Developments on carbon dioxide reduction: Their promise,achievements, and challenges

CO₂ reduction processes continue to be developed for electrosynthesis, energy storage applications, and environmental remediation. A number of promising materials have shown high activity and selectivity to target reduction products. However, the progress has been mainly at a small laboratory scale, and the technical challenges of large scale CO₂ reduction have not been considered adequately. This review covers recent advancements in catalyst materials and cell designs. The leading materials for CO₂ reduction to a number of useful products are presented with their corresponding cell and reactor designs. The latest efforts to progress to industrially relevant scales are discussed, along with the challenges that must be met for carbon dioxide reduction to be a viable route for mass scale production.     

基于FeWOx/SiO2载氧体的甲烷化学链部分氧化反应

甲烷具有价格低廉且储量丰富的优点,因此将甲烷转化为合成气(一种H2:CO为2的混合物),从而进一步合成有价值的化学品和液体燃料引起了人们的极大关注.化学链甲烷部分氧化(CLPOM)技术能避免甲烷与空气直接接触而引起爆炸的危险,可以降低后续对合成气与氮气分离操作所带来的费用,因此日益受到关注.CLOPM过程主要分为两步:第一步,CH4被载氧体所携带的氧部分氧化,载氧体被还原;第二步,利用氧化剂(例如空气)将被还原的载氧体再氧化恢复.因此,载氧体在CLOPM过程中起到至关重要的作用.载氧体的选择主要存在两个问题:(1)甲烷被活化所产生含碳产物的能力与晶格氧的给氧能力不匹配所带来的严重碳沉积;(2)金属离子间扩散速率不匹配而造成载氧体在氧化还原过程中结构的不可逆变化.基于上述两个问题,本文设计了FeWOx/SiO2载氧体用于CLPOM.与未改性的WO3/SiO2载氧体相比,甲烷的转化率和合成气的收率都有显著提高.FeWOx/SiO2在900℃、1 atm反应条件下表现出62%的甲烷转化率、93%的CO气相选择性、94%的H2选择性和2.4的H2/CO比值,同时在50个循环中表现出优异的催化活性和稳定性.本工作利用CH4脉冲反应研究了FeWOx/SiO2的甲烷表面反应过程;采用CH4-TPR和H2-TPR相结合探究了甲烷活化速率与晶格氧扩散速率之间的关系;通过XPS和XRD对FeWOx/SiO2在氧化还原过程中的结构稳定性进行了探讨.综合上述实验结果,对FeWOx/SiO2应用于CLPOM的反应机理进行了阐述.H2-TPR结果表明,在FeWOx/SiO2中,相较于Fe2O3/SiO2,Fe-O的活性受到抑制,使其更倾向于与甲烷发生部分氧化反应;相较于WO3/SiO2,W-O的活性得到明显提升,因此更多的晶格氧可以参与到部分氧化反应中来氧化积碳,从而使合成气收率大幅度提升.从CH4-TPR结果可以看出,对于FeWOx/SiO2,CO与H2的生成温度最接近,意味着晶格氧的传输速率较快并且能够与甲烷活化产生含碳中间物种的速率相匹配,将其及时氧化生成CO,避免由于积碳造成的催化剂失活.结合XPS和XRD结果可以得出,在甲烷还原过程中,FeWOx经历一步还原形成Fe-W合金,由于其间存在强相互作用,因而抑制了还原过程中催化剂相分离现象的发生.同时,根据铁钨离子在空气条件下扩散速率的公式计算可以得出,其相近的离子氧化速率也保证了在氧化过程中催化剂结构的稳定性.本工作为进一步构建用于甲烷化学链部分氧化制合成气的复合金属氧化物载氧体提供了研究思路.     

The Effect of Platinum on Diffusion Kinetics in β‐NiAl: Implications for Thermal Barrier Coating Lifetimes

Platinum is added to thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) as it is observed empirically to extend their lifetime, but the mechanism by which Pt acts is unknown. Since Pt has been proposed to alter diffusivities in NiAl, a key component of TBCs, we use first‐principles quantum mechanics calculations to investigate atomic level diffusion mechanisms. Here, we examine the effect of Pt on five previously proposed mechanisms for Ni diffusion in NiAl: next‐nearest‐neighbor jumps, the triple defect mechanism, and three variants of the six jump cycle. We predict that Pt increases the rate of Ni diffusion by stabilizing point defects and defect clusters that are diffusion intermediates. Previously, we predicted the triple defect mechanism to be a dominant Ni diffusion mechanism; it simultaneously results in long‐range Al diffusion in the opposite direction. Since Pt increases the rate of Ni diffusion, it also increases Al diffusion in NiAl, which may be key to extending the coating lifetime.     

ZIF-8材料中CH4/H2吸附与扩散的分子模拟

采用平衡分子动力学和巨正则系综蒙特卡洛模拟方法对多孔沸石咪唑酯骨架材料(ZIF-8)中CH4和H2分子的吸附与扩散特性进行了比较研究.结果表明,采用柔性力场能够很好地复制ZIF-8在不同压力或温度条件下的晶体结构,也能准确地计算不同温度下CH4和H2分子在ZIF-8中的扩散系数,特别是高温下CH4分子因能够摆脱ZIF-8骨架笼口的空间限制而使其扩散系数出现大幅提升.同时,该力场也能粗略地模拟CH4和H2分子在ZIF-8中的等温吸附曲线,通过自编程序得到吸附和扩散平衡时CH4和H2分子在ZIF-8单元晶胞内的几率密度分布数据,并利用VMD软件可视化.结果显示CH4和H2分子在ZIF-8中的优先吸附位置均在大孔中心靠近咪唑环的区域,但CH4分子的优先吸附位置有两个不同层次,而H2分子的优先吸附位置只有一个层次,说明CH4和H2分子在ZIF-8中存在着不同的吸附机理.