Realizing efficient electrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural on a freestanding Ni(OH)_(2)/nickel foam catalyst

With the continuous improvement of solar energy production capacity,how to effectively use the electricity generated by renewable solar energy for electrochemical conversion of biomass is a hot topic.Electrochemical conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF)to biofuels and value-added oxygenated commodity chemicals provides a promising and alternative pathway to convert re-newable electricity into chemicals.Although nickel-based eletrocatalysts are well-known for HMF oxidation,their relatively low intrinsic activity,poor conductivity and stability still limit the poten-tial applications.Here,we report the fabrication of a freestanding nickel-based electrode,in which Ni(OH)_(2) species were in-situ constructed on Ni foam(NF)support using a facile ac-id-corrosion-induced strategy.The Ni(OH)2/NF electrocatalyst exhibits stable and efficient electro-chemical HMF oxidation into 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid(FDCA)with HMF conversion close to 100% with high Faraday efficiency.In-situ formation strategy results in a compact interface between Ni(OH)_(2) and NF,which contributes to good conductivity and stability during electrochemical reac-tions.The superior performance benefits from dynamic cyclic evolution of Ni(OH)_(2) to NiOOH,which acts as the reactive species for HMF oxidation to FDCA.A scaled-up device based on a continu-ous-flow electrolytic cell was also established,giving stable operation with a high FDCA production rate of 27 mg h^(-1)cm^(−2).This job offers a straightforward,economical,and scalable design strategy to design efficient and durable catalysts for electrochemical conversion of valuable chemicals.

Series Reports from Professor Wei's Group of Chongqing University:Advancements in Electrochemical Energy Conversions(1/4):Report 1:High-performance Oxygen Reduction Catalysts for Fuel Cells

Two major challenges,high cost and short lifespan,have been hindering the commercialization process of lowtemperature fuel cells.Professor Wei's group has been focusing on decreasing cathode Pt loadings without losses of activity and durability,and their research advances in this area over the past three decades are briefly reviewed herein.Regarding the Pt-based catalysts and the low Pt usage,they have firstly tried to clarify the degradation mechanism of Pt/C catalysts,and then demonstrated that the activity and stability could be improved by three strategies:regulating the nanostructures of the active sites,enhancing the effects of support materials,and optimizing structures of the three-phase boundary.For Pt-free catalysts,especialiy carbon-based ones,several strategies that they proposed to enhance the activity of nitrogen-/heteroatom-doped carbon catalysts are firstly presented.Then,an indepth understanding of the degradation mechanism for carbon-based catalysts is discussed,and followed by the corresponding stability enhancement strategies.Also,the carbon-based electrode at the micrometer-scale,faces the challenges such as low active-site density,thick catalytic layer,and the effect of hydrogen peroxide,which require rational structure design for the integral cathodic electrode.This review finally gives a brief conclusion and outlook about the low cost and long lifespan of cathodic oxygen reduction catalysts.

Propene and CO oxidation on Pt/Ce-Zr-SO_4^(2-) diesel oxidation catalysts:Effect of sulfate on activity and stability

Platinum/cerium-zirconium-sulfate（Pt/Ce-Zr-SO_4^（2-）） catalysts were prepared by wetness impregnation.Catalytic activities were evaluated from the combustion of propene and CO.Sulfate（SO_4^（2-））addition improved the catalytic activity significantly.When using Pt/Ce-Zr-SO_4^（2-） with 10 wt%SO_4^（2-）,the temperature for 90%conversion of propene and CO decreased by 75℃ compared with Pt/Ce-Zr.The conversion exceeded 95%at 240℃ even after 0.02%sulfur dioxide poisoning for 20 h.Temperature-programmed desorption of CO and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses revealed an improvement in Pt dispersion onto the Ce-Zr-SO_4^（2-） support,and the increased number of Pt particles built up more Pt^（-）-（SO_4^（2-））^（-） couples,which resulted in excellent activity.The increased total acidity and new Bronsted acid sites on the surface provided the Pt/Ce-Zr-SO_4^（2-） with good sulfur resistance.

Single atom gold catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation

Low‐temperature CO oxidation is important for both fundamental studies and practical applica‐tions. Supported gold catalysts are generally regarded as the most active catalysts for low‐temperature CO oxidation. The active sites are traditionally believed to be Au nanoclusters or nanoparticles in the size range of 0.5–5 nm. Only in the last few years have single‐atom Au catalysts been proved to be active for CO oxidation. Recent advances in both experimental and theoretical studies on single‐atom Au catalysts unambiguously demonstrated that when dispersed on suitable oxide supports the Au single atoms can be extremely active for CO oxidation. In this mini‐review, recent advances in the development of Au single‐atom catalysts are discussed, with the aim of illus‐trating their unique catalytic features during CO oxidation.

Synthesis of Biomorphic ZrO2-CeO2 Nanostructures by Silkworm Silk Template

A simple and green technique has been developed to prepare hierarchical biomorphic ZrO2- CeO2, using silkworm silk as the template. Different from traditional immersion technics, the whole synthesis process depends more on the restriction or direction functions of the silkworm silk template. The analytic results showed that ZrO2-CeO2 exhibited a well-crystallized hierarchically interwoven hollow fiber structure with 16-28 μm in diameter. The grain size of the sample calcined at 800 ℃ was about 14 nm. Consequently, the interwoven meshwork at three dimensions is formed due to the direction of biotemplate. The action mechanism is summarily discussed here. It may bring the biomorphic ZrO2-CeO2 nanomaterials with hierarchical interwoven structures to more applications, such as catalysts.

Highly selective supported gold catalyst for CO-driven reduction of furfural in aqueous media

The reductive transformation of furfural （FAL） into furfuryl alcohol （FOL） is an attractive route for the use of renewable bio‐sources but it suffers from the heavy use of H2. We describe here a highly efficient reduction protocol for converting aqueous FAL to FOL. A single phase rutile TiO2 support with a gold catalyst （Au/TiO2‐R） that used CO/H2O as the hydrogen source catalyze this reduction efficiently under mild conditions. By eliminating the consumption of fossil fuel‐derived H2, our pro‐cess has the benefit afforded by using CO as a convenient and cost competitive reducing reagent.

Synthesis of K-doped three-dimensionally ordered macroporous Mn_(0.5)Ce_(0.5)O_δ catalysts and their catalytic performance for soot oxidation

A series of K-doped Mn0.5Ce0.5Oδ （K-MCO） catalysts with three-dimensionally ordered macroporous （3DOM） structure and different K loadings were successfully synthesized using simple methods. These catalysts exhibited well-defined 3DOM nanostructure, which consisted of extensive interconnecting networks of spherical voids. The effects of the calcination temperature and calcination time on the morphological characteristics and crystalline forms of the catalysts were systematically studied. The catalysts showed high catalytic activity for the combustion of soot. 3DOM 20% K-MCO-4h catalyst, in particular, showed the highest catalytic activity of all of the catalysts studied （e.g., Ts0 = 331 ~C and Smco2 = 95.3%）. The occurrence of structural and synergistic effects among the K, Mn, and Ce atoms in the catalysts was favorable for enhancing their catalytic activity towards the combustion of diesel soot. Furthermore, the temperatures required for the complete combustion of the soot （〈400 ℃） were well within the exhaust temperature range （175-400 ℃）, which means that the accumulated soot can be removed under the conditions of the diesel exhaust gas. These catalysts could therefore be used in numerous practical applications because they are easy to synthesize, exhibit high catalytic activity, and can be made from low cost materials.

SnO_2 nano-sheet as an efficient catalyst for CO oxidation

Polycrystalline SnO2 fine powder consisting of nano-particles （SnO2-NP）, SnO2 nano-sheets （SnO2-NS）, and SnO2 containing both nano-rods and nano-particles （SnO2-NR＋NP） were prepared and used for CO oxidation. SnO2-NS possesses a mesoporous structure and has a higher surface area, larger pore volume, and more active species than SnO2-NP, and shows improved activity. In contrast, although SnO2-NR＋NP has only a slightly higher surface area and pore volume, and slightly more active surface oxygen species than SnO2-NP, it has more exposed active （110） facets, which is the reason for its improved oxidation activity. Water vapor has only a reversible and weak influence on SnO2-NS, therefore it is a potential catalyst for emission control processes.

Electroless Deposition of Nickel Nanowire and Nanotube Arrays as Supports for Pt-Pd Catalyst for Ethanol Electrooxidation

Nickel nanowire and nanotube arrays as supports for Pt-Pd catalyst were prepared by elec- troless deposition with anodic aluminum oxide template. Pt-Pd composite catalyst was de- posited on the arrays by displacement reaction. SEM images show that the nickel nanowires have an average diameter of I00 nm and the nickel nanotubes have an average inner diameter of 200 nm. EDS scanning reveals that elemental Pt and Pd disperse uniformly on the arrays. Cyclic voltammetry study indicates that the nickel nanotube array loaded with Pt-Pd pos- sesses a higher electrochemical activity for ethanol oxidation than the nickel nanowire array with Pt-Pd.

Facile preparation of nanocrystal-assembled hierarchical mordenite zeolites with remarkable catalytic performance

The present study reports a novel strategy to fabricate nanocrystal-assembled hierarchical MOR zeolites. This is the first demonstration of hierarchical MOR without preferential growth along the c-axis, which facilitates mass transfer in the 12-membered ring channels of MOR zeolite for the conversions involving bulky molecules. The facile method involves the combined use of tetraethylammonium hydroxide （TEAOH） and commercial surfactants, in which TEAOH is essential for the construction of nanocrystal assemblies. The surfactant serves as a crystal growth-inhibiting agent to further inhibit nanocrystalline particle growth, resulting in enhanced mesoporosity. The hierarchical MOR assembled particles, constructed of 20-50-nm crystallites, exhibit superior catalytic properties in the alkylation of benzene with benzyl alcohol compared with the control sample, as the hierarchical MOR possesses a larger external surface area and longer c-axis dimension. More importantly, the material shows improved activity and stability in the dimethyl ether carbonylation to methyl acetate reaction, which is a novel route to produce ethanol from syngas.

Promotional effect of spherical alumina loading with manganese-based bimetallic oxides on nitric-oxide deep oxidation by ozone

Nitric oxide （NO） deep oxidation to dinitrogen pentoxide （N2O5） by ozone together with wet scrub-bing has become a promising technology for nitrogen-oxide （NOx） removal in industrial boilers. Catalysts were introduced to enhance the N2O5 formation rate with less ozone injection and leakage. A series of monometallic catalysts （manganese, cobalt, cerium, iron, copper, and chromium） as pre-pared by the sol-gel method were tested. The manganese oxides achieved an almost 80% conver-sion efficiency at an ozone （O3）/NO molar ratio of 2.0 in 0.12 s. The crystalline structure and porous parameters were determined. The thermodynamic reaction threshold of NO conversion to N2O5 is oxidation with an O3/NO molar ratio of 1.5. Spherical alumina was selected as the support to achieve the threshold, which was believed to improve the catalytic activity by increasing the surface area and the gas-solid contact time. Based on the manganese oxides, cerium, iron, chromium, cop-per, and cobalt were introduced as promoters. Cerium and iron improved the deep-oxidation effi-ciency compared with manganese/spherical alumina, with less than 50 mg/m3 of outlet NO ＋ nitro-gen oxide, and less than 25 mg/m3 of residual ozone at an O3/NO molar ratio of 1.5. The other three metal oxides inhibited catalytic activity. X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, hydrogen tempera-ture-programmed reduction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicate that the cata-lytic activity is affected by the synergistic action of NOx oxidation and ozone decomposition.

Flower-like 3D CuO microsphere acting as photocatalytic water oxidation catalyst

Flower-like 3D CuO microspheres were synthesized and used to photo-catalyze water oxidation under visible light.The structure of the CuO microspheres was characterized by scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,infrared,powder X-ray diffraction,electron dispersive spectroscopy,Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）.This is the first time that a copper oxide was demonstrated as a photocatalytic water oxidation catalyst under near neutral conditions.The catalytic activity of CuO microspheres in borate buffer shows the best performance with O2 yield of 11.5%.No change in the surface properties of CuO before and after the photocatalytic reaction was seen by XPS,which showed good catalyst stability.A photocatalytic water oxidation reaction mechanism catalyzed by the CuO microspheres was proposed.

Direct oxidation of the C_(sp3)-H bonds of N-heterocyclic compounds to give the corresponding ketones using a reusable heterogeneous MnO_x-N@C catalyst

Novel reusable MnOx‐N@C catalyst has been developed for the direct oxidation of N‐heterocycles under solvent‐free conditions using TBHP as benign oxidant to give the corresponding N‐heterocyclic ketones. The catalytic system exhibited a broad substrate scope and excellent regi‐oselectivity, as well as being amenable to gram‐scale synthesis. This MnOx‐N@C catalyst also showed good reusability and was successfully recycled six times without any significant loss of activity.

CO oxidation over Au/ZrLa-doped CeO_2 catalysts: Synergistic effect of zirconium and lanthanum

The physicochemical properties of nanosized Au catalysts supported on doped CeO2 and their cata‐lytic performance for the CO oxidation reaction were investigated. The Au/Zr‐doped CeO2 catalyst is much more active than undoped Au/CeO2, while Au/ZrLa‐doped CeO2 shows the highest activity. Characterization of the catalysts by X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, high‐resolution TEM, and the X‐ray absorption fine structure technique shows high homogeneity of the oxide supports and well‐dispersed nanosized Au nanoparticles. Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and H2‐tempeature‐programmed reduction show that the surface oxygen species are the main factor for the catalytic activity in the CO oxidation reaction, while the supported Au species can improve the redox properties and create oxygen vacancy sites on the support. The oxidation state of Au is not the main factor governing the activity of Au/doped‐CeO2 catalysts. Additionally, the synergistic effect of Zr and La is discussed.

Synergistic degradation of phenols by bimetallic CuO-Co_3O_4@γ-Al_2O_3 catalyst in H_2O_2/HCO_3^- system

The development of new catalytic techniques for wastewater treatment has long attracted much attention from industrial and academic communities.However,because of catalyst leaching during degradation,catalysts can be short lived,and therefore expensive,and unsuitable for use in wastewater treatment.In this work,we developed a bimetallic CuO-Co3O4@γ-Al2O3 catalyst for phenol degradation with bicarbonate-activated H2O2.The weakly basic environment provided by the bicarbonate buffer greatly suppresses leaching of active Cu and Co metal ions from the catalyst.X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed interactions between Cu and Co ions in the CuO-Co3O4@γ-Al2O3 catalyst,and these improve the catalytic activity in phenol degradation.Mechanistic studies using different radical scavengers showed that superoxide and hydroxyl radicals both played significant roles in phenol degradation,whereas singlet oxygen was less important.

Preparation of nitrogen-doped carbon nanoblocks with high electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution

The oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） is traditionally performed using noble‐metals catalysts, e.g. Pt. However, these metal‐based catalysts have the drawbacks of high costs, low selectivity, poor stabili‐ties, and detrimental environmental effects. Here, we describe metal‐free nitrogen‐doped carbon nanoblocks （NCNBs） with high nitrogen contents （4.11%）, which have good electrocatalytic proper‐ties for ORRs. This material was fabricated using a scalable, one‐step process involving the pyrolysis of tris（hydroxymethyl）aminomethane （Tris） at 800℃. Rotating ring disk electrode measurements show that the NCNBs give a high electrocatalytic performance and have good stability in ORRs. The onset potential of the catalyst for the ORR is-0.05 V （vs Ag/AgCl）, the ORR reduction peak potential is-0.20 V （vs Ag/AgCl）, and the electron transfer number is 3.4. The NCNBs showed pronounced electrocatalytic activity, improved long‐term stability, and better tolerance of the methanol crosso‐ver effect compared with a commercial 20 wt%Pt/C catalyst. The composition and structure of, and nitrogen species in, the NCNBs were investigated using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction. The pyroly‐sis of Tris at high temperature increases the number of active nitrogen sites, especially pyridinic nitrogen, which creates a net positive charge on adjacent carbon atoms, and the high positive charge promotes oxygen adsorption and reduction. The results show that NCNBs prepared by pyrolysis of Tris as nitrogen and carbon sources are a promising ORR catalyst for fuel cells.

Resistance to SO_2 poisoning of V_2O_5/TiO_2-PILC catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH_3

A titania pillared interlayered clay（Ti-PILC） supported vanadia catalyst（V2O5/TiO2-PILC） was prepared by wet impregnation for the selective catalytic reduction（SCR） of NO with ammonia. Compared to the traditional V2O5/TiO2 and V2O5-MoO3/TiO2 catalysts, the V2O5/TiO2-PILC catalyst exhibited a higher activity and better SO2 and H2O resistance in the NH3-SCR reaction. Characterization using TPD, in situ DRIFT and XPS showed that surface sulfate and/or sulfite species and ionic SO4^（2-）species were formed on the catalyst in the presence of SO2. The ionic SO4^（2-） species on the catalyst surface was one reason for deactivation of the catalyst in SCR. The formation of the ionic SO4^（2-） species was correlated with the amount of surface adsorbed oxygen species. Less adsorbed oxygen species gave less ionic SO4^（2-） species on the catalyst.

Ho-modified Mn-Ce/TiO_2 for low-temperature SCR of NO_x with NH_3:Evaluation and characterization

Low‐temperature selective catalytic reduction(SCR)of NO with NH3 was tested over Ho‐doped Mn–Ce/TiO2 catalysts prepared by the impregnation method.The obtained catalysts with different Ho doping ratios were characterized by Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller(BET),X‐ray diffraction(XRD),temperature‐programmed reduction(H2‐TPR),temperature‐programmed desorption of NH3(NH3‐TPD),X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The catalytic activities were tested on a fixed bed.Their results indicated that the proper doping amount of Ho could effectively improve the low‐temperature denitrification performance and the SO2 resistance of Mn–Ce/TiO2 catalyst.The catalyst with Ho/Ti of 0.1 presented excellent catalytic activity,with a conversion of more than 90%in the temperature window of 140–220°C.The characterization results showed that the improved SCR activity of the Mn–Ce/TiO2 catalyst caused by Ho doping was due to the increase of the specific surface area,higher concentration of chemisorbed oxygen,higher surface Mn4+/Mn3+ratio,and higher acidity.The SO2 resistance test showed that the deactivating influence of SO2 on the catalyst was irreversible.The XRD and XPS results showed that the main reason for the catalyst deactivation was sulfates that had formed on the catalyst surface and that Ho doping could inhibit the sulfation to some extent.

Enhanced low-temperature NH3-SCR performance of CeTiOx catalyst via surface Mo modification

The effect of molybdenum oxide on the activity and durability of Ce O2-Ti O2 catalyst for NO reduction by NH3 was examined. It was found that the introduction of Mo could improve the low-temperature NH3-SCR activity and SO2/H2 O durability of the Ce O2-Ti O2 catalyst and an optimal loading of Mo was 4?wt.%. The best Mo O3/Ce O2-Ti O2 catalyst displayed over 90% NO conversion from 200 °C to 400 °C and obtained 4-fold increase in NO conversion compared to Ce O2-Ti O2 at 150 °C. The characterization results revealed that the number of Br?nsted acid sites over Mo O3/Ce O2-Ti O2 was significantly increased, and the adsorption of nitrate species was dramatically weakened because of the coverage of Mo O3, which were favorable for the high NH3-SCR performance. It is believed that the Mo O3/Ce O2-Ti O2 catalyst is a suitable substitute for the NH3-SCR reaction.

Preparation of Nitrogen-doped TiO2 Nanoparticle Catalyst and Its Catalytic Activity under Visible Light

N-doped TiO2 nanoparticle photocatalysts were prepared through a sol-gel procedure using NH4C1 as the nitrogen source and followed by calcination at certain temperature. Systematic studies for the preparation parameters and their impact on the structure and photocatalytic activity under ultraviolet （UV） and visible light irra-diation were carried out. Multiple techniques （XRD, TEM, DRIF, DSC, and XPS） were commanded to characterize the crystal structures and chemical binding of N-doped TiO2. Its photocatalytic activity was examined by the deg- radation of organic compounds. The catalytic activity of the prepared N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles under visible light （λ〉400nm） irradiation is evidenced by the decomposition of 4-chlorophenol, showing that nitrogen atoms in the N-doped TiO2 nanoparticle catalyst are responsible for the visible light catalytic activity. The N-doped TiO2 nanoparticle catalyst prepared with this modified route exhibits higher catalytic activity under UV irradiation in contrast to TiO2 without N-doping. It is suggested that the doped nitrogen here is located at the interstitial site of TiO2 lattice.