Impact of Pd single-site coordination structure on catalytic performance for semihydrogenation of acetylene

Semihydrogenation of trace acetylene in an ethylene gas stream is a vital step for the industrial production of polyethylene,in which Pd single-site catalysts(SSCs)have great potential.Herein,two Pd SSCs with different coordination structures are prepared on hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages(hNCNC)by regulating the nitrogen species with or without using dicyandiamide.With using dicyandiamide,the obtained Pd1-Ndicy/hNCNC SSC features the coordinated Pd by two pyridinic N and two pyrrolic N(PdN^(py)_(2)N^(pr)_(2)).Without using dicyandiamide,the obtained Pd1/hNCNC SSC features the coordinated Pd by pyridinic N and C(PdN^(py_(x)C_(4-x)),x=1-4).The former exhibits an 18-fold increase in catalytic activity compared to the latter.Theoretical results reveal the abundant unoccupied orbital states above the Fermi level of moiety,which can facilitate the activation of substrate molecules and dynamics of acetylene hydrogenation as supported by the combined theoretical and experimental results.In addition,PdN^(py)_(2)N^(pr)_(2)the moiety presents a favorable desorption of ethylene.Consequently,the Pd1-Ndicy/hNCNC SSC exhibits high C2H2 conversion(99%)and C2H4 selectivity(87%)at 160℃.This study demonstrates the impact of Pd single-site coordination structure on catalytic performance,which is significant for the rational design of advanced Pd SSCs on carbon-based supports.

Nonmacrocyclic Iron(II)Soluble Redox Mediators Leading to High-Rate Li-O_(2)Battery

The lithium-oxygen(Li-O_(2))battery is highly promising but suffers from poor cycling life,especially at high rates;hence,the need for high-efficient accelerating agents is crucial.Recently macrocyclic Fe-based redox mediators,such as iron(II)phthalocyanine(FePc)and heme,have been developed and anticipated to be ideal due to their bifunctional charge and superoxide shuttling capabilities.However,they still operate far below expectations,which could result from the low concentrations in electrolyte due to the strongπ-πinteraction at carbon cathode.Herein,the authors report a new type of nonmacrocyclic Fe-based redox mediators,iron(II)acetylacetonate[Fe(acac)2]and iron(II)glycinate[Fe(gly)2],which have weakπ-πinteraction with the carbon cathode,thus,remain at high concentrations in the electrolyte.The Fe(gly)2@Li-O_(2)battery reaches a long life of 321 cycles at 0.5 A g^(−1),which is much superior to the counterpart with the typical macrocyclic FePc,and particularly exhibits a long life of 167 cycles at 2.0 A g^(−1)and 136 cycles at ultrahigh 5.0 A g^(−1).This study demonstrates an efficient strategy to achieve a high-rate performance of Li-O_(2)batteries by developing nonmacrocyclic Fe-based redox mediators with high-efficient electron and superoxide shuttling.