钒掺杂钨青铜内通道氨配位的钌单原子用于高效析氢反应

通过电解水制备氢气是实现“碳中和”目标的理想途径之一.因此,可在全p H条件下使用的氢析出(HER)催化剂的研发是近年来电催化领域的研究热点.原子级分散的催化剂,能够在保留铂族金属(PGM)固有活性的同时,降低催化剂中PGM的用量.虽然可以通过X射线吸收光谱(XAS)来表征原子分散的PGM电催化剂的配位环境,但目前对原子空间分布的控制仍然具有挑战.本文制备了钒掺杂钨青铜内通道氨配位的钌单原子催化剂(Ru/V-NHWO),用于全p H范围内的HER反应.采用X射线衍射(XRD)、高角环形暗场扫描透射电镜(HAADF-STEM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和原位X射线吸收光谱(XAS)等进行表征,研究了钌单原子与V-NHWO载体的结合方式以及构效关系,并采用密度泛函理论(DFT)计算探索了催化剂中诸多位点的活性贡献.在1 mol/LKOH, 0.5 mol/L H_(2)SO_(4)和1 mol/L磷酸盐缓冲溶液中,其在10 m Acm^(-2)下的过电位分别为28.0, 29.6和40.6 m V.同时,在过电位100 m V时,质量活性分别达到3930, 1941和602.8 m Amg^(-1)Ru,数倍于同等条件下的商业铂碳.XRD结果表明,钌的引入可以确保催化剂在氩气条件下热解后仍保持六方钨铵青铜晶相,证明钌与钨铵青铜六方晶体通道内氨物种,即“通道氨”的结合.HAADF-STEM结果表明,钌原子与NHWO间存在强烈相互作用,有助于提升HER性能.XPS和XAS结果表明, W5+信号出现在引入钌后,峰位置的结合能增加且峰面积降低,说明钌与通道氨之间存在相互作用.N的XPS结果表明,钌的引入导致了金属氨键的形成.XAS结果表明, Ru/V-NHWO/CC中钌单原子和钌团簇共存,钌单原子与通道氨配位,并且钒的引入会诱发V-NHWO中金属键长缩短,这表明催化剂的金属性得到了提升,有利于改善其导电性.采用DFT计算进一步研究了HER活性的来源.相比于V-NHWO载体和钌团簇修饰的V-NHWO,以单原子形式结合的钌具有更低的水解离能垒,该能垒在氨桥接的钌双原子垂直插入、钒掺杂和多通道插入等多种因素作用下进一步降低.同时,氢中间体结合能得到了相应的优化而趋近于0 e V.此外,差分电荷密度模拟结果表明,氢中间体结合后, V-NHWO对于钌单原子存在明显的供电子行为,有利于HER动力学过程.综上,本工作报道了金属载体对于高分散金属原子空间分布调控的重要作用,可为设计和构筑可应用于诸多能源转换过程的新型原子级分散催化剂提供参考.

Operando HERFD-XANES and surface sensitive Δμ analyses identify the structural evolution of copper(Ⅱ) phthalocyanine for electroreduction of CO_(2)

The quantitative understanding of how atomic-level catalyst structural changes affect the reactivity of the electrochemical CO_(2)reduction reaction is challenging.Due to the complexity of catalytic systems,conventional in situ X-ray spectroscopy plays a limited role in tracing the underlying dynamic structural changes in catalysts active sites.Herein,operando high-energy resolution fluorescence-detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to precisely identify the dynamic structural transformation of well-defined active sites of a representative model copper(Ⅱ)phthalocyanine catalyst which is of guiding significance in studying single-atom catalysis system.Comprehensive X-ray spectroscopy analyses,including surface sensitive△μspectra which isolates the surface changes by subtracting the disturb of bulk base and X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy simulation,were used to discover that Cu species aggregated with increasing applied potential,which is responsible for the observed evolution of C_(2)H_(4).The approach developed in this work,characterizing the active-site geometry and dynamic structural change,is a novel and powerful technique to elucidate complex catalytic mechanisms and is expected to con tribute to the rational design of highly effective catalysts.

Role of local coordination in bimetallic sites for oxygen reduction: A theoretical analysis

Understanding of the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)mechanism for single atom catalysts is pivotal for the rational design of non-precious metal cathode materials and the commercialization of fuel cells.Herein,a series of non-precious metal electrocatalysts based on nitrogen-doped bimetallic(Fe and Co)carbide were modeled by density functional theory calculations to predict the corresponding reaction pathways.The study elucidated prior oxygen adsorption on the Fe atom in the dual site and the modifier role of Co atoms to tune the electronic structures of Fe.The reaction activity was highly correlated with the bimetallic center and the coordination environment of the adjacent nitrogen.Interestingly,the preadsorption of*OH resulted in the apparent change of metal atoms'electronic states with the d-band center shifting toward the Fermi level,thereby boosting reaction activity.The result should help promote the fundamental understanding of active sites in ORR catalysts and provide an effective approach to the design of highly efficient ORR catalysts on an atomic scale.

Unveiling the mechanism of charge compensation in Li_(2)Ru_(x)Mn_(1-x)O_(3)by tracking atomic structural evolution

The relationship between the structural evolution and redox of Li-rich transition-metal layered oxides(LLOs)cathodes remains ambiguous,obstructing the development of high-performance lithium-ion(Li^(+))battery.Herein,the coherent effects of local atomic and electronic structure in Li_(2)Ru_(x)Mn_(1-x)O_(3)(LRMO)with a wide voltage window(1.3–4.8 V)is identified by in situ X-ray absorption fine spectroscopy(XAFS)and chemometrics.We not only skillfully separated the redox active structures to track the electrochemical path,but also visualized the coupling mechanism between the evolution of Ru-Ru dimer and the(de)excitation of cations and anions.Furthermore,introducing manganese triggers the“heterogeneity”of coordination environment and electronic structure between Ru and Mn after discharge to 3 V.The change of thermodynamic and kinetic paths affects the relithiation,and further leads to the hysteresis of the anion activation structure relaxation of Li_(2)Ru_(0.4)Mn_(0.6)O_(3)relative to Li_(2)RuO_(3)(LRO).Additionally,it is demonstrated that the high charge cut-off voltage restrains the relaxation of anionic active structure in LRO from a new perspective through comparative experiments.Our work associates the evolution of atomic structure with charge compensation and negative electrochemical reactions such as voltage hysteresis(VH)and capacity attenuation,deepening the understanding electrochemical reaction mechanism of LLOs during the first cycle and providing a theoretical support for the further design and synthesis of high-efficiency cathodes.

CO耐受的单位点/纳米颗粒协同型质子交换膜燃料电池阳极催化剂

Nanosized Pt catalysts are the catalyst-of-choice for proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC)anode,but are limited by their extreme sensitivity to CO in parts per million(ppm)level,thereby making the use of ultrapure H_(2)a prerequisite to ensure acceptable performance.Herein,we confront the CO poisoning issue by bringing the Ir/Rh single atom sites to synergistically working with their metallic counterparts.In presence of 1000 ppm CO,the catalyst represents not only undisturbed H_(2)oxidation reaction(HOR)catalytic behavior in electrochemical cell,but also unparalleled peak power density at 643 mW cm^(-2)in single cell,27-fold in mass activity of the best PtRu/C catalysts available.Pre-poisoning experiments and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy(SERS)and calculation results in combine suggest the presence of adjacent Ir/Rh single atom sites(SASs)to the nanoparticles(NPs)as the origin for this prominent catalytic behavior.The single sites not only exhibit superb CO oxidation performance by themselves,but can also scavenge the CO adsorbed on approximated NPs via supplying reactive OH*species.We open up a new route here to conquer the formidable CO poisoning issue through single atom and nanoparticle synergistic catalysis,and pave the way towards a more robust PEMFC future.

Boosting hydrogen peroxide production via establishment and reconstruction of single-metal sites in covalent organic frameworks

Covalent organic frameworks(COFs)have been well developed in electrocatalytic systems owing to their controllable skeletons,porosities,and functions.However,the catalytic process in COFs remains underexplored,hindering an in-depth understanding of the catalytic mechanism.In this work,uniform Pt-N_(1)O_(1)Cl_(4)sites chelated via C-N and C=O bonds along the one-dimensional and open channels of TP-TTA-COF were established.Different from conventional single-metal sites constructed for the near-free platinum for hydrogen evolution,the as-constructed PtCl-COF showed 2e−oxygen reduction for H_(2)O_(2)production.We tracked the dynamic evolution process of atomic Pt sites in which Pt-N_(1)O_(1)Cl_(4)was transformed into Pt-N_(1)O_(1)(OH)_(2)using in situ X-ray adsorption.The theoretical calculations revealed that the strong Pt-support interaction in Pt-N_(1)O_(1)(OH)_(2)facilitated*OOH formation and thus led to higher selectivity and activity for the oxygen reduction reaction in the 2e−pathway.This work can expand the applications of COFs through the regulation of their local electronic states for the manipulation of the metal center.

Carbon monoxide powered fuel cell towards H_(2)-onboard purification

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs)suffer extreme CO poisoning even at PPM level(<10 ppm),owning to the preferential CO adsorption and the consequential blockage of the catalyst surface.Herein,however,we report that CO itself can become an easily convertible fuel in PEMFC using atomically dispersed Rh catalysts(Rh-N-C).With CO to CO_(2) conversion initiates at 0 V,pure CO powered fuel cell attains unprecedented power density at 236 mW cm^(-2),with maximum CO turnover frequency(64.65 s^(-1),363 K)far exceeding any chemical or electrochemical catalysts reported.Moreover,this feature enables efficient CO selective removal from H_(2) gas stream through the PEMFC technique,with CO concentration reduced by one order of magnitude through running only one single cell,while simultaneously harvesting electricity.We attribute such catalytic behavior to the weak CO adsorption and the co-activation of H_(2)O due to the interplay between two adjacent Rh sites.

Unraveling the Dynamic Structural Evolution of Phthalocyanine Catalysts during CO_(2) Electroreduction

Understanding the atomic and electronic changes of active sites promotes the whole new sight into electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR),which provides a feasible strategy to achieve carbon neutrality.Here we employ operando high-energy resolution fluorescence-detected Xray absorption spectroscopy(HERFD-XAS)to track the structural evolution of Ni(II)phthalocyanine(NiPc),considered as the model catalysts with uniform Ni-N_(4)-C_(8) moiety,during the CO_(2)RR.The HERFD-XAS method is in favor of elucidating the interaction of the reactant/catalyst interface from the atomic electronic structure dimension,facilitating the establishment of the catalytic mechanism and the dynamic structure changes.Based on operando measurement,surface sensitive difference spectra(△μ)and spectroscopy simulation,the interfacial interactions between the active sites of NiPc and reactants are monitored and the Ni species gradually reduced by increasing the applied potential is discovered.HERFD-XAS method offers an advanced and powerful tool for elucidating the complex catalytic mechanism in further various systems.