Tuning Active Metal Atomic Spacing by Filling of Light Atoms and Resulting Reversed Hydrogen Adsorption-Distance Relationship for Efficient Catalysis

Precisely tuning the spacing of the active centers on the atomic scale is of great significance to improve the catalytic activity and deepen the understanding of the catalytic mechanism,but still remains a challenge.Here,we develop a strategy to dilute catalytically active metal interatomic spacing(d_(M-M))with light atoms and discover the unusual adsorption patterns.For example,by elevating the content of boron as interstitial atoms,the atomic spacing of osmium(d_(Os-Os))gradually increases from 2.73 to 2.96?.More importantly,we find that,with the increase in dOs-Os,the hydrogen adsorption-distance relationship is reversed via downshifting d-band states,which breaks the traditional cognition,thereby optimizing the H adsorption and H_2O dissociation on the electrode surface during the catalytic process;this finally leads to a nearly linear increase in hydrogen evolution reaction activity.Namely,the maximum dOs-Os of 2.96?presents the optimal HER activity(8 mV@10 mA cm^(-2))in alkaline media as well as suppressed O adsorption and thus promoted stability.It is believed that this novel atomic-level distance modulation strategy of catalytic sites and the reversed hydrogen adsorption-distance relationship can shew new insights for optimal design of highly efficient catalysts.

Accelerated reconstruction of ZIF-67 with significantly enhanced glucose detection sensitivity

Research on metal-organic framework(MOF)-based non-enzymatic glucose sensors usually ignores the impact of the surface reconstruction degree of MOF on the activity of catalyzing glucose oxidation.In this work,we choose zeolitic imidazolate framework-67(ZIF-67),which is commonly used in glucose sensing,as a representative to investigate the influence of reconstruction degree on its structure and glucose catalytic performance.By employing the electrochemical activation strategy,the activity of ZIF-67 in catalyzing glucose gradually increased with the prolongation of the activation time,reaching the optimum after 2 h activation.The detection sensitivity of the activated ZIF-67 was 19 times higher than that of the initial ZIF-67,and the limit of detection(LOD)was lowered from 7 to 0.4μM.Our findings demonstrate that the oxidation degree of ZIF-67 deepened rapidly with continuously activation and was basically reconstructed to CoOOH after 2 h activation,accompanied by a morphological change from cuboctahedral to flower-like.Simultaneously,theoretical investigation revealed that ZIF-67 is not suitable as a stable glucose sensor electrode since the adsorbed glucose molecules hasten the dissociation of ligands and the breaking of Co-N bond in ZIF-67.Therefore,our work has important implications for the rational design of next-generation MOF-based glucose sensors.

Hybrid ionic/electronic interphase enabling uniform nucleation and fast diffusion kinetics for stable lithium metal anode

Lithium(Li)dendrite issue,which is usually caused by inhomogeneous Li nucleation and fragile solid electrolyte interphase(SEI),impedes the further development of high-energy Li metal batteries.However,the integrated construction of a high-stable SEI layer that can regulate uniform nucleation and facilitate fast Li-ion diffusion kinetics for Li metal anode still falls short.Herein,we designed an artificial SEI with hybrid ionic/electronic interphase to regulate Li deposition by in-situ constructing metal Co clusters embedded in LiF matrix.The generated Co and LiF both enable fast Li-ion diffusion kinetics,meanwhile,the lithiophilic properties of Co clusters can serve as Li-ion nucleation sites,thereby contributing to uniform Li nucleation and non-dendritic growth.As a result,a dendrite-free Li deposition with a low overpotential(16.1 mV)is achieved,which enables an extended lifespan over 750 h under strict conditions.The full cells with high-mass-loading LiFePO_(4)(11.5 mg/cm^(2))as cathodes exhibit a remarkable rate capacity of 84.1 mAh/g at 5 C and an improved cycling performance with a capacity retention of 96.4%after undergoing 180 cycles.

ZIF-8/LiFePO4 derived Fe-N-P Co-doped carbon nanotube encapsulated Fe2P nanoparticles for efficient oxygen reduction and Zn-air batteries

Iron-based oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)catalysts have been the focus of research,and iron sources play an important role for the preparation of efficient ORR catalysts.Here,we successfully use LiFePO4 as ideal sources of Fe and P to construct the heteroatom doped Fe-based carbon materials.The obtained Fe-N-P co-doped coral-like carbon nanotube arrays encapsulated Fe2P catalyst(C-ZIF/LFP)shows very high half-wave potential of 0.88 V in alkaline electrolytes toward ORR,superior to Pt/C(0.85 V),and also presents a high half-wave potential of 0.74 V in acidic electrolytes,comparable to Pt/C(0.8 V).When further applied into a home-made Zn-air battery as cathode,a peak power density of 140 mW·cm^-2 is reached,exceeds commercial Pt/C(110 mW·cm^-2).Besides,it also presents exceptional durability and methanol resistance compared with Pt/C.Noticeably,the preparation method of such a high-performance catalyst is simple and easy to optimize,suitable for the large-scale production.What’s more,it opens up a more sustainable development scenario to reduce the hazardous wastes such as LiFePO4 by directly using them for preparing high-performance ORR catalysts.

Tunable Ru-Ru2P heterostructures with charge redistribution for efficient pH-universal hydrogen evolution

Designing synergistic heterogeneous catalytic interfaces is the key to developing highly compatible pH-universal electrocatalysts for complex chemical environments.Our theoretical calculation results demonstrate that the Ru-Ru2P heterointerface can not only promote the redistribution of charges,but also reduce the d-band center,and then enhances the adsorption capacity of the key intermediate.However,in situ and facile synthesis of Ru-Ru2P heterostructures is severely limited by thermodynamic obstacles.Herein,we propose a molten salt-assisted catalytic synthesis scheme,and successfully build a series of homologous metallic Ru-Ru2P heterostructure catalysts with different molar ratios of Ru to P under atmospheric pressure and low-temperature(400C).The resultant Ru-Ru2P with rich heterostructures show the Pt-like HER performance in different pH media.Particularly,it is prominent under alkaline conditions(18 mV@10 mA cm^(2)),which outperforms the Pt catalyst(37 mV@10 mA cm^(2)).Furthermore,Ru-Ru2P heterostructures also show certain potential in the electrolysis of seawater to produce hydrogen.This work represents a significant supplement of high-efficiency pH-universal HER catalysts,and provides a new light on interface engineering in energy technology fields and beyond.