Thermal stability of an SiO2-coated Rh catalyst and catalytic activity in NO reduction by CO

An SiO2-coated Rh catalyst with SiO2 thickness of 13 nm has much higher stability against sintering of Rh and SiO2 than sol-gel and impregnation Rh/SiO2 catalysts; it exhibits the highest activity in the NO-CO reaction among these catalysts after thermal treatment.     

Circumventing the scaling relationship on bimetallic monolayer electrocatalysts for selective CO2 reduction

Electrochemical conversion of CO₂ into value-added chemicals continues to draw interest in renewable energy applications. Although many metal catalysts are active in the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR), their reactivity and selectivity are nonetheless hindered by the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The competition of the HER and CO₂RR stems from the energy scaling relationship between their reaction intermediates. Herein, we predict that bimetallic monolayer electrocatalysts (BMEs) – a monolayer of transition metals on top of extended metal substrates – could produce dual-functional active sites that circumvent the scaling relationship between the adsorption energies of HER and CO₂RR intermediates. The antibonding interaction between the adsorbed H and the metal substrate is revealed to be responsible for circumventing the scaling relationship. Based on extensive density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we identify 11 BMEs which are highly active and selective toward the formation of formic acid with a much suppressed HER. The H–substrate antibonding interaction also leads to superior CO₂RR performance on monolayer-coated penta-twinned nanowires.

Dual-functional active sites are designed to circumvent the scaling relationship between the HER and CO₂RR on bimetallic monolayer electrocatalysts.     

Recent advances in tuning redox properties of electron transfer centers in metalloenzymes catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction and H2 oxidation important for fuel cell design

Current fuel cell catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and H₂ oxidation use precious metals and, for ORR, require high overpotentials. In contrast, metalloenzymes perform their respective reactions at low overpotentials using earth-abundant metals, making metalloenzymes ideal candidates for inspiring electrocatalytic design. Critical to the success of these enzymes are redox-active metal centers surrounding the active site of the enzyme. These electron transfer (ET) centers not only ensure fast ET to or away from the active site, but also tune the catalytic potential of the reaction as observed in multicopper oxidases as well as playing a role in dictating the catalytic bias of the reaction as realized in hydrogenases. This review summarizes recent advances in studying these ET centers in multicopper oxidases and heme-copper oxidases that perform ORR and in hydrogenases carrying out H₂ oxidation. Insights gained from understanding how the reduction potential of the ET centers affects reactivity at the active site in both the enzymes and their models are provided.     

Probing the local activity of CO2 reduction on gold gas diffusion electrodes: effect of the catalyst loading and CO2 pressure

Large scale CO₂ electrolysis can be achieved using gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), and is an essential step towards broader implementation of carbon capture and utilization strategies. Different variables are known to affect the performance of GDEs. Especially regarding the catalyst loading, there are diverging trends reported in terms of activity and selectivity, e.g. for CO₂ reduction to CO. We have used shear–force based Au nanoelectrode positioning and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) in the surface-generation tip collection mode to evaluate the activity of Au GDEs for CO₂ reduction as a function of catalyst loading and CO₂ back pressure. Using a Au nanoelectrode, we have locally measured the amount of CO produced along a catalyst loading gradient under operando conditions. We observed that an optimum local loading of catalyst is necessary to achieve high activities. However, this optimum is directly dependent on the CO₂ back pressure. Our work does not only present a tool to evaluate the activity of GDEs locally, it also allows drawing a more precise picture regarding the effect of catalyst loading and CO₂ back pressure on their performance.

Large scale CO₂ electrolysis can be achieved using gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), and is an essential step towards broader implementation of carbon capture and utilization strategies.     

Electron-withdrawing functional ligand promotes CO2 reduction catalysis in single atom catalyst

Science China Chemistry - Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) powered by renewable electricity offers an attractive approach to reduce carbon emission and at the same time...     

Rational electronic tuning of CBS catalyst for highly enantioselective borane reduction of trifluoroacetophenone

α,α,α-Trifluoroacetophenone (2), which is susceptible to noncatalytic reduction by BH(3), could be reduced to chiral alcohol up to 90% ee by using electronically tuned-CBS catalyst (1) with BH(3). The enantioselectivities highly correlated with the differential orbital energies between 1-BH(3) adduct and 2, which were calculated by DFT method.     

Near unity quantum yield of light-driven redox mediator reduction and efficient H2 generation using colloidal nanorod heterostructures

The advancement of direct solar-to-fuel conversion technologies requires the development of efficient catalysts as well as efficient materials and novel approaches for light harvesting and charge separation. We report a novel system for unprecedentedly efficient (with near-unity quantum yield) light-driven reduction of methylviologen (MV(2+)), a common redox mediator, using colloidal quasi-type II CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod nanorods as a light absorber and charge separator and mercaptopropionic acid as a sacrificial electron donor. In the presence of Pt nanoparticles, this system can efficiently convert sunlight into H(2), providing a versatile redox mediator-based approach for solar-to-fuel conversion. Compared to related CdSe seed and CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots and CdS nanorods, the quantum yields are significantly higher in the CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod structures. Comparison of charge separation, recombination and hole filling rates in these complexes showed that the dot-in-rod structure enables ultrafast electron transfer to methylviologen, fast hole removal by sacrificial electron donor and slow charge recombination, leading to the high quantum yield for MV(2+) photoreduction. Our finding demonstrates that by controlling the composition, size and shape of quantum-confined nanoheterostructures, the electron and hole wave functions can be tailored to produce efficient light harvesting and charge separation materials.     

Highly active electrocatalytic CO2 reduction with manganese N-heterocyclic carbene pincer by para electronic tuning

Electronic tuning by para substitutions was explored to achieve a highly active manganese N-heterocyclic carbene pincer complex for the selective electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to CO. [MnCNC^OMe]BF₄（L2-Mn） bearing an electron-donating group（–OMe） showed high activity with 63 × catalytic current enhancement, average Faradaic efficiency of 104%, and a TOF_max value of 26,127 s^-1, which is 127 times higher than that of unsubstituted [MnCNC     

氮自掺杂暴露（001）晶面TiO2微米片的可见光光催化CO2还原性能增强

化石能源的使用可产生大量CO2,带来严重的温室效应。光催化CO2还原生产太阳燃料技术既有望缓解温室效应,又可以将低能量密度的太阳能转化为高能量密度的化学能储存起来方便使用。高效光催化材料的开发是发展光催化技术的关键。迄今,在已开发的所有半导体光催化材料中, TiO2仍是广泛研究的明星材料。在实际使用中, TiO2的光催化效率仍受限于其极弱的可见光利用率和较高的电子-空穴复合几率。近年来,越来越多的研究表明TiO2的结构与形貌特征极大地影响其光催化效率。尤其, TiO2的外露晶面设计与晶面效应研究引起了广泛关注。由于具有较高表面能和较多表面不饱和键,起初大多数理论和实验研究认为锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面是光催化活性晶面。后来,越来越多研究表明并非锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面的暴露比例越高其光催化活性就越高。最近,我们发现锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面与(101)晶面在调控光催化CO2还原性能上具有良好的协同效应。密度泛函理论计算表明,锐钛矿TiO2的(001)晶面与(101)晶面的能带结构有差异,(001)晶面的导带位置相对于(101)晶面而言较高,而(101)晶面的价带位置相对于(001)晶面而言较低。基于此我们提出,具有合适比例的锐钛矿TiO2的(001)晶面与(101)晶面的交界处可以形成最佳的表面异质结或晶面异质结。表面异质结的形成导致光生电子倾向于向(101)扩散,光生空穴倾向于向(001)扩散,从而促进光生电子-空穴分离,降低光生电子-空穴复合几率。在此工作基础上,我们直接以氮化钛为原料,氢氟酸为添加剂,通过简单的水热反应一步合成了氮自掺杂的TiO2微米片。利用X射线粉末衍射、扫描电镜、X射线光电子能谱、紫外-可见漫反射光谱、氮气吸附-脱附以及电化学阻抗谱等方法手段对所制备的光催化剂进行了基本结构与理化性质表征分析,并研究了其可见光光催化CO2还原性能。电镜照片结果表明,我们所制备的氮自掺杂锐钛矿TiO2微米片的(001)晶面与(101)晶面比例分别为65%和35%。基于我们前期研究结果, TiO2微米片的(001)晶面与(101)晶面可以形成表面异质结,具有良好的电荷分离效率,这也得到了电化学阻抗谱研究结果的证明。同时,由于N的原位掺杂,所制备的TiO2微米片具有优异的可见光捕获能力。由于可见光利用效率增强与光生电子-空穴分离效率提高这两方面的综合作用,所制备的氮自掺杂TiO2微米片具有非常好的可见光光催化CO2还原制甲醇性能,比商用P25及氮掺杂TiO2纳米粒子等参考样品的可见光光催化性能更优异。研究表明,通过原位自掺杂方法与晶面设计方法相结合,可以同时改善TiO2的可见光利用效率和光生电子-空穴分离效率,优化TiO2的可见光光催化性能,这也为后续开发新型高效光催化材料提供了新思路。     

Effects of pretreatment and reduction on the Co/Al2O3 catalyst for CO hydrogenation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of preadsorbed CO at different temperatures, calcination temperatures, the combined influence of reduction temperature and time, and pretreatment using hydrogen or syngas as reduction agents on the F-T synthesis （FTS） activity and selectivity of Co/Al2O3 catalyst. The reactivity of the carbon species at higher preadsorption temperature with H2 in TPSR decreased, whereas the carbon-containing species showed higher reactivity over Co/Al2O3 catalyst with low calcination temperature. This agreed well with the order of catalytic activity for F-T synthesis on this catalyst. The catalytic activity of the catalyst varied with reduction temperature and time remarkably. CODEX optimization gave an optimum reduction temperature of 756 K and reduction time of 6.2 h and estimated C5＋ yield perfectly. The pretreatment of Co/Al2O3 catalyst with different reduction agents （hydrogen or syngas） showed important influences on the catalytic performance. A high CO conversion and C5＋ yield were obtained on the catalyst reduced by hydrogen, whereas methane selectivity on the catalyst reduced by syngas was much higher than that on the catalyst reduced by hydrogen.     

Theory assisted design of N-doped tin oxides for enhanced electrochemical CO2 activation and reduction

Clearly understanding the structure-function relationship and rational design of efficient CO_2 electrocatalysts are still the challenges.This article describes the molecular origin of high selectivity of formic acid on N-doped SnO_2 nanoparticles,which obtained via thermal treatment of g-C_3N_4 and SnCl_2·2H_2O precursor.Combined with density functional theory(DFT)calculations,we discover that N-doping effectively introduces oxygen vacancies and increases the charge density of Sn sites,which plays a positive role in CO_2 activation.In addition,N-doping further regulates the adsorption energy of*OCHO,*COOH,*H and promotes HCOOH generation.Benefited from above modulation,the obtained N-doped SnO_2 catalysts with oxygen vacancies(Ov-N-SnO_2)exhibit faradaic efficiency of 93% for C_1 formation,88% for HCOOH production and well-suppression of H_2 evolution over a wide range of potentials.     

Study of MO2N catalyst activity and stability in CO oxidation

Unsupported molybdenum nitride powder with S_g of 115 m²g⁻¹ (passivated) has been prepared by the temperature-programmed reaction of MoO₃ in H₂/N₂ mixture. It exhibited high catalytic activity in CO oxidation. DTA experiments in the air flow and O₂ temperature-programmed pulse reaction (TPPR) showed that the optimal oxidation temperature for the Mo₂N catalyst was under 450°C because of its instability at high temperature in the presence of O₂.     

Rational catalyst design and interface engineering for electrochemical CO2 reduction to high-valued alcohols

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction(eCO₂RR) is an emerging strategy to address the global carbon balance issues and fulfill the carbon-neutral goal through converting CO₂ to value-added chemicals/fuels driven by renewable energy sources. The production of highly reduced carbon compounds beyond CO and formate, especially oxygenate alcohol products with high energy densities and large global market capacities, is particularly desirable for practical applications. However...     

Effect of decomposition of catalyst precursor on Ni/CeO2 activity for CO methanation

CO methanation on Ni/CeO₂ has recently received increasing attention. However, the low-temperature activity and carbon resistance of Ni/CeO₂ still need to be improved. In this study, plasma decomposition of nickel nitrate was performed at ca. 150°C and atmospheric pressure. This was followed by hydrogen reduction at 500 °C in the absence of plasma, and a highly dispersed Ni/CeO₂ catalyst was obtained with improved CO adsorption and enhanced metal-support interaction. The plasma-decomposed catalyst showed significantly improved low-temperature activity with high methane selectivity (up to 100%) and enhanced carbon resistance for CO methanation. For example, at 250°C, the plasma-decomposed catalyst showed a CO conversion of 96.8% with high methane selectivity (almost 100%), whereas the CO conversion was only 14.7% for a thermally decomposed catalyst.     

Single-atom catalysts for CO oxidation,CO2 reduction,and O2 electrochemistry

CO_x(x=1,2)and O₂ chemistry play key roles in tackling global severe environmental challenges and energy issues.To date,the efficient selective electrocatalytic transformations of COx-carbon chemicals,and O₂-hydrogenated products are still huge challenges.Single-atom catalysts(SACs)as atomic-scale novel catalysts in which only isolated metal atoms are dispersed on supports shed new insights in overcome these obstacles in CO_x and O₂ chemistry,including CO oxidation,CO₂ reduction reaction(CO₂RR),oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),and oxygen evolution reaction(OER).In this review,the unique features and advanced synthesis strategies of SACs from a viewpoint of fundamental synthesis design are first highlighted to guide future strategy design for controllable SAC synthesis.Then,the to-date reported CO₂RR,CO oxidation,OER,and ORR mechanism are included and summarized.More importantly,the design principles and design strategies of improving the intrinsic activity,selectivity,and stability are extensively discussed and the engineering strategy is classified as neighbor coordination engineering,metal-atom engineering,and substrate engineering.Via the comprehensive review and summary of state-of-the-art SACs,the synthesis–structure–property–mechanism–design principle relation can be revealed to shed lights into the structural construction of SACs.Finally,we present an outlook on current challenges and future directions for SACs in CO_x and O₂ chemistry.     

Enhanced activity and coke resistivity of NiCoFe nanoalloy catalyst in CO2 reforming of methane

NiCo nanoalloy catalysts were prepared from hydrotalcite precursors and used in CO₂ reforming of methane (DRM) under atmospheric and 2 MPa pressure in a fixed-bed reactor at 700-850 °C. The Ni₆Co₁ catalyst with a molar ratio of Ni/Co to 6 showed the highest stability and activity in DRM under atmospheric pressure. This was due to the homogeneous dispersion of nanoalloy particles (∼14 nm) on the MgAl(O) support, which had a strong metal-support interaction. Nonetheless, a slow and continuous deactivation was spotted under 2 MPa pressure due to the coke deposition. Further modification of Ni₆Co₁ with optimum amount of Fe (in Ni₆Co_0.5Fe_0.5) formed ternary NiCoFe nanoalloy with improved metal-support interaction and reduced alloy size (∼10 nm). The presence of Fe significantly improved the coke resistance capability and provided high stability under 2 MPa pressure.     

探究超薄Bi2MoO6纳米片高效光催化CO2还原活性

铋系层状半导体材料凭借其独特的表面特性在光催化领域得到广泛的研究及应用,然而在光催化反应过程中光生电荷迁移及其表界面动态变化却鲜见报道。本文中,我们利用准原位X射线光电子能谱仪（QIS-XPS）系统研究超薄Bi2MoO6纳米片光催化CO2还原过程中光生电荷迁移及其表界面演变过程。研究结果表明：在暗态条件下CO2分子吸附于（010）暴露面Bi活性位,由于CO2分子强的拉电子能力,导致内层出现高价态Mo(6 x) 。当光照射至样品表面上时,*CO2峰显著降低,*CO峰明显升高,表明CO2分子在Bi活性位发生活化断键,并与光生电子反应形成*CO,使得高价态Mo(6 x) 含量增大。活性测试表明超薄Bi2MoO6纳米片的CO产量活性为41.8 ?mol g-1 h-1,其比块体Bi2MoO6活性高4.2倍,并且展现出优异的光催化稳定性。该工作为二维层状材料高效光催化CO2还原机理研究提供了一种全新的研究思路。     

高选择性和稳定性SnO2纳米催化剂上 CO2电化学还原为甲酸

作为最重要的还原产品,甲酸是 CO2还原中非常有价值的液体燃料.已有研究报道, Sn类金属电极对甲酸生成有很好的催化活性,所用电解液均为 KHCO3溶液(0.5 mol/L),但多数研究没有对其电解液条件的影响给出清晰解释.一般而言,电解液 pH值会影响 H2O和 CO2还原的电极电势,酸性环境有利于氢析出,碱性环境则不利于甲酸形成.在中性偏碱性环境, CO2电解可以提供维持氧化物稳定性的可能性.同时,电解质浓度也极大地影响甲酸形成.研究表明,当在固定床反应器中使用 Sn颗粒电极,在 KHCO3溶液(0.5 mol/L)中甲酸的法拉第效率比 K2CO3溶液(0.1 mol/L)的法拉第效率更大.我们研究组通过简单的水热自组装法成功制备了一种纳米结构 SnO2催化剂.其中 SnO2-50纳米催化剂由三维多级结构组成,为纳米颗粒和微米球的聚集体,其中含有直径为500 nm?1μm的高度多孔结构.该催化剂负载气体扩散电极用于 CO2电化学还原,表现出优异的 CO2还原催化活性和甲酸选择性.与其他文献报道相比,该电极具有明显的低过电位(?0.56 V vs. SHE).经研究发现,这与甲酸形成由传质和电荷传递过程控制有关,同时 CO2还原强烈依赖于电解液条件.此外,催化剂的电化学性能和甲酸选择性强烈依赖于电解液浓度.在0.5 mol/L KHCO3电解液中,当电解液浓度为0.1?0.5 mol/L时,催化性能随电解液浓度增加而提高,同时在电解液浓度为0.5 mol/L时催化性能达到最佳,获得56%的甲酸法拉第效率,这主要是由于 HCO3?直接参与反应的结果.在电解液浓度较低时,甲酸的形成由传质控制,而在电解液浓度较高时,甲酸的形成则由电荷传递控制.
　　同时我们发现在形成甲酸过程中,电解液 pH值对 CO2电化学还原过程有很大影响.为了研究电解液pH值影响,重点考察了pH值分别为6,7,8.3和9时的电位值,其原因是酸性过高有利于氢气形成,碱度过高不利于甲酸形成.结果表明,pH =8.3的电解液为 CO2还原的最佳电解液条件.此外,在最负的电势下,电解液pH=8.3时,阴极电流密度比其他电解液都大,几乎是pH=6的电解液的2倍.此时在中性偏碱性环境下, CO2还原可以提供维持氧化物稳定性的可能性.当电解液 pH增加到9.0时,甲酸产量及法拉第效率略有下降,可能是碱性环境不利于甲酸形成.
　　同时,对 SnO2-50纳米催化剂经28 h电解后的甲酸法拉第效率的衰减机制进行了深入研究.结果表明,随着电解时间延长,甲酸法拉第效率衰减.电解时间为1?28 h时,法拉第效率和甲酸产量均保持平稳下降趋势,28 h后法拉第效率由初始的56%降至24%.有文献报道,甲酸法拉第效率随电解时间的改变主要是由于阳极上甲酸的氧化或阴极上杂质的污染.为了证明阴极电解后的状态,我们对 SnO2-50/GDL阴极电解前后的 XPS谱进行了分析.结果发现,法拉第效率的下降是由于痕量氟离子沉积到 SnO2-50/GDL电极表面,这些痕量氟离子可能来自反应槽,阻碍电极表面 CO2电化学还原为甲酸.     

Enhanced electrocatalytic activity of iron amino porphyrins using a flow cell for reduction of CO2 to CO

The flexibility of molecular catalysts is highly coveted for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO) in both homogeneous a...