Siliceous mesocellular foam supported Cu catalysts for promoting non-thermal plasma activated CO2 hydrogenation toward methanol synthesis

Electrified non-thermal plasma (NTP) catalytic hydrogenation is the promising alternative to the thermal counterparts, being able to be operated under mild conditions and compatible with green electricity/hydrogen. Rational design of the catalysts for such NTP-catalytic systems is one of the keys to improve the process efficiency. Here, we present the development of siliceous mesocellular foam (MCF) supported Cu catalysts for NTP-catalytic CO_(2) hydrogenation to methanol. The findings show that the pristine MCF support with high specific surface area and large mesopore of 784 m2·g−1 and ~8.5 nm could promote the plasma discharging and the diffusion of species through its framework, outperforming other control porous materials (viz., silicalite-1, SiO_(2), and SBA-15). Compared to the NTP system employing the bare MCF, the inclusion of Cu and Zn in MCF (i.e., Cu1Zn1/MCF) promoted the methanol formation of the NTP-catalytic system with a higher space-time yield of methanol at ~275 μmol·g_(cat)^(−1)·h^(−1) and a lower energy consumption of 26.4 kJ^(−1)·mmol_(CH_(3)OH)^(-1) (conversely, ~225 μmol·g_(cat)^(−1)·h^(−1) and ~71 kJ−1·mmol_(CH_(3)OH)^(-1), respectively, for the bare MCF system at 10.1 kV). The findings suggest that inclusion of active metal sites (especially Zn species) could stabilize the CO_(2)/CO-related intermediates to facilitate the surface reaction toward methanol formation.

Gliding arc discharge in combination with Cu/Cu_(2)O electrocatalysis for ammonia production

Highly efficient and green ammonia production is an important demand for modern agriculture.In this study,a two-step ammonia production method is developed using a gliding arc discharge in combination with Cu/Cu_(2)O electrocatalysis.In this method,NO_(x)is provided by the gliding arc discharge and then electrolyzed by Cu/Cu_(2)O after alkaline absorption.The electrical characteristics,the optical characteristics and the NO_(x)production are investigated in discharges at different input voltage and the gas flow.The dependence of ammonia production through Cu/Cu_(2)O electrocatalysis on pH value and reduction potential are determined by colorimetric method.In our study,two discharge modes are observed.At high input voltage and low gas flow,the discharge is operated with a stable plasma channel which is called the steady arc gliding discharge mode(A-G mode).As lowering input voltage and raising gas flow,the plasma channel is destroyed and high frequency breakdown occurs instead,which is known as the breakdown gliding discharge mode(B-G mode).The optimal NO_(x)production of 7.34 mmol h^(-1)is obtained in the transition stage of the two discharge modes.The ammonia yield reaches0.402 mmol h^(-1)cm^(-2)at pH value of 12.7 and reduction potential of-1.0 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE).

Preparation, Characterization of CuO/CeO_2 and Cu/CeO_2 Catalysts and Their Applications in Low-Temperature CO Oxidation

CeO2 was synthesized via sol-gel process and used as supporter to prepare CuO/CeO2, Cu/CeO2 catalysts by impregnation method. The catalytic properties and characterization of CeO2, CuO/CeO2 and Cu/CeO2 catalysts were examined by means of a microreactor-GC system, HRTEM, XRD, TPR and XPS techniques. The results show that CuO has not catalytic activity and the activity of CeO2 is quite low for CO oxidation. However, the catalytic activity of CuO/CeO2 and Cu/ CeO2 catalysts increases significantly. Furthermore, the activity of CuO/CeO2 is higher than that of Cu/CeO2 catalysts.

Catalytic activity of Cu/ZnO catalysts mediated by MgO promoter in hydrogenation of methyl acetate to ethanol

Hydrogenation of methyl acetate is a key step in ethanol synthesis from dimethyl ether carbonylation and Cu-based catalysts are widely studied.We report here that the hydrogenation activity of Cu/ZnO catalysts can be enhanced by the addition of MgO promoter.The evolution of crystal phases during coprecipitation and the physicochemical properties of calcined and reduced catalysts by X-ray diffraction(XRD),thermogravimetric(TG)-mass spectrometry(MS),Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),N_(2)O titration,in situ CO-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)and H_(2)-temperature programmed reduction(H_(2)-TPR)reveal that the promoter effect likely lies in the presence of Mg^(2+).A proper amount of Mg^(2+)mediates the precipitation process of Cu and Zn,leading to preferable formation of aurichalcite(Cu_(x)Zn_(1-x))5(CO_(3))_(2)(OH)_(6) crystal phase and a small amount of basic carbonates such as hydrozincite Zn_(5)(CO_(3))_(2)(OH)_(6) and malachite Cu_(2) CO_(3)(OH)_(2).The presence of aurichalcite strengthens the interaction between Cu and Zn species,and thus enhances the dispersity of CuO species and helps generation of Cu^(+)species on reduced catalysts.Furthermore,the performance of Cu/ZnO catalysts exhibits an optimal dependence on the Mg loading,i.e.,17.5%.However,too much Mg^(2+)in the precipitation liquid prohibits formation of aurichalcite but enhances formation of basic nitrates,leading to a dramatically reduced hydrogenation activity.These findings may find applications for optimization of other Cu-based catalysts in a wider range of hydrogenation reactions.

Stabilization of Cu/ZnO Based Catalysts by Nickel Additive in Methanol Decomposstion

A series of Cu/Zn based catalysts with and without Ni, prepared by the co-precipitation method, has been studied for methanol decomposition. CO and H2 are the major products. The Cu/Zn catalysts show a low initial activity and a poor stability. The formation of the CuZn alloys was observed in the deactivated Cu/Zn catalysts which were used for methanol decomposition at 250 . When small amounts of Ni were added in the catalyst, the Cu/Zn/Ni(molar ratio 5/4/ x) catalysts showed a high activity at a low temperature. The activity and the stability of the catalyst depend on the nickel content. The activity of the Cu/Zn/Ni catalysts was maintained at a. relatively stable value of 78% conversion of methanol with 95% selectivity of H2, 93% selectivity of CO, and a more than 70% yield of hydrogen was obtained at 250 C when x >1. The stability of the Cu/Zn/Ni (molar ratio 5/4/x) catalysts showed the maximum (ca 88%) when x=1. The stabilization effect of nickel on the Cu/Zn based catalysts may lead to the increasin

Bifunctionality of Cu/ZnO catalysts for alcohol-assisted low-temperature methanol synthesis from syngas:Effect of copper content

Alcohol-assisted low-temperature methanol synthesis was conducted over Cu/ZnO;catalysts while varying the copper content（X）. Unlike conventional methanol synthesis, ethanol acted as both solvent and reaction intermediate in this reaction, creating a different reaction pathway. The formation of crystalline phases and characteristic morphology of the co-precipitated precursors during the co-precipitation step were important factors in obtaining an efficient Cu/ZnO catalyst with a high dispersion of metallic copper,which is one of the main active sites for methanol synthesis. The acidic properties of the Cu/ZnO catalyst were also revealed as important factors, since alcohol esterification is considered the rate-limiting step in alcohol-assisted low-temperature methanol synthesis. As a consequence, bifunctionality of the Cu/ZnO catalyst such as metallic copper and acidic properties was required for this reaction. In this respect, the copper content（X） strongly affected the catalytic activity of the Cu/ZnO;catalysts, and accordingly, the Cu/ZnO;.5 catalyst with a high copper dispersion and sufficient acid sites exhibited the best catalytic performance in this reaction.

Effects of ZrO_2 Content on Structure and Performance of Cu/CeO_2-ZrO_2 Catalysts for Water-Gas Shift Reaction

Cu/CeO2-ZrO2 catalysts for water-gas shift （WGS） reaction were prepared with co-precipitation method, and the influence of ZrO2 content on the catalytic structure and properties was investigated by the techniques of N2 physical adsorption analysis, XRD and H2-TPR. The results indicate that the BET surface areas of the catalysts are increased in varying degrees due to the presence of ZrO2. With increasing ZrO2 content, the pore size distribution is centered on 1.9 nm. ZrO2 can efficiently restrain the growth of Cu crystal particles. The appropriate amount of ZrO2 in the Cu/CeO2 catalysts can help the catalyst keep better copper dispersion in the WGS reaction, which can lead to both higher catalytic activity and better thermal stability. When ZrO2 content is 10% （atom fraction）, Cu/CeO2-Zr02 catalyst reaches a CO conversion rate of 73.7% at the reaction temperature of 200℃.

Characterization and performance of Cu/ZnO/Al_2O_3 catalysts prepared via decomposition of M(Cu,Zn)-ammonia complexes under sub-atmospheric pressure for methanol synthesis from H_2 and CO_2

Methanol synthesis from hydrogenation of CO2 is investigated over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts prepared by decomposition of M（Cu,Zn）-ammonia complexes （DMAC） at various temperatures.The catalysts were characterized in detail,including X-ray diffraction,N2 adsorption-desorption,N2O chemisorption,temperature-programmed reduction and evolved gas analyses.The influences of DMAC temperature,reaction temperature and specific Cu surface area on catalytic performance are investigated.It is considered that the aurichalcite phase in the precursor plays a key role in improving the physiochemical properties and activities of the final catalysts.The catalyst from rich-aurichalcite precursor exhibits large specific Cu surface area and high space time yield of methanol （212 g/（Lcat·h）;T=513 K,p=3MPa,SV=12000 h-1）.

Cu-Fe Catalysts Modified by Rare Earths for Preparation of High Alcohols from Fatty Acid Esters Reduction

In order to increase activity of Cu Fe catalyst and use the mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen directly for preparation of high alcohols by reducing fatty acid esters, rare earths were used to modify the catalyst. Experiments show that yield of high alcohols increases by 3% as 1% Sm 2O 3 is added to the catalyst when the reduction is carried out under pure hydrogen. The yield greatly decreases when the reduction is carried out under the mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen. Catalysts activities modified by Y and Nd can be evidently improved and even enhanced. The yields increase by 33% and 29% when 1% Y 2O 3 and 1% Nd 2O 3 are added to the catalyst, respectively.

Atomic Cu Sites Engineering Enables Efficient CO_(2)Electroreduction to Methane with High CH_(4)/C_(2)H_(4)Ratio

Electrochemical reduction of CO_(2)into high-value hydrocarbons and alcohols by using Cu-based catalysts is a promising and attractive technology for CO_(2)capture and utilization,resulting from their high catalytic activity and selectivity.The mobility and accessibility of active sites in Cubased catalysts significantly hinder the development of efficient Cu-based catalysts for CO_(2)electrochemical reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR).Herein,a facile and effective strategy is developed to engineer accessible and structural stable Cu sites by incorporating single atomic Cu into the nitrogen cavities of the host graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))as the active sites for CO_(2)-to-CH_(4)conversion in CO_(2)RR.By regulating the coordination and density of Cu sites in g-C_(3)N_(4),an optimal catalyst corresponding to a one Cu atom in one nitrogen cavity reaches the highest CH_(4)Faraday efficiency of 49.04%and produces the products with a high CH_(4)/C_(2)H_(4)ratio over 9.This work provides the first experimental study on g-C_(3)N_(4)-supported single Cu atom catalyst for efficient CH_(4)production from CO_(2)RR and suggests a principle in designing highly stable and selective high-efficiency Cu-based catalysts for CO_(2)RR by engineering Cu active sites in 2D materials with porous crystal structures.

Reduction of nitrate from groundwater:powder catalysts and catalytic membrane

The reduction of nitrate contaminant in groundwater has gained renewed and intensive attention due to the environmental problems and health risks. Catalytic denetrification presents one of the most promising approaches for the removal of nitrate from water. Catalytic nitrate reduction from water by powder catalysts and catalytic membrane in a batch reactor was studied. And the effects of the initial concentration, the amounts of catalyst, and the flux H 2 on the nitrate reduction were also discussed. The results demonstrated that nitrate reduction activity and the selectivity to nitrogen gas were mainly controlled by diffusion limitations and the mass transfer of the reactants. The selectivity can improved while retaining a high catalytic activity under controlled diffusion condition or the intensification of the mass transfer, and a good reaction condition. The total nitrogen removal efficiency reached above 80%. Moreover, catalytic membrane can create a high effective gas/liquid/solid interface, and show a good selectivity to nitrogen in comparative with the powder catalyst, the selectivity to nitrogen was improved from 73 4% to 89 4%.

Cu^+-incorporated TiO_2 overlayer on Cu_2O nanowire photocathodes for enhanced photoelectrochemical conversion of CO_2 to methanol

In this paper, we report photoelectrochemical（PEC） conversion of carbon dioxide（CO_2） using photocathodes based on Cu_2O nanowires（NWs） overcoated with Cu~＋-incorporated crystalline TiO_2（TiO_2–Cu~＋ ）shell. Cu_2O NW photocathodes show remanent photocurrent of 5.3% after 30 min of PEC reduction of CO_2.After coating Cu_2O with TiO_2–Cu~＋ overlayer, the remanent photocurrent is 27.6%, which is an increase by5.2 fold. The charge transfer resistance of Cu_2O/TiO_2–Cu~＋ is 0.423 k/cm2, whereas Cu_2O photocathode shows resistivity of 0.781 k/cm2 under irradiation. Mott–Schottky analysis reveals that Cu~＋ species embedded in TiO_2 layer is responsible for enhanced adsorption of CO_2 on TiO_2 surface, as evidenced by the decrease of capacitance in the Helmholtz layer. On account of these electrochemical and electronic effects by the Cu~＋ species, the Faradaic efficiency（FE） of photocathodes reaches as high as 56.5% when TiO_2–Cu~＋ is added to Cu_2O, showing drastic increase from 23.6% by bare Cu_2O photocathodes.

Development of Cu foam-based Ni catalyst for solar thermal reforming of methane with carbon dioxide

Using solar energy to produce syngas via the endothermic reforming of methane has been extensively inves- tigated at the laboratory- and pilot plant-scales as a promising method of storing solar energy. One of the challenges to scaling up this process in a tubular reformer is to improve the reactor＇s performance, which is limited by mass and heat transfer issues. High thermal conductivity Cu foam was therefore used as a sub-strate to improve the catalyst＇s thermal conductivity during solar reforming. We also developed a method to coat the foam with the catalytically active component NiMg3AlOx. The Cu foam-based NiMg3AlOx performs better than catalysts supported on SiSiC foam, which is currently used as a substrate for solar-reforming cat- alysts, at high gas hourly space velocity （≥400,000 mL/（g.h）） or at low reaction temperatures （≤ 720 ℃）. The presence of a γ-Al2O3 intermediate layer improves the adhesion between the catalyst and substrate as well as the catalytic activity.

High Activity and Selectivity of Cu/SiO_2 Catalyst for the Direct Synthesis of Indole

Copper supported over silica exhibited very high activity and selectivity for the direct synthesis of indole at atmospheric pressure. Under the reaction temperature of 325C,the yield of indole could obtain 88%.

Syngas to ethanol on MoCu(211)surface:Effect of promoter Mo on C-O bond breaking and C-C bond formation

The mechanism of syngas to ethanol on MoCu(211)surface has been researched by density functional theory(DFT)calculation,and the effects of Mo as a promoter on C-O bond breaking and C-C bond formation have been discussed.Calculations show that Cu-Mo atoms constitute the active sites on MoCu(211)surface after Mo atom being served as a promoter of Cu catalyst.Compared with Cu(211),MoCu(211)has two improvements.Firstly,CH_(3) is the most advantageous monomer on the MoCu(211)surface,which provides abundant CH_(3) intermediate for syngas to ethanol.Secondly,the C-C bond is formed mainly by inserting CHO into the abundant CH_(3),and the generated CH_(3)CHO through multiple steps of hydrogenation to generate C_(2)H_(5)OH.The key of the promoter Mo on the MoCu(211)surface also has been verified by the analysis of its electronic properties.Differential charge density shows that the massive electron transfer from Mo to Cu,projected density of states(pDOS)shows that the electron transfer from Mo to Cu makes the d-band center of MoCu(211)nearer to the Fermi level,these indicate that the MoCu(211)catalytic capacity increased.The addition of Mo in the Cu-based catalyst not only can effectively solve the problem of C-O bond breaking,but also promote C-C bond formation.About the influence of Mo content on C-O bond breaking and C-C bond formation,compared with MoCu(211),the DFT results and the d-band center of Mo_(2)Cu(211)show that the increase of Mo content could not promote the synergistic effect of Cu/Mo on the generation of ethanol more effectively.

Vapor-phase synthesis of N-butylaniline from aniline and 1-butanol over Cu/SiO_2 catalyst

The Cu/SiO2 catalyst prepared by incipient wetness method exhibited very high activity and selectivity for the vapor-phase synthesis of N-butylaniline from aniline and 1-butanol. When Cu loading was 0.70 mmol/g-SiO2 and the catalyst precursor was calcined at 500 ℃, 1-butanol conversion reached 99%, and the selectivity of N-butylaniline exceeded 97%.

Adaptation of Cu/ZnO/Al_2O_3 to Temperature Change in Methanol Synthesis from CO_2 Hydrogenation

The induction behavior in CO2 hydrogenation was studied by varying the reaction temperature to investigate the adaptation of the Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst to the temperature change. The results indicated that a used catalyst had a tendency to keep the last running state in new reaction conditions for MeOH formation, and that this tendency was related to the difference in Cu/Cun+ ratio caused by CO2 and CO produced at different reaction temperatures. However, the reverse water-gas shift reaction (RWGS) induced at four temperatures was completely different from that of methanol synthesis. It implied that the two so-called competitive reactions in CO2+H2, RWGS and methanol synthesis, have different active centers.

Probing crystalline phase effect of rare earth metal oxides(REO)on Cu/REO(RE=Gd,Eu,Sm)catalysts for methanol steam reforming(MSR)to produce H_(2)

In this work,to study the phase structure effect,three groups of Cu/REO catalysts were prepared with cubic and monoclinic Gd_(2)O_(3),Eu_(2)O_(3)and Sm_(2)O_(3) supports for MSR reaction to produce H_(2).Based on CH3OH conversion and H_(2)yield,the reaction perfo rmance of the catalysts ranks as Cu/Sm_(2)O_(3)-M>Cu/Sm_(2)O_(3)-C>Cu/Gd_(2)O_(3)-M>Cu/Gd_(2)O_(3)-C>Cu/Eu_(2)O_(3)-M>Cu/Eu_(2)O_(3)-C.For the same kind of REO,Cu supported on the monoclinic support shows better performance than on the cubic one.Despite the phase structure difference,Sm_(2)O_(3) is the best support among all the three kinds of REOs.Compared with Cu/REO catalysts prepared with cubic supports,the corresponding catalysts prepared with monoclinic supports generally possess mo re surface oxygen vacancies,which can generate mo re surface active oxygen(O_(2)^(-)) and moderate basic sites.Moreover,the contents of Cu^(+) on the catalysts follow the same sequence.The reaction performance is positively related to the amount of these three types of surface sites.But metallic Cuo species is necessary to maintain the Cu^(+)■Cu^(0) redox cycle.Furthe rmore,on a catalyst with good perfo rmance,those vital surface reaction intermediates can be stabilized during the reaction.Cu/Sm_(2)O_(3)-M possesses the largest quantities of these surface sites,and has the appropriate amount of Cu^(+) and Cu^(0) after reduction,thereby displaying the optimal performance in all the catalysts.In conclusion,evident support crystal structure effect is observed for Cu/REO catalysts,and a monoclinic phase REO is a better support than the respective cubic phase one.

Boosting C–C coupling to multicarbon products via high-pressure CO electroreduction

Electrochemical CO reduction reaction(CORR) provides a promising approach for producing valuable multicarbon products(C_(2+)), while the low solubility of CO in aqueous solution and high energy barrier of C–C coupling as well as the competing hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) largely limit the efficiency for C_(2+)production in CORR. Here we report an overturn on the Faradaic efficiency of CORR from being HER-dominant to C_(2+)formation-dominant over a wide potential window, accompanied by a significant activity enhancement over a Moss-like Cu catalyst via pressuring CO. With the CO pressure rising from 1 to 40 atm, the C_(2+)Faradaic efficiency and partial current density remarkably increase from 22.8%and 18.9 mA cm^(-2)to 89.7% and 116.7 mA cm^(-2), respectively. Experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that high pressure-induced high CO coverage on metallic Cu surface weakens the Cu–C bond via reducing electron transfer from Cu to adsorbed CO and restrains hydrogen adsorption, which significantly facilitates the C–C coupling while suppressing HER on the predominant Cu(111) surface, thereby boosting the CO electroreduction to C_(2+)activity.

Promotion effect of epoxy group neighboring single-atom Cu site on acetylene hydrochlorination

Carbon materials have been used as the support for catalysts in the field of acetylene hydrochlorination,the influence of inevitable oxygen-containing moieties on the reaction is often ignored and the mechanism of the oxygen-doping structure remains ambiguous.Herein,we explored the effect of the oxygen-containing group(C-O-C)in the support on the activity of single-atom dispersed Cu catalysts.By immersing the Cu single-atom catalyst in an alkaline solution,the epoxy species on the carbon support was cleaved to obtain a pure ether species while the Cu site was modified to a more electron-deficient state.The turnover frequency value of Cu/O-FLP catalyst with epoxy groups was 1.6-fold higher than that of alkaline treated catalyst.Our result indicated that the epoxy groups could assist adjacent single-atom Cu sites to synergistically promote the adsorption and cleavage of the reactant hydrogen chloride toward form C-OH and Cu-Cl bonds,and reduce the reaction energy barrier.The presence of electron deficient Cu sites and ether species could induce competitive adsorption of the acetylene and hydrogen chloride,thereby reducing the activity of the catalyst.This study highlights the influence of surface oxygen species and the tunability of the support,providing the foundation for the fabrication of higher-activity Cu catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination.