Local coordination and electronic interactions of Pd/MXene via dual‐atom codoping with superior durability for efficient electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation

Catalyst design relies heavily on electronic metal‐support interactions,but the metal‐support interface with an uncontrollable electronic or coordination environment makes it challenging.Herein,we outline a promising approach for the rational design of catalysts involving heteroatoms as anchors for Pd nanoparticles for ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR)catalysis.The doped B and N atoms from dimethylamine borane(DB)occupy the position of the Ti_(3)C_(2) lattice to anchor the supported Pd nanoparticles.The electrons transfer from the support to B atoms,and then to the metal Pd to form a stable electronic center.A strong electronic interaction can be produced and the d‐band center can be shifted down,driving Pd into the dominant metallic state and making Pd nanoparticles deposit uniformly on the support.As‐obtained Pd/DB–Ti_(3)C_(2) exhibits superior durability to its counterpart(∼14.6% retention)with 91.1% retention after 2000 cycles,placing it among the top single metal anodic catalysts.Further,in situ Raman and density functional theory computations confirm that Pd/DB–Ti_(3)C_(2) is capable of dehydrogenating ethanol at low reaction energies.

Electronic interaction between single Pt atom and vacancies on boron nitride nanosheets and its influence on the catalytic performance in the direct dehydrogenation of propane

The electronic metal-support interaction(EMSI)is one of most intriguing phenomena in heterogeneous catalysis.In this work,this subtle effect is clearly demonstrated by density functional theory(DFT)calculations of single Pt atom supported on vacancies in a boron nitride nanosheet.Moreover,the relation between the EMSI and the performance of Pt in propane direct dehydrogenation(PDH)is investigated in detail.The charge state and partial density of states of single Pt atom show distinct features at different anchoring positions,such as boron and nitrogen vacancies(Bvac and Nvac,respectively).Single Pt atom become positively and negatively charged on Bvac and Nvac,respectively.Therefore,the electronic structure of Pt can be adjusted by rational deposition on the support.Moreover,Pt atoms in different charge states have been shown to have different catalytic abilities in PDH.The DFT calculations reveal that Pt atoms on Bvac(Pt-Bvac)have much higher reactivity towards reactant/product adsorption and C–H bond activation than Pt supported on Nvac(Pt-Nvac),with larger adsorption energy and lower barrier along the reaction pathway.However,the high reactivity of Pt-Bvac also hinders propene desorption,which could lead to unwanted deep dehydrogenation.Therefore,the results obtained herein suggest that a balanced reactivity for C–H activation in propane and propene desorption is required to achieve optimum yields.Based on this descriptor,a single Pt atom on a nitrogen vacancy is considered an effective catalyst for PDH.Furthermore,the deep dehydrogenation of the formed propene is significantly suppressed,owing to the large barrier on Pt-Nvac.The current work demonstrates that the catalytic properties of supported single Pt atoms can be tuned by rationally depositing them on a boron nitride nanosheet and highlights the great potential of single-atom catalysis in the PDH reaction.

Enhanced bimetallic CuCo nanoparticles on nitrogen-doped carbon for selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol through strong electronic interactions

Bimetallic CuCo catalysts with different Cu to Co ratios on N-doped porous carbon materials(N-C)were achieved using impregnation method and applied in the hydrogenation of furfural(FAL)to furfuryl alcohol(FOL).The high hydrogenation activity of FAL over Cu_(1)Co_(1)/N-C was originated from the synergistic interactions of Cu and Co species,where Co^(0)and Cu^(0)simultaneously adsorb and activate H_(2),and Cu^(+) served as Lewis acid sites to activate C]O.Meanwhile,electrons transfer from Cu to Co promoted the formation of Cu^(+).In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis indicated that Cu_(1)Co_(1)/N-C adsorbed FAL with a tilted η^(1)-(O)configuration.The superior Cu_(1)Co_(1)/N-C showed excellent adsorbed ability towards H_(2) and FAL,but weak adsorption for FOL.Therefore,Cu_(1)Co_(1)/N-C possessed 93.1%FAL conversion and 99.0% FOL selectivity after 5 h reaction,which also exhibited satisfactory reusability in FAL hydrogenation for five cycles.

Interfacial electronic interaction enabling exposed Pt(110)facets with high specific activity in hydrogen evolution reaction

To achieve a complete industrial chain of hydrogen energy,the development of efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)is of great concerns.Herein,a nickel nitride supported platinum(Pt)catalyst with highly exposed Pt(110)facets(Pt_((110))-Ni_(3)N)is obtained for catalyzing HER.Combined X-ray spectra and density functional theory studies demonstrate that the interfacial electronic interaction between Pt and Ni3N support can promote the hydrogen evolution on Pt(110)facets by weakening hydrogen adsorption.As a result,the Pt_((110))-Ni_(3)N catalyst delivers an obviously higher specific activity than commercial 20 wt.%Pt/C in acidic media.This work suggests that the suitable interface modulation may play a vital role in rationally designing advanced electrocatalysts.

Valence electronic engineering of superhydrophilic Dy-evoked Ni-MOF outperforming RuO_(2) for highly efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

Tackling the problem of poor conductivity and catalytic stability of pristine metal-organic frameworks(MOFs) is crucial to improve their oxygen evolution reaction(OER) performance.Herein,we introduce a novel strategy of dysprosium(Dy) doping,using the unique 4f orbitals of this rare earth element to enhance electrocatalytic activity of MOFs.Our method involves constructing Dy-doped Ni-MOF(Dy@Ni-MOF) nanoneedles on carbon cloth via a Dy-induced valence electronic perturbation approach.Experiments and density functional theory(DFT) calculations reveal that Dy doping can effectively modify the electronic structure of the Ni active centers and foster a strong electronic interaction between Ni and Dy.The resulting benefits include a reduced work function and a closer proximity of the d-band center to the Fermi level,which is conducive to improving electrical conductivity and promoting the adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates.Furthermore,the Dy@Ni-MOF achieves superhydrophilicity,ensuring effective electrolyte contact and thus accelerating reaction kinetics,Ex-situ and in-situ analysis results manifest Dy_(2)O_(3)/NiOOH as the actual active species.Therefore,Dy@Ni-MOF shows impressive OER performance,significantly surpassing Ni-MOF.Besides,the overall water splitting device with Dy@NiMOF as an anode delivers a low cell voltage of 1.51 V at 10 mA cm^(-2) and demonstrates long-term stability for 100 h,positioning it as a promising substitute for precious metal catalysts.

Interfacial Electronic Modulation of Dual-Monodispersed Pt–Ni_(3)S_(2) as Efficacious Bi-Functional Electrocatalysts for Concurrent H_(2) Evolution and Methanol Selective Oxidation

Constructing the efficacious and applicable bifunctional electrocatalysts and establishing out the mechanisms of organic electro-oxidation by replacing anodic oxygen evolution reaction(OER) are critical to the development of electrochemicallydriven technologies for efficient hydrogen production and avoid CO_(2) emission. Herein, the hetero-nanocrystals between monodispersed Pt(~ 2 nm) and Ni_(3)S_(2)(~ 9.6 nm) are constructed as active electrocatalysts through interfacial electronic modulation, which exhibit superior bi-functional activities for methanol selective oxidation and H_(2) generation. The experimental and theoretical studies reveal that the asymmetrical charge distribution at Pt–Ni_(3)S_(2) could be modulated by the electronic interaction at the interface of dual-monodispersed heterojunctions, which thus promote the adsorption/desorption of the chemical intermediates at the interface. As a result, the selective conversion from CH_(3)OH to formate is accomplished at very low potentials(1.45 V) to attain 100 m A cm^(-2) with high electronic utilization rate(~ 98%) and without CO_(2) emission. Meanwhile, the Pt–Ni_(3)S_(2) can simultaneously exhibit a broad potential window with outstanding stability and large current densities for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) at the cathode. Further, the excellent bi-functional performance is also indicated in the coupled methanol oxidation reaction(MOR)//HER reactor by only requiring a cell voltage of 1.60 V to achieve a current density of 50 m A cm^(-2) with good reusability.

Synergistic electronic interaction between ruthenium and nickel-iron hydroxide for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

The efficiency of electrochemical water splitting is extremely hampered by the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction(OER)occurred at the anode.Therefore,developing high-performance OER electrocatalysts is crucial for realizing the industrialized application of water splitting.Herein,a high-efficiency electrocatalyst of ruthenium-decorated nickel-iron hydroxide(10 Ru-NiFe LDH)supported on Ni foam is successfully synthesized for OER.Modifying NiFe LDH with ruthenium can optimize the electronic density to form high valences of metal sites,which is beneficial to promote its OER performance.Consequently,the 10 Ru-NiFe LDH only needs a low overpotential of 222 mV to achieve a current density of50 mA,cm^(-2),which exhibits fast OER kinetics with a small Tafel slope of 58 mV.dec^(-1).Moreover,this electrocatalyst shows high stability over 20 h at a high current density of 100 mA·cm^(-2)without obvious decay.The decent OER performances can be ascribed to the increased active sites and the synergistic electronic interactions among Ni,Fe and Ru.This work provides an effective approach for designing desirable electrocatalysts for OER.

The discovery of interfacial electronic interaction within cobalt boride@MXene for high performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur battery is strongly considered as the most promising next-generation energy storage system because of the high theoretical specific capacity.The serious"shuttle effect"and sluggish reaction kinetic limited the commercial application of lithium-sulfur battery.Many hetero structure s were applied to accelerate polysulfides conversion and suppress their migration in lithium-sulfur batteries.Nevertheless,the effect of the interface in heterostructure was not clear.Here,the Co_(2)B@MXene heterostructure is synthesized through chemical reactions at room temperature and employed as the interlayer material for Li-S batteries.The theoretical calculations and experimental results indicate that the interfacial electronic interaction of Co_(2)B@MXene induce the transfer of electrons from Co_(2)B to MXene,enhancing the catalytic ability and favoring fast redox kinetics of the polysulfides,and the theoretical calculations also reveal the underlying mechanisms for the electron transfer is that the two materials have different Fermi energy levels.The cell with Co_(2)B@MXene exhibits a high initial capacity of1577 mAh/g at 0.1 C and an ultralow capacity decay of 0.0088%per cycle over 2000 cycles at 2 C.Even at5.1 mg/cm^(2) of sulfur loading,the cell with Co_(2)B@MXene delivers 5.2 mAh/cm^(2) at 0.2 C.

Synergistic effects of CeO_(2)/Cu_(2)O on CO catalytic oxidation:Electronic interaction and oxygen defect

For CO catalytic oxidation,Cu and Ce species are of great importance,between which the synergistic effect is worth investigating.In this work,CeO_(2)/Cu_(2)O with Cu_(2)O{111}and{100}planes were comparatively explored on CO catalytic oxidation to reveal the effects of interfacial electronic interactions and oxygen defects.The activity result demonstrates that CeO_(2)/o-Cu_(2)O{111}has superior performance compared with CeO_(2)/c-Cu_(2)O{100}.Credit to the coordination unsaturated copper atoms(Cu_(CUS))on oCu_(2)O{111}surface,the interfacial electronic interactions on CeO_(2)/o-Cu_(2)O{111}are more obvious than those on CeO_(2)/c-Cu_(2)O{100},leading to richer oxygen defect generation,better redox and activation abilities of CO and O_(2)reactants.Furthermore,the reaction mechanism of CeO_(2)/o-Cu_(2)O{111}on CO oxidation is revealed,i.e.,CO and O_(2)are adsorbed on the Cucus on Cu_(2)O{111}and oxygen defect of CeO_(2),respectively,and then synergistically promote the CO oxidation to CO_(2).The work sheds light on the designing optimized ceria and copper-based catalysts and the mechanism of CO oxidation.

Electronic States of Difluorocarbene Calculated by Multireference Configuration Interaction Method

We investigate the geometries and energies of seven electronic states X-1A1, A1B1, a-3B1, B-1A2,b-3A2, C1B2 and c-3B2 of CF2 carbene using internally contracted multireference configuration interaction methods including Davidson correction （icMRCIq-Q） with different basis sets aug-cc-pVXZ （X=T, Q, 5）. For the first time, the potential energy curves of electronic states of CF2 related icMRCI＋Q/aug-cc-pVTZ level. The ab initio results will and dynamics of electronic states of CF2 radical. to the lowest dissociation limit are calculated at the further increase our understanding of the structures

Investigating the impact of dynamic structural changes of Au/rutile catalysts on the catalytic activity of CO oxidation

The surface properties of oxidic supports and their interaction with the supported metals play critical roles in governing the catalytic activities of oxide‐supported metal catalysts.When metals are supported on reducible oxides,dynamic surface reconstruction phenomena,including strong metal–support interaction(SMSI)and oxygen vacancy formation,complicate the determination of the structural–functional relationship at the active sites.Here,we performed a systematic investigation of the dynamic behavior of Au nanocatalysts supported on flame‐synthesized TiO_(2),which takes predominantly a rutile phase,using CO oxidation above room temperature as a probe reaction.Our analysis conclusively elucidated a negative correlation between the catalytic activity of Au/TiO_(2) and the oxygen vacancy at the Au/TiO_(2) interface.Although the reversible formation and retracting of SMSI overlayers have been ubiquitously observed on Au/TiO_(2) samples,the catalytic consequence of SMSI remains inconclusive.Density functional theory suggests that the electron transfer from TiO_(2) to Au is correlated to the presence of the interfacial oxygen vacancies,retarding the catalytic activation of CO oxidation.

Electrically-driven ultrafast out-of-equilibrium light emission from hot electrons in suspended graphene/hBN heterostructures

Nanoscale light sources with high speed of electrical modulation and low energy consumption are key components for nanophotonics and optoelectronics.The record-high carrier mobility and ultrafast carrier dynamics of graphene make it promising as an atomically thin light emitter which can be further integrated into arbitrary platforms by van der Waals forces.However,due to the zero bandgap,graphene is difficult to emit light through the interband recombination of carriers like conventional semiconductors.Here,we demonstrate ultrafast thermal light emitters based on suspended graphene/hexagonal boron nitride(Gr/hBN)heterostructures.Electrons in biased graphene are significantly heated up to 2800 K at modest electric fields,emitting bright photons from the near-infrared to the visible spectral range.By eliminating the heat dissipation channel of the substrate,the radiation efficiency of the suspended Gr/hBN device is about two orders of magnitude greater than that of graphene devices supported on SiO2or hBN.Wefurther demonstrate that hot electrons and low-energy acoustic phonons in graphene are weakly coupled to each other and are not in full thermal equilibrium.Direct cooling ofhigh-temperature hot electrons to low-temperature acoustic phonons is enabled by the significant near-field heat transfer at the highly localized Gr/hBN interface,resulting in ultrafast thermal emission with up to 1 GHz bandwidth under electrical excitation.It is found thatsuspending the Gr/hBN heterostructures on the SiO2trenches significantly modifies the light emission due to the formation of the optical cavity and showed a~440%enhancement inintensity at the peak wavelength of 940 nm compared to the black-body thermal radiation.The demonstration of electrically driven ultrafast light emission from suspended Gr/hBNheterostructures sheds the light on applications of graphene heterostructures in photonicintegrated circuits,such as broadband light sources and ultrafast thermo-optic phase modulators.

Effects of electron–optical phonon interactions on the polaron energy in a wurtzite ZnO/Mg_xZn_(1-x)O quantum well

We investigated the properties of polarons in a wurtzite ZnO/MgxZn1-xO quantum well by adopting a modified Lee–Low–Pines variational method, giving the ground state energy, transition energy, and phonon contributions from various optical-phonon modes to the ground state energy as functions of the well width and Mg composition. In our calculations, we considered the effects of confined optical phonon modes, interface-optical phonon modes, and half-space phonon modes, as well as the anisotropy of the electron effective band mass, phonon frequency, and dielectric constant. Our numerical results indicate that the electron–optical phonon interactions importantly affect the polaronic energies in the ZnO/MgxZn1-xO quantum well. The electron–optical phonon interactions decrease the polaron energies. For quantum wells with narrower wells, the interface optical phonon and half-space phonon modes contribute more to the polaronic energies than the confined phonon modes. However, for wider quantum wells, the total contribution to the polaronic energy mainly comes from the confined modes. The contributions of the various phonon modes to the transition energy change differently with increasing well width. The contribution of the half-space phonons decreases slowly as the QW width increases, whereas the contributions of the confined and interface phonons reach a maximum at d ≈ 5.0 nm and then decrease slowly. However,the total contribution of phonon modes to the transition energy is negative and increases gradually with the QW width of d.As the composition x increases, the total contribution of phonons to the ground state energies increases slowly, but the total contributions of phonons to the transition energies decrease gradually. We analyze the physical reasons for these behaviors in detail.

Confined cobalt single-atom catalysts with strong electronic metal-support interactions based on a biomimetic self-assembly strategy

Designing high-performance and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen evolu-tion reaction(OER)is critical for the conversion and storage of sustainable energy technologies.Inspired by the biomineralization process,we utilized the phosphorylation sites of collagen molecules to combine with cobalt-based mononuclear precursors at the molecular level and built a three-dimensional(3D)porous hierarchical material through a bottom-up biomimetic self-assembly strategy to obtain single-atom catalysts confined on carbonized biomimetic self-assembled carriers(Co SACs/cBSC)after subsequent high-temperature annealing.In this strategy,the biomolecule improved the anchoring efficiency of the metal precursor through precise functional groups;meanwhile,the binding-then-assembling strategy also effectively suppressed the nonspecific adsorption of metal ions,ultimately preventing atomic agglomeration and achieving strong electronic metal-support interactions(EMSIs).Experimental characterizations confirm that binding forms between cobalt metal and carbonized self-assembled substrate(Co–O_(4)–P).Theoretical calculations disclose that the local environment changes significantly tailored the Co d-band center,and optimized the binding energy of oxygenated intermediates and the energy barrier of oxygen release.As a result,the obtained Co SACs/cBSC catalyst can achieve remarkable OER activity and 24 h durability in 1 M KOH(η_(10) at 288 mV;Tafel slope of 44 mV dec^(-1)),better than other transition metal-based catalysts and commercial IrO_(2).Overall,we presented a self-assembly strategy to prepare transition metal SACs with strong EMSIs,providing a new avenue for the preparation of efficient catalysts with fine atomic structures.

Electron Interaction Among the Noncovalently Engineered Graphene-methylene Blue Nanocomposites

The electron interaction among the noncovalently engineered graphene-methylene blue（MB） nanocompo- site with a dipolar pull-push hybrid model was studied. The π-π interaction between reduced graphene oxide（rGO） and MB molecule was studied by 1HNMR spectroscopy. The electrochemical investigation indicates MB has a stronger electron transfer interaction with rGO than with GO. The ability of graphene-MB nanocomposites to undergo photoinduced electron transfer was confirmed from the capability of the nanocomposites coated electrode to generate photocurrent in a photoelectrochemical cell. The role of graphene as electron acceptor in the opto-electronic assembly was discussed.

Electron–acoustic phonon interaction and mobility in stressed rectangular silicon nanowires

We investigate the effects of pre-stress and surface tension on the electron–acoustic phonon scattering rate and the mobility of rectangular silicon nanowires. With the elastic theory and the interaction Hamiltonian for the deformation potential, which considers both the surface energy and the acoustoelastic effects, the phonon dispersion relation for a stressed nanowire under spatial confinement is derived. The subsequent analysis indicates that both surface tension and pre-stress can dramatically change the electron–acoustic phonon interaction. Under a negative（positive） surface tension and a tensile（compressive） pre-stress, the electron mobility is reduced（enhanced） due to the decrease（increase） of the phonon energy as well as the deformation-potential scattering rate. This study suggests an alternative approach based on the strain engineering to tune the speed and the drive current of low-dimensional electronic devices.

Coherent interaction and action–counteraction theory in small polaron systems,and ground state properties

Based on the coherent interaction and action–counteraction principles,we investigate the ground state properties for small polaron systems,the coherent-squeezed fluctuation correction,and the anomalous lattice quantum fluctuation,with the new variational generator containing correlated squeezed-coherent coupling and quantum entanglement.Noting tha t-2t is the T.B.A.energy,for the coherent interaction effect,we find the ground-state energy E_(0)to be-2.428t,in which the coherent squeezed fluctuation correction-A_(0)t is-0.463t(where t is the hopping integral,ωis the phonon frequency),with the electron–one-phonon coupling constant g=1 and the electron–two-phonon coupling constant g_(1)=-0.1.However,as a result of the action–counteraction effect,E_(0)is-2.788t,but-E_(0)t is-0.735t.As to the polaron binding energy(EP),for the coherent interaction effect,E_(P) is-1.38ω,but for the action–counteraction effect,E_(P) is-1.88ω.In particular,the electron–two-phonon interaction noticeably enlarges the coherent interaction and the coherent squeezed quantum fluctuation correction.By intervening with the quantum entanglement,the evolutions of the squeezed coherent state and the lattice quantum fluctuation begin to take control.At that time,we encounter a new quantum phase coherence phenomenon—the collapse and revival of inversion repeatedly for the coherent state in the entangled evolution.

Effect of Electron Correlation and Breit Interaction on Energies, Oscillator Strengths, and Transition Rates for Low-Lying States of Helium

The transition energies, E1 transitional oscillator strengths of the spin-allowed as well as the spin-forbidden and the corresponding transition rates, and complete M1, E2, M2 forbidden transition rates for 1s^(2), 1s2s, and 1s2p states of He I, are investigated using the multi-configuration Dirac–Hartree–Fock method. In the subsequent relativistic configuration interaction computations, the Breit interaction and the QED effect are considered as perturbation, separately. Our transition energies, oscillator strengths, and transition rates are in good agreement with the experimental and other theoretical results. As a result, the QED effect is not important for helium atoms, however, the effect of the Breit interaction plays a significant role in the transition energies, the oscillator strengths and transition rates.

Electron Dynamics and Characteristics of Attosecond Electromagnetic Emissions in Relativistic Laser-Plasma Interactions

Generation of attosecond electromagnetic （EM） pulses and the associated electron dynamics are studied using particle-in-cell simulations of relativistic laser pulses interacting with over-dense plasma foil targets. The inter- action process is found to be so complicated even in the situation of utilizing driving laser pulses of only one cycle. Two electron bunches closely involved in the laser-driven wavebreaking process contribute to attosecond EM pulses through the coherent synchrotron emission process whose spectra are found to follow an exponential decay rule. Detailed investigations of electron dynamics indicate that the early part of the reflected EM emission is the high-harmonics produced through the relativistic oscillating mirror mechanism. High harmonics are also found to be generated through the Bremsstrahlung radiation by one electron bunch that participates in the wavebreaking process and decelerates when it experiences the local wavebreaking-generated high electrostatic field in the moving direction.

Tuning the charge distribution and crystal field of iron single atoms via iron oxide integration for enhanced oxygen reduction reaction in zinc-air batteries

Metal-air batteries face a great challenge in developing efficient and durable low-cost oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)electrocatalysts.Single-atom iron catalysts embedded into nitrogen doped carbon(Fe-N-C)have emerged as attractive materials for potential replacement of Pt in ORR,but their catalytic performance was limited by the symmetrical electronic structure distribution around the single-atom Fe site.Here,we report our findings in significantly enhancing the ORR performance of Fe-N-C by moderate Fe_(2)O_(3) integration via the strong electronic interaction.Remarkably,the optimized catalyst(M-Fe_(2)O_(3)/Fe_(SA)@NC)exhibits excellent activity,durability and good tolerance to methanol,outperforming the benchmark Pt/C catalyst.When M-Fe_(2)O_(3)/Fe_(SA)@NC catalyst was used in a practical zinc-air battery assembly,peak power density of 155 mW cm^(-2)and specific capacity of 762 mA h g_(Zn)^(-1)were achieved and the battery assembly has shown superior cycling stability over a period of 200 h.More importantly,theoretical studies suggest that the introduction of Fe_(2)O_(3) can evoke the crystal field alteration and electron redistribution on single Fe atoms,which can break the symmetric charge distribution of Fe-N_(4) and thereby optimize the corresponding adsorption energy of intermediates to promote the O_(2)reduction.This study provides a new pathway to promote the catalytic performance of single-atom catalysts.