Graphene-based electrodes and catalysts for electroreduction of CO_(2)to low-carbon alcohols

The electrochemical reduction of CO_(2)(CO_(2)ER)into the renewable and sustainable green fuels,such as low-carbon alcohols,is one of several workable strategies.CO_(2)ER can be combined with renewable electricity to transform intermittent energy sources(such as wind,hydro,and solar)into a fuel that can be stored until it is ready to be used.The intrinsic characteristics of the employed catalyst have a significant and substantial effect on the efficiency of CO_(2)ER and the ensuing economic viability.The paradigmatic multicarbon alcohol catalysts should increase the concentration of*CO in the reaction environment,stabilize the key intermediate products during the reaction,and facilitate the C-C coupling interaction.Since graphene has a large surface area and exceptional conductivity,it has been used as a support for active phases(nanoparticles or nanosheets).It is possible for graphene to enhance charge transport and accelerate CO_(2)conversion through its electronic and structural coupling effects.At the interface,a synergy can be produced that improves CO_(2)ER by increasing*CO adsorption,intermediate binding,and stability.This article focuses on recent advancements in graphene-based catalysts that promote CO_(2)ER to alcohols.Likewise,this paper also describes and discusses the key role graphene plays in catalyzing CO_(2)ER into alcohols.Finally,we hope to provide future ideas for the design of graphene-based electrocatalysts.

Promoting role of Ru species on Ir-Fe/BN catalyst in 1,2-diols hydrogenolysis to secondary alcohols

Noble metal-based-bimetallic catalysts have been highly investigated and applied in wide applications including biomass transformation via regioselective C−O hydrogenolysis while further modification especially with noble metal is highly promising yet still under investigation.Herein,Ru was found as an effective modifier among the screened noble metals(Ru,Pt,Rh,Pd,Au,and Ag)for Ir-Fe/BN(Ir=5 wt%,Fe/Ir=0.25)catalyst in terminal C−O hydrogenolysis of 1,2-butanediol(1,2-BuD)to 2-butanol(2-BuOH).Only trace amount of Ru(up to 0.5 wt%)was effective in terms of high 2-BuOH selectivity(>60%)and activity(about twice).Larger amount of Ru species(3 wt%)highly enhanced the activity but gave low selectivity to 2-BuOH with by-products of terminal C−C bond scission.Optimized catalyst(Ru(0.5)-Ir-Fe/BN)was reusable at least 4 times and gave moderate 2-BuOH yield(47%)in hydrogenolysis of 1,2-BuD.The promoting effect of Ru addition(0.5 wt%)to Ir-Fe/BN on hydrogenolysis of various alcohols was also confirmed.Combining catalytic tests with various characterizations,the promotion mechanism of Ru species in trimetallic catalysts was clarified.The Ru species in Ru(0.5)-Ir-Fe/BN form alloy with Ir and are enriched at the interface with BN surface,and direct interaction between Ru and Fe was not necessary in Ru-Ir-Fe alloy.The interface of Ir and Fe on the surface of Ir-Fe alloy may work as active sites for 1,2-diols to secondary alcohols via direct C−O hydrogenolysis,in which Ru-modified Ir activates H_(2) to form hydride-like species.The activity of Ru species in C−C bond cleavage was highly suppressed due to the direct interaction with Ir species and less exposed to substrate.Larger loading amount of Ru species(3 wt%)led to the formation Ru-rich trimetallic alloy,which further works as active sites for C−C bond scission.

Cu-based materials for electrocatalytic CO_(2) to alcohols:Reaction mechanism,catalyst categories,and regulation strategies

Electrocatalytic CO_(2) reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)technology,which enables carbon capture storage and resource utilization by reducing CO_(2) to valuable chemicals or fuels,has become a global research hotspot in recent decades.Among the many products of CO_(2)RR(carbon monoxide,acids,aldehydes and alcohols,olefins,etc.),alcohols(methanol,ethanol,propanol,etc.)have a higher market value and energy density,but it is also more difficult to produce.Copper is known to be effective in catalyzing CO_(2) to high valueadded alcohols,but with poor selectivity.The progress of Cu-based catalysts for the selective generation of alcohols,including copper oxides,bimetals,single atoms and composites is reviewed.Meanwhile,to improve Cu-based catalyst activity and modulate product selectivity,the modulation strategies are straighten out,including morphological regulation,crystalline surface,oxidation state,as well as elemental doping and defect engineering.Based on the research progress of electrocatalytic CO_(2) reduction for alcohol production on Cu-based materials,the reaction pathways and the key intermediates of the electrocatalytic CO_(2)RR to methanol,ethanol and propanol are summarized.Finally,the problems of traditional electrocatalytic CO_(2)RR are introduced,and the future applications of machine learning and theoretical calculations are prospected.An in-depth discussion and a comprehensive review of the reaction mechanism,catalyst types and regulation strategies were carried out with a view to promoting the development of electrocatalytic CO_(2)RR to alcohols.

Breeding of Ferment Bacteria and Control of Methanol and Higher Alcohols in Jujube Wine

Jujube wine is a health drink with local characteristics and is worth pro- moting. Jujube wine fermentation can be divided into alcoholic fermentation and mal- olactic fermentation. Yeast is the key of alcoholic fermentation while lactic acid bac- teria is the key of malolactic fermentation, and therefore the breeding of yeast and lactic acid bacteria is crucial for the quality of jujube wine. Besides, the control of methanol is a major problem in production, and the control of higher alcohol is also difficult. Thus, we summarized the research related with the breeding of yeast and lactic acid bacteria, and the control of methanol and higher alcohols, and proposed that breeding specialized yeast and lactic acid bacteria was the future research di- rection. Moreover, the production mechanism of methanol and higher alcohols was investigated, and the content of methanol and higher alcohols was effectively con- trolled on the basis of quality guarantee, providing references for the production technology of jujube wine.

Production of Mixed Alcohols from Bio-syngas over Mo-based Catalyst

A series of Mo-based catalysts prepared by sol-gel method using citric acid as complexant were successfully applied in the high efficient production of mixed alcohols from bio-syngas, derived from the biomass gasification. The Cu1Co1Fe1MO1Zn0.5-6%K catalyst exhibited a higher activity on the space-time yield of mixed alcohols, compared with the other Mobased catalysts. The carbon conversion significantly increases with rising temperature below 340 ℃, but the alcohol selectivity has an opposite trend. The maximum mixed alcohols yield derived from biomass gasification is 494.8 g/（kg catal·h） with the C2＋ （C2-C6 higher alcohols） alcohols of 80.4% under the tested conditions. The alcohol distributions are consistent with the Schulz-Flory plots, except methanol. In the alcohols products, the C2＋ alcohols （higher alcohols） dominate with a weight ratio of 70%-85%. The Mo-based cata- lysts have been characterized by X-ray diffraction and N2 adsorption/desorption. The clean bio-fules of mixed alcohols derived from bio-syngas with higher octane values could be used as transportation fuels or petrol additives.

Cold plasma-activated Cu-Co catalysts with CN vacancies for enhancing CO_(2)electroreduction to low-carbon alcohol

Electrocatalytic CO_(2)reduction reaction to low-carbon alcohol is a challenging task,especially high selectivity for ethanol,which is mainly limited by the regulation of reaction intermediates and subsequent C–C coupling.A Cu-Co bimetallic catalyst with CN vacancies is successfully developed by H_(2)cold plasma toward a high-efficiency CO_(2)RR into low-carbon alcohol.The Cu-Co PBA-V_(CN)(Prussian blue analogues with CN vacancies)electrocatalyst yields methanol and ethanol as major products with a total low-carbon alcohol FE of 83.8%(methanol:39.2%,ethanol:44.6%)at-0.9 V vs.RHE,excellent durability(100 h)and a small onset potential of-0.21 V.ATR-SEIRAS(attenuated total internal reflection surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy)and DFT(density functional theory)reveal that the steric hindrance of V_(CN)can enhance the CO generation from*COOH,and the C–C coupling can also be increased by CO spillover on uniformly dispersed Cu atoms.This work provides a strategy for the design and preparation of electrocatalysts for CO_(2)RR into low-carbon alcohol products and highlights the impact of catalyst steric hindrance to catalytic performance.

Novel cobalt(Ⅱ) complexes of amino acids-Schiff bases catalyzed aerobic oxidation of various alcohols to ketones and aldehyde

Two cobalt（Ⅱ） complexes 1 and 2 of Schiff bases derived from amino acids were synthesized and used for oxidation of benzyl alcohol with molecular oxygen at different conditions of pH,solvent,temperature and complex/alcohol molar ratio to optimize reaction conditions and to evaluate the catalytic efficiency of new cobalt Schiff base complexes.Under obtained optimum conditions,various alcohols were oxidized to corresponding aldehydes and ketones.

Highly Efficient,Green Oxidation of Alcohols Using Novel Heterogeneous Ruthenium Catalyst

MnFe1.4Ru0.45Cu0.15O4 was an effective heterogeneous catalyst for the oxidation of various types of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds using atmospheric pressure of oxygen under mild conditions. Furthermore, this catalyst was also effective towards alcohol oxidation using water as solvent instead of toluene.

Synergistic effect between few layer graphene and carbon nanotube supports for palladium catalyzing electrochemical oxidation of alcohols

Few layer graphene （FLG）, multi-walled carbon nanotubes （CNTs） and a nanotube-graphene composite （CNT-FLG） were used as supports for palladium nanoparticles. The catalysts, which were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, were used as anodes in the electrooxidation of ethanol, ethylene glycol and glycerol in half cells and in passive direct ethanol fuel cells. Upon Pd deposition, a stronger interaction was found to occur between the metal and the nanotube-graphene composite and the particle size was significantly smaller in this material （6.3 nm）, comparing with nanotubes and graphene alone （8 and 8.4 nm, respectively）. Cyclic voltammetry experiments conducted with Pd/CNT, Pd/FLG and Pd/CNT-FLG in 10 wt% ethanol and 2 M KOH solution, showed high specific currents of 1.48, 2.29 and 2.51 mA-/zgp-d, respectively. Moreover, the results obtained for ethylene glycol and glycerol oxidation highlighted the excellent electrocatalytic activity of Pd/CNT-FLG in terms of peak current density （up to 3.70 mAgd for ethylene glycol and 1.84 mAfor glycerol, respectively）. Accordingly, Pd/CNT-FLG can be considered as the best performing one among the electrocatalysts ever reported for ethylene glycol oxidation, especially considering the low metal loading used in this work. Direct ethanol fuel cells at room temperature were studied by obtaining power density curves and undertaking galvanostatic experiments. The power density outputs using Pd/CNT, Pd/FLG and Pd/CNT-FLG were 12.1, 16.3 and 18.4 mW.cm-2, respectively. A remarkable activity for ethanol electrooxidation was shown by Pd/CNT-FLG anode catalyst. In a constant current experiment, the direct ethanol fuel cell containing Pd/CNT-FLG could continuously deliver 20 mA.cm-2 for 9.5 h during the conversion of ethanol into acetate of 30%, and the energy released from the cell was about 574 J.

Cobalt–copper based catalysts for higher terminal alcohols synthesis via Fischer–Tropsch reaction

The production of higher terminal alcohols through CO hydrogenation according to the Fischer–Tropsch(F–T) process has been a topic of interest since the Institut Fran?ais du Pétrole(IFP) demonstrated shortchain C_1–C_6mixed alcohols production over cobalt–copper based catalysts. A number of catalyst formulations were screened for their suitability at that time. In particular, the addition of Cr, Zn, Al, Mn and V to Co Cu was investigated. In a number of patents, it was shown that catalyst preparation is crucial in these catalyst formulations and that high alcohols selectivity can only be achieved by carefully respecting the procedures and recipes. This short critical review highlights recent developments in Co Cu-based catalysts for higher terminal alcohols synthesis via F–T synthesis. Special attention will be given to catalyst preparation which according to developments in our group is based on oxalate precipitation. This way we show that the close association of Co and Cu on the one hand and promoter/dispersant on the other are of utmost importance to ensure high performance of the catalysts. We shall concentrate on 'Co Cu Mn','Co Cu Mo' and 'Co Cu Nb' catalyst formulations, all prepared via oxalate precipitation and combined with'entrainment techniques' if necessary, and show high total alcohols selectivity can be obtained with tunable Anderson-Schulz-Flory chain-lengthening probability. Either long-chain C_8–C_(14)terminal alcohols as feedstock for plasticizers, lubricants and detergents, or short-chain C_2–C_5alcohols as 'alkanol' fuels or fuel additives can be formed this way.

Regioselective tetrahydropyranylation of alcohols catalyzed by Fe(HSO_4)_3

Alcohols are selectively and efficiently protected as their tetrahydropranyl ethers in the presence of a catalytic amount of Fe（HSO4）3 in good to high yields. All reactions are performed under mild and completely heterogeneous reaction conditions.

Synthesis of Higher Alcohols from Syngas over Alkali Promoted K-Co-Mo Catalysts Supported on Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes

A series of carbon nanotubes-supported K-Co-Mo catalysts were prepared by a sol-gel method combined with incipient wetness impregnation. The catalyst structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption-desorption, transmission electron microscopy and H2-TPD, and its catalytic performance toward the synthesis of higher alcohols from syngas was investigated. The as-prepared catalyst particles had a low crystallization degree and high dispersion on the outer and inner surface of CNTs. The uniform mesoporous structure of CNTs increased the diffusion rate of reactants and products, thus promoting the reaction conversion. Furthermore, the incorporation of CNTs support led to a high capability of hydrogen absorption and spillover and promoted the formation of alkyl group, which served as the key intermediate for the alcohol formation and carbon chain growth. Benefiting from these characteristics, the CNTs supported Mo-based catalyst showed the excellent catalytic performance for the higher alcohols synthesis as compared to the unsupported catalyst and activated carbon supported catalyst.

Conversion of syngas to higher alcohols over Cu-Fe-Zr catalysts induced by ethanol

Ethanol induced method was applied to prepare Cu-Fe-Zr catalysts for conversion of syngas to higher alcohols. The catalytic performance of the catalysts induced by ethanol was superior to that of the catalyst prepared by the conventional precipitation method. Among various procedures for ethanol induced method, it was found that incorporation of ethanol in the precipitation process was the better. After incorporation of ethanol, the crystal size of CuO decreased and the reduction of copper species became easier. The better activity of Cu-Fe-Zr catalysts prepared by ethanol induced procedures was probably caused by the higher dispersion of Cu species.

2,4,6-Trichloro-1,3,5-triazine/dimethylformamide as an efficient reagent for one-pot conversion of alcohols into N-alkylphthalimides

An efficient and mild method for the direct conversion of alcohols into N-alkylphthalimides using 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine and dimethylformamide was described.The reaction was preceded via(alcoxymethylene) dimethylammonium chloride intermediate and produced corresponding N-alkylphthalimides in good-to-excellent yields.

V(HSO_4)_3 catalyzed chemoselectivity acetylation of alcohols and phenols in solution and under solvent-free conditions

A variety of alcohols and phenols are efficiently acetylated with acetic anhydride in the presence of a catalytic amount of V（HSO4）3 in solution and under solvent free conditions. Mild reaction conditions, high yields of the products, easy procedure and selective acetylation of alcohols and phenols in the presence of amines and thiols are the main advantages of this procedure.

A Facile and Efficient Oxidation of α,β-Unsaturated Alcohols with Manganese Dioxide in Ionic Liquids under Mild Conditions

The oxidation of a,b-unsaturated primary and secondary alcohols to corresponding aldehydes and ketones by manganese dioxide in ionic liquids as a safe recyclable and accelerative reaction medium under mild conditions are described. The rate of the oxidation reaction is faster and the yield is higher than that with conventional procedures.

Oxidation of Alcohols Catalyzed by Ruthenium Complexes with Iodosylbenzene as Oxidant

Five ruthenium complexes such as Phen-Ru-Phen, Phen-Ru-Bipy, Phen-Ru-Quin, Quin-Ru-Quin and Bipy-Ru-Quin (where Phen=1, 10-phenanthroline, Quin=8-hydroxyquinoline, Bipy=2, 2′-bipyridine) were synthesized and used as catalysts for the oxidation of benzylic and primary aliphatic alcohols with iodosylbenzene as oxidant. The oxidations were carried out at room temperature, affording the corresponding aldehydes and ketones with high selectivity.

Intrinsic properties of active sites for hydrogen production from alcohols without coke formation

The detailed reaction pathway and coke formation mechanism over Pt/metal oxide nanoparticles during the steam reforming of ethanol （SRE） at 300℃ were studied. The catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method and were characterized with CO pulse chemisorption, BET surface measurement, oxygen adsorption, ethanol-TPD, NH3-TPD, and TPO. The SRE activity of the catalysts with steam/ethanol molar ratio of 3/1 was tested using a continuous fixed-bed reactor. Strong interaction between Pt and supports causes lower H2 production temperatures and no C2H4 formation, while weak interaction leads to C2H4 formation and strong bonded CO on Pt particles during ethanol- TPD. H2 production over Pt-based catalysts is mainly resulted from the decomposition and dehydrogenation of ethanol, and decarbonylation of acetaldehyde. Meanwhile, coke can be formed from acetaldehyde, acetone, C2H4 and CO. However, when the interaction between Pt and supports is weak, more coke is formed especially from acetone, C2H4 and CO. When the interaction is strong, no coke formation is observed due to high oxygen storage capacity of the catalyst.

Effect of elemental molar ratio on the synthesis of higher alcohols over Co-promoted alkali-modified Mo_2C catalysts supported on CNTs

A series of molybdenum carbide catalysts promoted by potassium and cobalt,supported on carbon nanotubes（CNTs） were prepared by carbothermal hydrogen reduction method using CNTs as a carbon precursor.Firstly,molybdenum and cobalt were loaded by co-precipitation method,and then potassium and additional molybdenum were impregnated to previous resultant.Different Mo/Co and K/Co molar ratio were used in catalyst synthesis.All the catalysts were characterized by ICP,BET,TEM,TPR,XRD and XPS,and the catalysts performances for higher alcohols synthesis（HAS） were investigated in a fixed-bed micro-reactor.The maximum selectivity to higher alcohols（C2＋OH） was obtained at Mo/Co and K/Mo molar ratios of 1.66 and 0.6,respectively.XRD results confirmed the formation of K-Mo-C site and Co3Mo3 C phase that might play important role in producing C2＋OH.

Photocatalytic selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols coupled with hydrogen evolution over CdS/WO_(3) composites

Simultaneously utilizing photogenerated electrons and holes to convert renewable biomass and its derivatives into corresponding value‐added products and hydrogen(H_(2))is a promising strategy to deal with the energy and environmental crisis.Herein,we report a facile hydrothermal method to construct a direct Z‐scheme CdS/WO_(3) binary composite for photocatalytic coupling redox reaction,simultaneously producing H_(2) and selectively converting aromatic alcohols into aromatic aldehydes in one pot.Compared with bare CdS and WO_(3),the CdS/WO_(3) binary composite exhibits significantly enhanced performance for this photocatalytic coupled redox reaction,which is ascribed to the ex‐tended light harvesting range,efficient charge carrier separation rate and optimized redox capabil‐ity of CdS/WO_(3) composite.Furthermore,the feasibility of converting various aromatic alcohols to corresponding aldehydes coupled with H_(2) evolution on the CdS/WO_(3) photocatalyst is proved and a reasonable reaction mechanism is proposed.It is hoped that this work can provide a new insight into the construction of direct Z‐scheme photocatalysts to effectively utilize the photogenerated electrons and holes for photocatalytic coupled redox reaction.