Splitting water with cobalt

The future of energy supply depends on innovative breakthroughs regarding the design of cheap, sustainable, and efficient systems for the conversion and storage of renewable energy sources, such as solar energy. The production of hydrogen, a fuel with remarkable properties, through sunlight-driven water splitting appears to be a promising and appealing solution. While the active sites of enzymes involved in the overall water-splitting process in natural systems, namely hydrogenases and photosystem II, use iron, nickel, and manganese ions, cobalt has emerged in the past five years as the most versatile non-noble metal for the development of synthetic H(2)- and O(2)-evolving catalysts. Such catalysts can be further coupled with photosensitizers to generate photocatalytic systems for light-induced hydrogen evolution from water.     

水电解析氢低贵/非贵金属催化剂的研究进展

氢气作为能量载体的氢能技术由于其清洁性、高能量密度等优势已获得越来越多的青睐与关注. 其中,可持续的产氢技术是未来氢能经济发展的必要先决条件. 通过可再生资源电力驱动的电解水技术是支持氢能经济可持续发展的重要途径,高活性、低成本的析氢催化剂的开发利用是提高水电解技术效率并降低其成本的关键因素. 本文主要介绍了近年来包括低铂催化剂和金属硫化物、金属磷化物、金属硒化物等非铂过渡金属催化剂在析氢方面的研究进展,详细讨论了析氢反应的催化性能、合成方法以及结构?鄄催化性能的关系,最后总结展望了水电解低铂及非铂过渡金属催化剂在未来发展过程中所面临的机遇与挑战.     

Research Progress in Hydrogen Evolution Low Noble/Non-Precious Metal Catalysts of Water Electrolysis北大核心CSCD

Hydrogen energy technology with hydrogen as an energy carrier is gaining more and more attention due to its cleanliness and high energy density.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have been listed as one of the ultimate energy technologies in the 21st century.Among them, sustainable hydrogen production technology is a necessary prerequisite for the future development of hydrogen energy economy.Electrolyzed water technology driven by renewable resources represents an important way to support the sustainable development of hydrogen energy economy.The development and utilization of high activity, low cost hydrogen evolution catalysts is a key factor in improving the efficiency and reducing the cost of water electrolysis technology.This paper mainly introduces the recent research progress of hydrogen evolution catalysts including low platinum catalysts and non-platinum transition metal catalysts such as metal sulfides metal phosphides, metal selenides, etc; catalytic properties, synthesis methods, and structure-catalytic properties.Finally, the advantages and challenges of water electrolysis low platinum and non-platinum transition metal catalysts in the future development are prospected. © 2018 Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.     

Formation and Functioning of Bimetallic Nanocatalysts: The Power of X‐ray Probes

Bimetallic nanocatalysts are key enablers of current chemical technologies, including car exhaust converters and fuel cells, and play a crucial role in industry to promote a wide range of chemical reactions. However, owing to significant characterization challenges, insights in the dynamic phenomena that shape and change the working state of the catalyst await further refinement. Herein, we discuss the atomic‐scale processes leading to mono‐ and bimetallic nanoparticle formation and highlight the dynamics and kinetics of lifetime changes in bimetallic catalysts with showcase examples for Pt‐based systems. We discuss how in situ and operando X‐ray spectroscopy, scattering, and diffraction can be used as a complementary toolbox to interrogate the working principles of today's and tomorrow's bimetallic nanocatalysts.     

Photocatalytic hydrogen production

The efficient storage of solar energy in chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, is essential for the large-scale utilisation of solar energy systems. Recent advances in the photocatalytic production of H(2) are highlighted. Two general approaches for the photocatalytic hydrogen generation by homogeneous catalysts are considered: HX (X = Cl, Br) splitting involving both proton reduction and halide oxidation via an inner-sphere mechanism with a single-component catalyst; and sensitized H(2) production, employing sacrificial electron donors to regenerate the active catalyst. Future directions and challenges in photocatalytic H(2) generation are enumerated.     

Tricyclometalated Iridium Complexes as Highly Stable Photosensitizers for Light‐Induced Hydrogen Evolution

The development of an efficient and stable artificial photosensitizer for visible‐light‐driven hydrogen production is highly desirable. Herein, a new series of charge‐neutral, heteroleptic tricyclometalated iridium(III) complexes, [Ir(thpy)₂(bt)] ( 1 – 4 ; thpy=2,2′‐thienylpyridine, bt=2‐phenylbenzothiazole and its derivatives), were systematically synthesized and their structural, photophysical, and electrochemical properties were established. Three solid‐state structures were studied by X‐ray crystallographic analysis. This design offers the unique opportunity to drive the metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (MLCT) band to longer wavelengths for these iridium complexes. We describe new molecular platforms that are based on these neutral iridium complexes for the production of hydrogen through visible‐light‐induced photocatalysis over an extended period of time in the presence of [Co(bpy)₃]²⁺ and triethanolamine (TEOA). The maximum amount of hydrogen was obtained under constant irradiation over 72 h and the system could regenerate its activity upon the addition of cobalt‐based catalysts when hydrogen evolution ceased. Our results demonstrated that the dissociation of the [Co(bpy)₃]²⁺ catalyst contributed to the loss of catalytic activity and limited the long‐term catalytic performance of the systems. The properties of the neutral complexes are compared in detail to those of two known non‐neutral bpy‐type complexes, [Ir(thpy)₂(dtb‐bpy)]⁺ ( 5 ) and [Ir(ppy)₂(dtb‐bpy)]⁺ ( 6 ; ppy=2‐phenylpyridine, dtb‐bpy=4,4′‐di‐tert‐butyl‐2,2′‐dipyridyl). This work is expected to contribute toward the development of long‐lasting solar hydrogen‐production systems.     

太阳能光催化制氢研究进展

随着人类社会的快速发展和传统能源的急剧消耗,能源紧缺和环境污染已经成为制约人类社会可持续发展的重要因素,构建清洁的环境友好的可再生新能源体系是当前各国高度关注的焦点和重大战略.在众多绿色环保、可持续新能源选项中,半导体光催化制氢因其可利用清洁可再生的太阳能制取高效清洁氢能,有望完全解决能源紧缺和环境污染问题,成为最有应用前景的技术之一. 本文通过概述半导体光催化制氢原理、半导体光电化学及光电稳定性、半导体光催化制氢效率,重点介绍半导体光催化剂、光生电荷分离及光催化制氢体系等方面若干新进展,并对太阳能光催化制氢技术的发展加以评述和展望.     

半导体光催化分解水的析氢效率研究

光催化水制氢是太阳能向氢能转化的有效途径,在清洁能源利用方面具有较大的潜力。光催化产氢过程主要包括光生电子和空穴对的产生、迁移以及在表面活性位点的氧化还原反应,在此过程中由于电子-空穴对的复合以及催化剂的结构和表面活性位点的局限,导致电子和空穴不能完全迁移到催化剂表面并参与氧化还原反应,从而降低了析氢效率。因此本文以抑制光生电子-空穴对复合及增加表面活性位点为目的,从调控催化剂微观特性和外在属性两方面入手,分析总结了目前常见的半导体催化剂粒径、形貌、晶面、表面活性位点调控手段以及异质结构建和助催化剂负载的方法,探究了上述因素对催化剂析氢效率的影响途径和方式,从中归纳出提升析氢效率的办法。最后对光催化制氢的未来研究方向进行了展望,希望以此为光催化产氢效率的提高提供借鉴。     

碳质与金属催化剂热催化裂解甲烷产氢研究进展

甲烷裂解制氢方法具有产氢纯度高和清洁无污染的特点,被认为是当前最有前景的制氢方法之一.现阶段甲烷裂解制氢的研究工作主要集中于制备活性与稳定性兼备的催化剂.我们综述了近年来甲烷裂解制氢反应中碳质催化剂和金属催化剂两大系列催化剂的研究进展,从载体、活性组分、助剂3个方法对目前催化剂裂解甲烷产氢性能的影响进行了系统分析,总结了反应机理和催化剂的失活与再生情况,在以上基础上对催化剂未来的发展趋势进行了展望.     

Nature-driven photochemistry for catalytic solar hydrogen production: a Photosystem I-transition metal catalyst hybrid

Solar energy conversion of water into the environmentally clean fuel hydrogen offers one of the best long-term solutions for meeting future energy demands. Nature provides highly evolved, finely tuned molecular machinery for solar energy conversion that exquisitely manages photon capture and conversion processes to drive oxygenic water-splitting and carbon fixation. Herein, we use one of Nature's specialized energy-converters, the Photosystem I (PSI) protein, to drive hydrogen production from a synthetic molecular catalyst comprised of inexpensive, earth-abundant materials. PSI and a cobaloxime catalyst self-assemble, and the resultant complex rapidly produces hydrogen in aqueous solution upon exposure to visible light. This work establishes a strategy for enhancing photosynthetic efficiency for solar fuel production by augmenting natural photosynthetic systems with synthetically tunable abiotic catalysts.     

Low Catalyst Loading Enhances Charge Accumulation for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Solar water oxidation is a critical step in artificial photosynthesis. Successful completion of the process requires four holes and releases four protons. It depends on the consecutive accumulation of charges at the active site. While recent research has shown an obvious dependence of the reaction kinetics on the hole concentrations on the surface of heterogeneous (photo)electrodes, little is known about how the catalyst density impacts the reaction rate. Using atomically dispersed Ir catalysts on hematite, we report a study on how the interplay between the catalyst density and the surface hole concentration influences the reaction kinetics. At low photon flux, where surface hole concentrations are low, faster charge transfer was observed on photoelectrodes with low catalyst density compared to high catalyst density; at high photon flux and high applied potentials, where surface hole concentrations are moderate or high, slower surface charge recombination was afforded by low-density catalysts. The results support that charge transfer between the light absorber and the catalyst is reversible; they reveal the unexpected benefits of low-density catalyst loading in facilitating forward charge transfer for desired chemical reactions. It is implied that for practical solar water splitting devices, a suitable catalyst loading is important for maximized performance.     

Heterostructure of Si and CoSe2: A Promising Photocathode Based on a Non‐noble Metal Catalyst for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Evolution

Development of a solar water splitting device requires design of a low‐cost, efficient, and non‐noble metal compound as alternative to noble metals. For the first time, we showed that CoSe₂ can function as co‐catalyst in phototoelectrochemical hydrogen production. We designed a heterostructure of p‐Si and marcasite‐type CoSe₂ for solar‐driven hydrogen production. CoSe₂ successively coupled with p‐Si can act as a superior photocathode in the solar‐driven water splitting reaction. Photocurrents up to 9 mA cm^?2 were achieved at 0 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the high photocurrents can be attributed to low charge transfer resistance between the Si and CoSe₂ interfaces and that between the CoSe₂ and electrolyte interfaces. Our results suggest that this CoSe₂ is a promising alternative co‐catalyst for hydrogen evolution.     

Model catalysts of supported Au nanoparticles and mass-selected clusters

In surface science, much effort has gone into obtaining a deeper understanding of the size-selectivity of nanocatalysts. In this article, electronic and chemical properties of various model catalysts consisting of Au are reported. Au supported by oxide surfaces becomes inert towards chemisorption and oxidation as the particle size became smaller than a critical size (2-3 nm). The inertness of these small Au nanoparticles is due to the electron-deficient nature of smaller Au nanoparticles, which is a result of metal-substrate charge transfer. Properties of Au clusters smaller than ～20 atoms were shown to be non-scalable, i.e., every atom can drastically change the chemical properties of the clusters. Moreover, clusters with the same size can show dissimilar properties on various substrates. These recent endeavours show that the activity of a catalyst can be tuned by varying the substrate or by varying the cluster size on an atom-by-atom basis.     

Ca/Al物质的量比对Ni/CaO-Al_2O_3结构及其催化重整性能的影响

合成兼具催化、吸附性能的复合催化剂是实现CO_2吸附强化CH_4/H_2O重整制氢过程的关键。研究采用共沉淀法制备了一系列具有类水滑石结构前驱体的Ni/Ca O-Al_2O_3复合催化剂,考察了制备过程中Ca/Al物质的量比对复合催化剂结构及性能的影响。结果表明,Ca/Al物质的量比可调控活性组分Ni与载体之间的相互作用力,进而调变复合催化剂的比表面积和活性组分Ni的分散度。当Ca/Al物质的量比为3时,Ni与载体之间相互作用力适宜,复合催化剂具有最大的比表面积(12.9 m~2/g)和最高的Ni分散度(1.07%);该复合催化剂在CO_2吸附强化CH_4/H_2O重整制氢过程中可得到95%的H_2浓度和88%的CH_4转化率,循环10次后,H2浓度仍能保持在93%以上。     

Coupling metal oxide nanoparticle catalysts for water oxidation to molecular light absorbers

Water oxidation, as a mandatory reaction of solar fuels conversion systems, requires the use of light absorbers with electronic properties that are well matched with those of the multi-electron catalyst in order to achieve high efficiency. Molecular light absorbers offer flexibility in fine tuning of orbital energetics,and metal oxide nanoparticles have emerged as robust oxygen evolving catalysts. Hence, these material choices offer a promising approach for the development of photocatalytic systems for water oxidation.However, efficient charge transfer coupling of molecular light absorbers and metal oxide nanoparticle catalysts has proven a challenge. Recent new approaches toward the efficient coupling of these components based on synthetic design improvements combined with direct spectroscopic observation and kinetic evaluation of charge transfer processes are discussed.     

光辐照驱动水-碳低温催化制氢实验研究

在氙灯模拟的太阳光聚光反应系统上,以K₂CO₃作为催化剂进行了700~720 ℃条件下的水-碳低温催化制氢实验。结果表明,催化作用下的产氢速率是未添加催化剂时的10倍,催化剂添加量在10%~20%时反应产氢率没有本质的区别。具体分析了K₂CO₃催化水-碳制氢反应的氧转移机理,并用该机理对反应产物中出现的氢、氧不平衡现象做出了解释。实验中,光能转换化为化学能的效率达到13.12%,优于光伏法制氢效率10.85%。最后对进一步提高能量转换效率提出了可参考的思路。     

非贵金属析氢电催化剂的结构调控研究进展

能源危机和环境污染日益严重,寻找可持续且清洁的新能源成为趋势,而氢能被视为最理想的选择。贵金属基催化剂虽活性优异但成本高、稳定性差,因此开发可代替如铱（Ir）和钌（Ru）等贵金属催化剂的非贵金属催化剂是研究热点,而掌握析氢反应（Hydrogen Evolution Reaction,HER）机理是合成新型高效电催化剂的关键。本文综述了近年来非贵金属基HER催化剂的研究进展,围绕Fe、Co、Ni和Mn等非贵金属对电催化构建策略和提高催化活性进行了讨论,其中包括组分调控和缺陷工程等方面。此外,还展望了HER催化剂的应用前景。     

双金属催化剂体系催化过氧化氢分解反应

研究了双金属催化剂体系催化过氧化氢分解反应,测量了不同催化剂体系的活化能.结果表明,双金属催化剂对过氧化氢分解反应具有良好的催化性能,且双金属催化剂存在协同催化作用;而酸性环境对过氧化氢催化分解有明显的抑制作用.     

Au负载催化剂应用于水煤气变换制氢反应的研究进展

水煤气变换反应是目前广泛应用于制氢的方法 ,应用于水煤气变换反应的催化剂成为了重要的研究热点.我们在简述传统水煤气变换催化剂的基础上,重点介绍了Au负载型催化剂应用于水煤气变换反应的相关文献,针对Au负载型催化剂的载体种类、制备方法以及催化剂活性机理做出了详细分析.强调了影响水煤气变换反应催化剂的重点参数及Au负载型催化剂的发展趋势,以便为提高催化剂催化活性、设计Au负载催化剂并应用在水煤气变换反应中的研究者提供必要的参考信息.     

Nanostructured Metal Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation and Oxidation of Cellulosic Biomass to Chemicals

Conversion of biomass to chemicals provides essential products to human society from renewable resources. In this context, achieving atom‐economical and energy‐efficient conversion with high selectivity towards target products remains a key challenge. Recent developments in nanostructured catalysts address this challenge reporting remarkable performances in shape and morphology dependent catalysis by metals on nano scale in energy and environmental applications. In this review, most recent advances in synthesis of heterogeneous nanomaterials, surface characterization and catalytic performances for hydrogenation and oxidation for biorenewables with plausible mechanism have been discussed. The perspectives obtained from this review paper will provide insights into rational design of active, selective and stable catalytic materials for sustainable production of value‐added chemicals from biomass resources.