Porous Tantalum Nitride Single Crystal at Two-Centimeter Scale with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance

Porous tantalum nitride (Ta₃N₅) single crystals, combining structural coherence and porous microstructure, would substantially improve the photoelectrochemical performance. The structural coherence would reduce the recombination of charge carriers and maintain excellent transport properties while the porous microstructure would not only reduce photon scattering but also facilitate surface reactions. Here, we grow bulk-porous Ta₃N₅ single crystals on a two-centimeter scale with (002), (023), and (041) facets, respectively, and show significantly enhanced photoelectrochemical performance. We show the preferential facet growth of porous crystals in a lattice reconstruction strategy in relation to lattice match and lattice channel. We present the facet engineering to enhance light absorption, exciton lifetime and transport properties. The porous Ta₃N₅ single crystal boosts photoelectrochemical oxidation of alcohols with the (002) facet showing the highest performance of >99 % alcohol conversion and >99 % aldehyde/ketone selectivity.     

Porous Tantalum Nitride Single Crystal at Two‐Centimeter Scale with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance

Porous tantalum nitride (Ta₃N₅) single crystals, combining structural coherence and porous microstructure, would substantially improve the photoelectrochemical performance. The structural coherence would reduce the recombination of charge carriers and maintain excellent transport properties while the porous microstructure would not only reduce photon scattering but also facilitate surface reactions. Here, we grow bulk‐porous Ta₃N₅ single crystals on a two‐centimeter scale with (002), (023), and (041) facets, respectively, and show significantly enhanced photoelectrochemical performance. We show the preferential facet growth of porous crystals in a lattice reconstruction strategy in relation to lattice match and lattice channel. We present the facet engineering to enhance light absorption, exciton lifetime and transport properties. The porous Ta₃N₅ single crystal boosts photoelectrochemical oxidation of alcohols with the (002) facet showing the highest performance of >99 % alcohol conversion and >99 % aldehyde/ketone selectivity.     

Core–Shell Crystals of Porous Organic Cages

The first examples of core–shell porous molecular crystals are described. The physical properties of the core–shell crystals, such as surface hydrophobicity, CO₂ /CH₄ selectivity, are controlled by the chemical composition of the shell. This shows that porous core–shell molecular crystals can exhibit synergistic properties that out‐perform materials built from the individual, constituent molecules.     

Catalysis in Single Crystalline Materials: From Discrete Molecules to Metal-Organic Frameworks

Catalysis is one of the key techniques for people's modern life. It has created numerous essential chemicals such as biomedicines, agricultural chemicals and unique materials. Heterogeneous catalysis is the new emerging method with reusable catalysts. Among heterogenous catalysis patterns developed so far, single crystalline catalysis has become the promising one owing to its high catalytic density and selectivity resulted by the inherent porosity, orderliness of the lattices and permeability. These crystalline catalysts could be used in various reactions such as photo-dimerization, Diels-Alder reaction, CO₂ transformation and so on. In this review, we highlighted the reported works about the single crystalline catalysts. Both discrete small molecules and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been used to prepare single crystals for catalysis. For discrete molecules based crystalline catalysts, coordinated and covalent molecules have been used. There were more catalytic modes in crystalline MOF catalysts. Three patterns were identified in this review: single crystalline MOFs i) without catalytic sites, ii) with inherent catalytic features and iii) with introducing catalytic units by post synthetic modification. Based on these examples, this review committed to provide the inspirations for the further design and application of single crystalline materials.     

有机多孔催化研究进展

有机多孔材料POPs (Porous Organic Polymers)成为近年来的研究前沿之一. 有机多孔材料包括非晶型(如CMP, HCP, PIM等)和晶型(比如COFs等)有机多孔材料两类, 它们具有优异的孔性质、较大的比表面积、稳定性好、重量轻以及易于功能化等诸多优点, 被广泛应用于气体存储分离、传感、有机光电和多相催化等重要领域. 这里对有机多孔材料在多相催化领域中的应用做一综述. 目前, 有机多孔催化领域的研究工作主要有三类: 一类是通过“自下而上”策略将金属-配体类催化剂嵌入有机多孔骨架来构建多相催化剂; 另一类是将有机多孔材料作为载体, 通过后修饰方式负载金属纳米颗粒构建多相催化剂; 最后一类是通过“自下而上”策略将不含金属的有机小分子催化剂嵌入材料骨架来构建多孔有机催化剂. 受益于其结构的优越性, 有机多孔材料在多相催化中表现出优异的催化性能. 借鉴于均相催化的发展, 具有催化活性的有机多孔材料在多相催化领域中的应用也将会有更大的发展空间.     

酸功能化碳纳米管对多孔碳材料储能活性及稳定性的增强作用

采用球磨法将酸功能化碳纳米管（AMWCNTs）与环糊精均匀混合。 酸功能化有利于增强碳管和环糊精间的相互作用,从而使二者形成均匀、有效的复合。 在N2气保护下碳化并经后续的ZnCl2活化处理,最终获得酸功能化碳纳米管/多孔碳(PC)复合体材料。 采用透射电子显微镜、X射线衍射和拉曼光谱等方法对材料结构进行了表征。 结果表明,碳纳米管在多孔碳骨架内均匀分布,并且复合体同时具有较高的比表面积和良好的导电性。 循环伏安及恒流充放电等电化学测试表明,由于二者的协同作用及碳纳米管在多孔碳骨架内均匀、有效的复合,材料具有较好的电化学储能性能和良好的电化学稳定性。 电流密度为0.5 A/g时,AMWCNTs/PC12-4（其中12代表β-环糊精和AMWCNTs的质量比,4代表酸化碳纳米管/β-环糊精碳与氯化锌的质量比）复合材料的质量比电容为156 F/g,远远高于AMWCNTs（43 F/g）和PC-4（87 F/g）。 经5000次循环后,电极比电容无明显衰减,而且每次恒流充放电的库仑效率均大于99.9%,说明复合材料具有良好的稳定性,是非常有前景的超级电容器电极材料。     

氮掺杂多孔炭材料的制备及在多相催化中的应用

氮掺杂多孔炭材料,不仅具有多孔炭材料的较高的比表面积、丰富的孔结构、良好的稳定性及耐高温耐酸碱性等优点,同时氮原子的引入使材料表现出优异的导电性能及电子传输能力,使得炭材料具有了一定的碱性及催化性能,是目前多相催化及材料领域的一个研究热点。本文综述了氮掺杂多孔炭的制备方法及在多相催化中的应用,并指出了该领域未来研发的重点及应用前景。     

Prefunctionalized Porous Organic Polymers: Effective Supports of Surface Palladium Nanoparticles for the Enhancement of Catalytic Performances in Dehalogenation

Three porous organic polymers (POPs) containing H, COOMe, and COO^? groups at 2,6‐bis(1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)pyridyl (BTP) units (i.e., POP‐1, POP‐2, and POP‐3, respectively) were prepared for the immobilization of metal nanoparticles (NPs). The ultrafine palladium NPs are uniformly encapsulated in the interior pores of POP‐1, whereas uniform‐ and dual‐distributed palladium NPs are located on the external surface of POP‐2 and POP‐3, respectively. The presence of carboxylate groups not only endows POP‐3 an outstanding dispersibility in H₂O/EtOH, but also enables the palladium NPs at the surface to show the highest catalytic activity, stability, and recyclability in dehalogenation reactions of chlorobenzene at 25 °C. The palladium NPs on the external surface are effectively stabilized by the functionalized POPs containing BTP units and carboxylate groups, which provides a new insight for highly efficient catalytic systems based on surface metal NPs of porous materials.     

Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Hierarchically Porous MIL‐100(Fe)@polyHIPE Hybrid Membranes

Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) nanoparticles in combination with a nonionic surfactant (Pluronic L‐121) are used to stabilize dicyclopentadiene (DCPD)‐in‐water high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The resulting HIPEs containing the MIL‐100(Fe) nanoparticles (MIL: Materials of Institut Lavoisier) at the interface between the oil‐ and the water‐phases are then cured, and 100 μm thick, fully open, hierarchically porous hybrid membranes are obtained. The properties of the MIL‐100(Fe)@pDCPD polyHIPE membranes are characterized and it is found that up to 14 wt% of the MIL‐100(Fe) nanoparticles are incorporated in the hybrid material resulting in an increase of the microporosity up to 130 m² g⁻¹. Hybrid membranes show an appealing catalytic activity in Friedel–Crafts alkylation in a batch mode as well as in a flow‐through mode, thereby demonstrating the preserved accessibility of Lewis acidic sites in the MOF nanostructures.

     

Enhanced Thermocatalytic Activity of Porous Yellow ZnO Nanoflakes: Defect‐ and Morphology‐Induced Perspectives

Herein, we report a simple and effective strategy for the synthesis of yellow ZnO (Y‐ZnO) nanostructures with abundant oxygen vacancies on a large scale, through the sulfidation of ZnO followed by calcination. The developed strategy allows retention of the overall morphology of Y‐ZnO compared with pristine ZnO and the extent of oxygen vacancies can be tuned. The influence of oxygen deficiencies, the extent of defect sites, and the morphology of ZnO on its solution‐phase thermocatalytic activity has been evaluated in the synthesis of 5‐substituted‐1H‐tetrazoles with different nitriles and sodium azide. A reasonable enhancement in the reaction rate was achieved by using Y‐ZnO nanoflakes (Y‐ZnO NFs) as a catalyst in place of pristine ZnO NFs. The reaction was complete within 6 h at 110 °C with Y‐ZnO NFs, whereas it took 14 h at 120 °C with pristine ZnO NFs. The catalyst is easy to recycle without a significant loss in catalytic activity.     

Lithium Imide Synergy with 3d Transition‐Metal Nitrides Leading to Unprecedented Catalytic Activities for Ammonia Decomposition

Alkali metals have been widely employed as catalyst promoters; however, the promoting mechanism remains essentially unclear. Li, when in the imide form, is shown to synergize with 3d transition metals or their nitrides TM(N) spreading from Ti to Cu, leading to universal and unprecedentedly high catalytic activities in NH₃ decomposition, among which Li₂NH? MnN has an activity superior to that of the highly active Ru/carbon nanotube catalyst. The catalysis is fulfilled via the two‐step cycle comprising: 1) the reaction of Li₂NH and 3d TM(N) to form ternary nitride of LiTMN and H₂, and 2) the ammoniation of LiTMN to Li₂NH, TM(N) and N₂ resulting in the neat reaction of 2 NH₃?N₂+3 H₂. Li₂NH, as an NH₃ transmitting agent, favors the formation of higher N‐content intermediate (LiTMN), where Li executes inductive effect to stabilize the TM? N bonding and thus alters the reaction energetics.     

Nitrogen‐Rich Manganese Oxynitrides with Enhanced Catalytic Activity in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The catalytic activity of manganese oxynitrides in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was investigated in alkaline solutions to clarify the effect of the incorporated nitrogen atoms on the ORR activity. These oxynitrides, with rock‐salt‐like structures with different nitrogen contents, were synthesized by reacting MnO, Mn₂O₃, or MnO₂ with molten NaNH₂ at 240–280 °C. The anion contents and the Mn valence states were determined by combustion analysis, powder X‐ray diffraction, and X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure analysis. An increase in the nitrogen content of rock‐salt‐based manganese oxynitrides increases the valence of the manganese ions and reinforces the catalytic activity for the ORR in 1 m KOH solution. Nearly single‐electron occupancy of the antibonding e_g states and highly covalent Mn?N bonding thus enhance the ORR activity of nitrogen‐rich manganese oxynitrides.     

Self-Assembly of C3 Symmetric Rigid Macrolactams into Very Polar and Porous Trigonal Crystals

Cyclohexane and cyclotri-β-alanyl have been used as scaffolds for the design of new C₃-symmetric rings incorporating conjugated alkenes and dienes. All three C₃-symmetric lactams share the same triangular shape and their crystal system is trigonal. They all belong to the R3 space group, R3m, R3 and R3c, for the increasingly large 12-, 18- and 24-membered rigid rings, respectively. All lactams stack on top of each other, through H-bonds and van der Waals noncovalent interactions, leading to endless supramolecular cylinders and tubes. The largest member of the family leads to tubes, the central pores of which is wide enough to let water in. A common feature of all the lactams is their very large dipole, of around 9 D, according to DFT calculations. Surprisingly, all the resulting cylinders and tubes pack side by side in the crystals, with all the dipoles pointing to the same direction. As a result, all three crystals are anisotropic and appear to be the first members of a new kind of highly polar crystals.     

CO2‐Triggered Switchable Hydrophilicity of a Heterogeneous Conjugated Polymer Photocatalyst for Enhanced Catalytic Activity in Water

Water compatibility for heterogeneous photocatalysts has been pursued for energy and environmental applications. However, there exists a trade‐off between hydrophilicity and recyclability of the photocatalyst. Herein, we report a conjugated polymer photocatalyst with tertiary amine terminals that reversibly binds CO₂ in water, thereby generating switchable hydrophilicity. The CO₂‐assisted hydrophilicity boosted the photocatalytic efficiency in aqueous medium with minimum dosage. When CO₂ was desorbed, the photocatalyst could be simply regenerated from reaction media, facilitating the repeated use of photocatalyst. Hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity control of the polymer photocatalyst was successfully showcased through a variety of organic photoredox reactions under visible‐light irradiation in water.     

Exploring Opportunities for Platinum Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Porous Liquids as Hydrogenation Catalysts

The unusual combination of characteristics observed for porous liquids, which are typically associated with either porous solids or liquids, has led to considerable interest in this new class of materials. However, these porous liquids have so far only been investigated for their ability to separate and store gases. Herein, the catalytic capability of Pt nanoparticles encapsulated within a Type I porous liquid (Pt@HS-SiO₂ PL) is explored for the hydrogenation of several alkenes and nitroarenes under mild conditions (T=40 °C, P_H2=1 atm). The different intermediates in the porous liquid synthesis (i.e., the initial Pt@HS-SiO₂, the organosilane-functionalized intermediate, and the final porous liquid) are employed as catalysts in order to understand the effect of each component of the porous liquid on the catalysis. For the hydrogenation of 1-decene, the Pt@HS-SiO₂ PL catalyst in ethanol has the fastest reaction rate if normalized with respect to the concentration of Pt. The reaction rate slows if the reaction is completed in a “neat” porous liquid system, probably because of the high viscosity of the system. These systems may find application in cascade reactions, in particular, for those with mutually incompatible catalysts.     

Drastic Enhancement of Catalytic Activity via Post‐oxidation of a Porous MnII Triazolate Framework

Mn^III is a powerful active site for catalytic oxidation of alkyl aromatics, but it can be only stabilized by macrocyclic chelating ligands such porphyrinates. Herein, by using benzobistriazolate as a rigid bridging ligand, a porous Mn^II azolate framework with a nitrogen‐rich coordinated environment similar to that of metalloporphyrins was synthesized, in which the Mn^II ions can be post‐oxidized to Mn^III to achieve drastic increase of catalytic (aerobic) oxidation performance.