N,O共修饰的Ni纳米颗粒/氮掺杂介孔碳CO2高效电还原催化剂

利用可再生电力能源将CO2电还原(CO2RR)为高附加值燃料和化学品(CO、甲酸盐和碳氢化合物等)是一种高效、绿色的CO2资源化利用新技术.然而,由于CO2分子中双键难以活化,且存在析氢竞争反应,即使对于CO2电还原为CO这一简单反应,除少数贵金属(Au、Ag和Pd及其合金)外,当前大多数电催化剂对产物CO的选择性和活性仍较低.因此,开发高效、稳定且廉价的CO2RR催化剂具有重要意义.过渡金属Ni储量高、成本低,是潜在的CO2RR催化剂.然而,受限于Ni对*H及*CO等中间物种相对强的吸附能力,Ni基催化剂催化生成产物CO的活性和选择性较低.近年来研究表明,通过对Ni基材料进行表面修饰,可以调控Ni表面与中间物种的吸附强度,从而有效提升Ni基催化剂对CO2RR反应的活性和选择性.鉴于此,本文通过N,O共调控的策略对负载于N掺杂介孔碳上的Ni纳米颗粒进行表面修饰,制得的N,O-Ni/CMK3催化剂能够高效、高选择性地将CO2电还原为CO.X射线衍射、高角度环形暗场扫描透射电子显微镜和X射线光电子能谱等表征结果表明,N,O-Ni/CMK3中的Ni纳米颗粒由金属Ni核和N掺杂的NiO壳组成,即Ni纳米颗粒表面被N,O共调控,这种独特的表面使其表现出与金属Ni不同的CO2RR催化性能.电化学测试结果表明,在0.5 M KHCO3电解液中,N,O-Ni/CMK3催化剂表现出较好的选择性(生成CO法拉第效率达97％)、活性(CO分电流密度为13.01 mA cm?1)和转换频率(4.25 s?1).表征结果表明,N,O共同调控的Ni是该催化反应的活性中心.此外,得益于N,O共调控的Ni表面,N,O-Ni/CMK3催化剂比O调控的Ni催化剂具有更好的电化学稳定性.本文通过调节Ni催化剂的表面化学环境来调控催化剂与反应中间物种的吸附强度,显著提高了Ni基催化剂对CO2RR反应的催化活性和CO选择性,为开发高活性、高选择性的过渡金属催化剂提供了新思路.     

Monodisperse and highly active PtNi nanoparticles for O2 reduction

Monodisperse PtNi nanoparticles with various compositions were synthesized by a wet-chemical approach. After electrochemical dissolution of Ni on the particle surface, these particles exhibit a 20–30-fold enhancement in O₂ reduction activity as compared to the commercial Pt/C catalysts.     

Ultrathin two-dimensional triptycence-based metal-organic framework for highly selective CO2 electroreduction to CO

Efficient CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is one of the important topics in energy and environment field, but improving the electrochemical selectivity of specific product is a great challenge. Herein, we reported a unprecedented two-dimensional (2D) metal?organic framework with CuO₄ unit (denoted as Cu-HHTT, HHTT = 9,10-dihydro-9,10-[1,2]benzenoanthracene-2,3,6,7,14,15-hexaol) as the electrocatalyst for CO₂RR. Cu-HHTT exhibits high performance for CO₂RR to produce CO, namely Faradaic efficiency of 96.6% toward CO with a current density of 18 mA/cm² at the potential of ?0.6 V vs. RHE. Density function theory reveals that the desorption of CO species exhibits a lower energy barrier than that of hydrogenation of *CO intermediate, resulting in CO as the main product instead of alcohols or hydrocarbons.     

ZnO-ZrO2固溶体催化剂上CO2高选择性加氢制甲醇

CO2引起的气候变化已引起全世界的关注,但同时CO2也是一种可持续的碳资源.将CO2转化为高附加值的燃料或化学品不仅可以解决CO2的问题,还可变废为宝得到有用的化学品.CO2加氢制甲醇是实现这一过程的理想选择之一,因为甲醇不仅是很好的燃料,还可转化得到烯烃、芳烃等高附加值化学品,需要强调的是整个过程所需的氢气是利用太阳能等可再生能源通过光催化、光电催化或电解水制氢得到.使用煤或天然气经合成气用CuZnOAl2O3催化剂合成甲醇已工业化50年左右,甲醇选择性可达99%,但该催化剂应用于CO2加氢制甲醇时,较强的逆水煤气变换副反应致使甲醇选择性只有60%左右,另外,反应生成的水会加速Cu基催化剂的失活.因此,开发新型高选择性催化体系显得尤为必要,世界上很多科学家展开了新型催化剂的研发,如Cu/ZnO/ZrO2,Pd/ZnO,"georgeite"Cu,Cu(Au)/CeOx/TiO2,Ni-Ga,MnOx/Co3O4催化剂等,但这几类催化剂体系上甲醇选择性都不超过60%,CO2加氢制甲醇选择性低的问题一直没有解决.近期,中国科学院大连化学物理研究所李灿院士课题组开发了一种不同于传统金属催化剂的双金属固溶体氧化物催化剂ZnO-ZrO2,在近似工业条件下(5.0 MPa,24000 mL/(g h),H2/CO2=3/1~4/1,320~315oC),当CO2单程转化率超过10%时,甲醇选择性仍保持在90%左右,是目前同类研究中综合水平最好的结果.研究表明,该催化剂的固溶体结构特征提供了双活性中心反应位点,Zn和Zr,其中H2和CO2分别在Zn位和原子相邻的Zr位上活化,在CO2加氢过程中表现出了协同作用,从而可高选择性地生成甲醇.原位红外-质谱同位素实验及DFT理论计算结果表明,表面HCOO*和H3CO*是反应主要的活性中间物种.该催化剂反应连续运行500 h无失活现象,还具有极好的耐烧结稳定性和一定的抗硫能力,表现出了良好的工业应用前景.传统甲醇合成Cu基催化剂要求原料气含硫低于0.5 ppm,而该催化剂的抗硫能力无疑可使原料气净化成本大大降低,在工业应用方面表现出潜在的优势.     

Recent strategy(ies) for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2: Ni single-atom catalysts for the selective electrochemical formation of CO in aqueous electrolytes

To decrease the global carbon footprint concerns and to diminish the energy crisis, electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ which results in the formulation of value-added chemicals is a potential solution. In this review, single-atom catalysts (SACs) which are rapidly growing and being developed as the stimulating catalytic materials for electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ with improved selectivity, efficiency, and stability are considered. Various factors which are responsible for the efficient CO₂ reduction are discussed. The pyrolytic approach for the preparation of Ni-based SACs and the maximum atom utilization efficiency for the desirable production of CO from CO₂ are highlighted.     

Face mask-derived Ni,N-doped graphene sheets for electrocatalytic CO2-to-CO reduction

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The COVID-19 pandemic that is still prevalent around the globe each day consumes massive disposable face masks and consequently lays a heavy burden on...     

Unconventional, highly selective CO2 adsorption in zeolite SSZ-13

Low-pressure adsorption of carbon dioxide and nitrogen was studied in both acidic and copper-exchanged forms of SSZ-13, a zeolite containing an 8-ring window. Under ideal conditions for industrial separations of CO(2) from N(2), the ideal adsorbed solution theory selectivity is >70 in each compound. For low gas coverage, the isosteric heat of adsorption for CO(2) was found to be 33.1 and 34.0 kJ/mol for Cu- and H-SSZ-13, respectively. From in situ neutron powder diffraction measurements, we ascribe the CO(2) over N(2) selectivity to differences in binding sites for the two gases, where the primary CO(2) binding site is located in the center of the 8-membered-ring pore window. This CO(2) binding mode, which has important implications for use of zeolites in separations, has not been observed before and is rationalized and discussed relative to the high selectivity for CO(2) over N(2) in SSZ-13 and other zeolites containing 8-ring windows.     

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.     

Synchronous activation of Ag nanoparticles and BiOBr for boosting solar-driven CO2 reduction

Artificial photosynthesis of valuable chemicals from CO₂ is a potential way to achieve sustainable carbon cycle. The CO₂ conversion activity is still inhibited by the sluggish charge kinetics and poor CO₂ activation. Herein, Ag nanoparticles coupled BiOBr have been constructed by in-situ photoreduction strategy. The crafting of interface between Ag nanoparticles and BiOBr nanosheets, achieving an ultra-fast charge transfer. The BiOBr semiconductor excited electrons and plasmonic Ag nanoparticles generated high-energy hot electrons synchronous accelerates the C=O double bond activation. Thus, the optimized Ag/BiOBr-2 heterostructure shows excellent CO₂ photoreduction activity with CO production of 133.75 and 6.83 µmol/g under 5 h of 300 W Xe lamp and visible light (λ > 400 nm) irradiation, which is 1.51 and 2.81 folds versus the pristine BiOBr, respectively. The mechanism of CO₂ photoreduction was in-depth understood through in-situ FT-IR spectrum and density functional theory calculations. This study provides some new perspectives into efficient photocatalytic CO₂ reduction.     

Carborane-based metal-organic frameworks as highly selective sorbents for CO(2) over methane

Separation of CO(2)/CH(4) mixtures was studied in carborane-based metal-organic framework materials with and without coordinatively unsaturated metal sites; high selectivities for CO(2) over CH(4) ( approximately 17) are obtained, especially in the material with open metal sites.     

CO_2加氢制甲醇用高活性和高选择性催化剂的研制

研制了一种CO2加氢制甲醇用高活性和高选择性催化剂Cu-ZnO-Al2O3(简记为RK-11),测定了其催化性能.结果表明,当原料气组成(体积分数)为68.5%H2、2.0%CO、20.5%CO2、9.0%N2,温度为240℃,气体时空速度GHSV=6 000h-1,压力为8.0MPa时,CO2转化率达35.2%,CO转化率达39.8%,甲醇的时空产率达686.1g/(L·h),而甲醇在产物中的选择性达99.3%.     

Ir/SiO2 as a highly active catalyst for the selective reduction of NO with CO in the presence of O2 and SO2

Coexisting SO2 considerably enhanced the catalytic activity of Ir/SiO2 for NO reduction with CO in the presence of O2 because of the formation of a cis-type coordinated species of NO and CO to one iridium atom ([formula: see text]), a possible reaction intermediate leading to N2 formation.     

Organic molecules involved in Cu-based electrocatalysts for selective CO2 reduction to C2+ products

Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is a promising process to mitigate the environmental issues caused by CO₂, as well as to produce valuable multicarbon (C₂₊) products. Significant progresses have been made to explore highly efficient Cu-based electrocatalysts for CO₂RR in recent years. Adding organic molecules into electrocatalytic systems can tune the CO₂ interaction with the electrocatalysts for CO₂RR, therefore, the final C₂₊ products, which are not solely achieved by inorganic modification. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress of the organic molecules participation in CO₂ electroreduction to C₂₊ products on Cu-based electrocatalysts. The applied organic molecules are reviewed based on the heteroatoms (N and S), with the emphasis on their roles in activity and selectivity toward C₂₊ products. A perspective on the application of organic molecules for efficient and selective CO₂RR has been provided.     

Efficient and highly selective iron-catalyzed reduction of nitroarenes

Pyrolysis of iron-phenanthroline complexes supported on carbon leads to highly selective catalysts for the reduction of structurally diverse nitroarenes to anilines in 90-99% yields. Excellent chemoselectivity for the nitro group reduction is demonstrated.     

Origin of the N-coordinated single-atom Ni sites in heterogeneous electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction reaction

Heterogeneous Ni–N–C single-atom catalysts (SACs) have attracted great research interest regarding their capability in facilitating the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR), with CO accounting for the major product. However, the fundamental nature of their active Ni sites remains controversial, since the typically proposed pyridinic-type Ni configurations are inactive, display low selectivity, and/or possess an unfavorable formation energy. Herein, we present a constant-potential first-principles and microkinetic model to study the CO₂RR at a solid–water interface, which shows that the electrode potential is crucial for governing CO₂ activation. A formation energy analysis on several NiN_xC_4−x (x = 1–4) moieties indicates that the predominant Ni moieties of Ni–N–C SACs are expected to have a formula of NiN₄. After determining the potential-dependent thermodynamic and kinetic energy of these Ni moieties, we discover that the energetically favorable pyrrolic-type NiN₄ moiety displays high activity for facilitating the selective CO₂RR over the competing H₂ evolution. Moreover, model polarization curves and Tafel analysis results exhibit reasonable agreement with existing experimental data. This work highlights the intrinsic tetrapyrrolic coordination of Ni for facilitating the CO₂RR and offers practical guidance for the rational improvement of SACs, and this model can be expanded to explore mechanisms of other electrocatalysis in aqueous solutions.

A constant-potential first-principles and microkinetic model is developed to uncover the nature of heterogeneous Ni–N–C catalysts. It highlights the crucial role of a pyrrolic-type NiN₄ moiety in electrochemical CO₂ reduction.     

A flexible metal-organic framework with double interpenetration for highly selective CO2 capture at room temperature

A flexible metal-organic framework of 1a Cu(FMA)(4,4'-Bpe)0.5(FMA=fumarate; 4,4'-Bpe=trans-bis-(4-pyridyl)ethylene) that exhibits guest molecule-controlled gate-opening adsorption has been reported, in which the flexible pores can be enlarged by CO_2 molecules rather than CH_4 and N_2 under a certain gate-opening pressure. The CO_2 uptake can be sharply improved from 6.85cm~3 g~(–1) at 0.60 atm to 33.7 cm~3 g~(–1) at 1 atm due to the gate-opening effect, thus resulting in the notably enhanced adsorption selectivities for CO_2/CH_4(32:1, v/v) and CO_2/N_2(48:1, v/v) separations at room temperature.     

Chemo‐selective reduction of nitro and nitrile compounds using Ni nanoparticles immobilized on hyperbranched polymer‐functionalized magnetic nanoparticles

The nitro and nitrile groups in aromatic and aliphatic compounds containing various reducible substituents such as carboxylic acid, ketone, aldehyde and halogen are selectively reduced to the corresponding amines in water as a green solvent with excellent yields by employing NaBH₄ in the presence of Fe₃O₄@PAMAM/Ni(0)‐b‐PEG nanocatalyst. The morphology and structural features of the catalyst were characterized using various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The designed catalyst system because of it being covered with hydrophilic polymers is soluble in a wide range of solvents (e.g. water and ethanol) and suitable for immobilizing and stabilizing Ni nanoparticles in aqueous mediums. In addition, the catalyst can be easily recovered from a reaction mixture by applying an external magnetic field and can be reused up to six runs without significant loss of activity.     

Recent advances in strategies for highly selective electrocatalytic N2 reduction toward ambient NH3 synthesis

Industrial NH₃ production mainly relies on the Haber–Bosch process, which is energy-intensive, heavily dependent on fossil fuels with massive greenhouse gas emission. Electrochemical N₂-to-NH₃ conversion is an attractive method to address this issue. The great challenge for this process is its limited selectivity because of the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction and the sluggish kinetics of N₂ reduction reaction. In this review, we summarize recent progress in strategies in improving the NH₃ selectivity for the electrochemical N₂ reduction reaction, including electrocatalyst tuning, electrolyte choice, and cell configuration design.     

Toward highly active electrochemical CO2 reduction to C2H4 by copper hydroxyphosphate

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a promising method to deal with the greenhouse effect and the energy crisis. In a...     

pH effect on electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 over Pd and Pt nanoparticles

Adsorbed hydrogen participates in electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ and competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) simultaneously, and its reaction pathway greatly affects the activity and selectivity of CO₂ reduction. In this work, we investigate pH effect on electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ over Pd and Pt nanoparticles (NPs) with a similar size in a pH range from 1.5 to 4.2. Pt NPs completely contribute to HER in the pH range. Over Pd NPs, Faradaic efficiency for CO production at − 1.19 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode) varies from 3.2% at pH of 1.5 to 93.2% at pH of 4.2, and current density for CO production reaches maximum at pH of 2.2. The significant enhancement of Faradaic efficiency and current density for CO production over Pd NPs at high pH values is attributed to decreased kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction by increasing hydrogen binding energy and lowered adsorption affinity of CO-like intermediate compared to Pt.