from large-scale application. To overcome these limits, exploring alternative electrocatalysts with low cost, high activity, long-term stability, and earth-abundance is of extreme urgency. Metal-organic frameworks(MOFs) are a family of inorganic-organic hybrid materials with high surface areas and tunable structures, making them proper as catalyst candidates. Herein, the recent progress of MOFs and MOF-derived materials for ORR and OER is systematically reviewed, and the relationship between compositions and electrochemical performance is discussed. It is expected that this review can be helpful for the future development of related MOF-based materials with excellent electrochemical performance.     

Carambola-like metal-organic frameworks for high-performance electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Hydrogen production by electrocatalytic water splitting promises a green and sustainable technology to address serious energy crisis and environmental pollution [1]. As well known, the process of electrocatalytic water splitting is composed of two half reaction, i.e. oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the cathode [2].     

Fourier transform infrared spectra of transition metal ion-containing polyanilines synthesized in different reaction conditions

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been employed to investigate the detailed chain structure changes during the chemical oxidative polymerisation of aniline in different reaction conditions including different polarity reaction medium, reaction temperature, reactants molar ratio and in the presence of different transition metal ions such as Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+ and Cu2+. The results show that stronger polarity reaction medium and lower reaction temperature were beneficial to obtain 1,4-para-disubstituted linear chain structure polyaniline with higher electrical conductivity. The higher oxidation degree polyaniline contained more linear chain structure than that in lower oxidation degree. Polyanilines containing Fe2+ and Cu2+ had more linear chain structure than that containing Co2+ and Ni2+. These observations were in accordance with experimental measurements of electrical conductivity.     

Characterization of carbon-supported AuPt nanoparticles for electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction

In view of the recent finding that the bimetallic AuPt nanoparticles prepared by molecular-capping-based colloidal synthesis and subsequent assembly on carbon black support and thermal activation treatment exhibit alloy properties, which is in sharp contrast to the bimetallic miscibility gap known for the bulk counterparts in a wide composition range, there is a clear need to assess the electrocatalytic properties of the catalysts prepared with different bimetallic composition and different thermal treatment temperatures. This paper reports recent results of such an investigation of the electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) activities of the carbon-supported AuPt nanoparticle catalysts with different bimetallic composition and thermal treatment temperatures. Au(m)Pt(100)(-)(m) nanoparticles of 2-3 nm core sizes with different atomic compositions ranging from 10% to 90% Au (m = 10 approximately 90) have been synthesized by controlling the feeding of the metal precursors used in the synthesis. The electrocatalytic MOR activities of the carbon-supported AuPt bimetallic catalysts were characterized in alkaline electrolytes. The catalysts with 65% to 85% Au and treated at 500 degrees C were found to exhibit maximum electrocatalytic activities in the alkaline electrolytes. The findings, together with a comparison with some well-documented catalysts as well as recent experimental and theoretical modeling results, have revealed important insights into the participation of CO(ad) and OH(ad) on Au sites in the catalytic reaction of Pt in the AuPt alloys with approximately 75% Au. The insights are useful for understanding the correlation of the bifunctional electrocatalytic activity of the bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts with the bimetallic composition and the thermal treatment temperatures.     

Noble metal loaded zeolites for the catalytic oxidation of chlorinated hydrocarbons

Summary A series of metal loaded zeolite catalysts (Pd/H-ZSM-5, Pd/H-BETA, Pt/H-ZSM-5, and Pt/H-BETA) were investigated for their activity and selectivity during oxidation of different chlorinated hydrocarbons, namely dichloromethane and trichloroethylene, at constant gas space velocity (15,000 h^-1) and constant chlorohydrocarbon concentration (1,000 ppm in dry air). It was observed that the two noble metals played a major role in influencing the catalytic performance for complete oxidation of both chlorinated compounds. The acidic properties of the zeolite support in combination with increased oxygen activation owing to the noble metal were responsible for the high chlorocarbon destruction activity exhibited by this type of catalysts.     

Noble metal ionic sites for catalytic hydrogen combustion: spectroscopic insights

A catalytic hydrogen combustion reaction was carried out over noble metal catalysts substituted in ZrO(2) and TiO(2) in ionic form. The catalysts were synthesized by the solution combustion technique. The compounds showed high activity and CO tolerance for the reaction. The activity of Pd and Pt ion substituted TiO(2) was comparable and was higher than Pd and Pt ion substituted ZrO(2). The mechanisms of the reaction over the two supports were proposed by making use of the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FT infrared spectroscopic observations. The reaction over ZrO(2) supported catalysts was proposed to take place by the utilization of the surface hydroxyl groups while the reaction over TiO(2) supported catalysts was hypothesized to be a hybrid mechanism utilizing surface hydroxyl groups and the lattice oxygen.     

金属硫族非超四面体In-Sn-S团簇的合成、结构及电催化氧还原反应性能

开发由金属In和Sn参与构筑的金属硫族非超四面体(non-Tn)团簇材料,对于实现该类材料的结构多样性及丰富其光电应用十分重要。利用溶剂热法合成了一系列新的 non-Tn 团簇化合物(C₇H₁₃N₂)[InS₂] (1)、(C₇H₁₃N₂)₄[In₂S₁₁Sn₃] (2)和(C₇H₁₃N₂)₃[In₃S₁₂Sn₃] (3),其中C₇H₁₃N₂=质子化1,5-二氮杂双环[4.3.0]壬-5-烯。3种化合物由{SnS₄}、{InS₄}或{InS₅}三个配位单元之间以边共享或顶点共享的方式组合而成。电催化氧还原反应(ORR)研究表明,化合物1~3的还原峰电位分别为0.60、0.64和0.65 V,含有Sn(Ⅳ)的化合物2和3表现出更好的催化性能。不仅如此,Koutecky-Levich图分析表明,化合物中In和Sn的组成比例对其ORR催化路径有明显的调节作用。