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.

A Cu-based bulk amorphous alloy composite reinforced by carbon nanotube

Bulk Cu50Zr40Ti10 amorphous alloy composites reinforced with carbon nanotube （CNT） were successfully fabricated by hot pressing technique. Their density, thermal conductivity, and mechanical properties were systemically investigated. The density and the compression strength of the compacts both decrease with increasing CNT content. The thermal conductivity of the compacts decreases when the CNT content is less than 0.10% or exceeds 0.60% （mass fraction）, while increases when the CNT content is in the range of 0.1%-0.6%. The strain limit and the modulus of the compacts are obviously improved when the CNT content is less than 1.0% and then decrease significantly when the CNT content exceeds 1.00%. The optimum CNT addition is less than 0.20% at the comprehensive properties point of view.

Electrochemical and colorimetric dual-signal detection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B based on AuPt bimetallic nanoparticles loaded Fe-N-C single atom nanocomposite

Sensitive detection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B(SEB)is of importance for preventing food poisoning from threatening human health.In this work,an electrochemical and colorimetric dual-signal detection assay of SEB was developed.The probe(Ab2/AuPt@Fe-N-C)was bound to SEB captured by Ab1,where the Ab2/AuPt@Fe-N-C triggered methylene blue degradation and resulted in the decrease of electrochemical signal.Furthermore,the probe catalyzed the oxidation of 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethyl biphenyl to generate a colorimetric absorbance at 652 nm.Once the target was captured and formed a sandwich-like complex,the color changed from colorless to blue.SEB detection by colorimetric and electrochemical methods showed a linear relationship in the concentration ranges of 0.0002-10.0000 and 0.0005-10.0000 ng/mL,with limits of detection of 0.0667 and 0.1670 pg/mL,respectively.The dual-signal biosensor was successfully used to detect SEB in milk and water samples,which has great potential in toxin detection in food and the environment.

The newly-assisted catalytic mechanism of surface hydroxyl species performed as the promoter in syngas-to-C2 species on the Cu-based bimetallic catalysts

In the conversion process of syngas-to-C_(2)species,the OH species are inevitably produced accompanying the production of key intermediates CH_(x)(x=1-3),traditionally,the function of surface OH species is generally accepted as the hydrogenating reactive species.This work for the first time proposed and confirmed the assisted catalytic mechanism of surface OH species that performed as the promoter for syngas-to-C_(2)species on Cu-based catalysts.DFT and microkinetic modeling results reveal that the produced OH species accompanying the intermediates CH_(x)production on the MCu(M=Co,Fe,Rh)catalysts can stably exist to form OH/MCu catalysts,on which the presence of surface OH species as the promoter not only presented better activity and selectivity toward CH_(x)(x=1-3)compared to MCu catalysts,but also significantly suppressed CH_(3)OH production,providing enough CH_(x)sources to favor the production of C_(2)hydrocarbons and oxygenates.Correspondingly,the electronic properties analysis revealed the essential relationship between the electronic feature of OH/MCu catalysts and catalytic performance,attributing to the unique electronic micro-environment of the catalysts under the interaction of surface OH species.This new mechanism is called as OH-assisted catalytic mechanism,which may be applied in the reaction systems related to the generation of OH species.

Plasma treated M1 MoVNbTeO_(x)-CeO_(2) composite catalyst for improved performance of oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane

High activity and productivity of MoVNbTeO_(x) catalyst are challenging tasks in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane(ODHE)for industrial application.In this work,phase-pure M1 with 30 wt%CeO_(2) composite catalyst was treated by oxygen plasma to further enhance catalyst performance.The results show that the oxygen vacancies generated by the solid-state redox reaction between M1 and CeO_(2) capture active oxygen species in gas and transform V^(4+)to V^(5+)without damage to M1 structure.The space-time yield of ethylene of the plasma-treated catalyst was significantly increased,in which the catalyst shows an enhancement near~100% than that of phase-pure M1 at 400℃ for ODHE process.Plasma treatment for catalysts demonstrates an effective way to convert electrical energy into chemical energy in catalyst materials.Energy conversion is achieved by using the catalyst as a medium.

Microstructure of Cu-based Amorphous Composite Coatings on AZ91D Magnesium Alloy by Laser Cladding

To improve the sliding wear resistance of AZ91D magnesium alloy, Cu-based amorphous composite coatings made of CuaTTi34Zr11Nis and Cu47Ti34Zr11Ni8＋20 wt pct SiC powders were fabricated on AZ91D magnesium alloy by laser cladding, respectively. SEM （scanning electron microscopy）, EDS （energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy）, XRD （X-ray diffraction） and TEM （transmission electron microscopy） techniques were employed to study the phases of the coatings. The results show that the coatings mainly consist of amorphous phase and different intermetallic compounds. The reason of formation of amorphous phase and the function of SiC particles were explained in details.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol over MWCNTs-TiO2 Composite Catalysts with Different Diameters

Titania-based composite catalysts were prepared through a sol-gel route employing multi-walled carbon nanotubes with different diameters. The materials were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm, powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and diffuse reflectance UV-Vis absorption spectra. The application of the catalysts to photocatalytic degradation of phenol was tested under UV-Vis irradiation. A synergetic effect on phenol removal was observed in case of composite catalysts, which was evaluated in terms of apparent rate constant, total organic carbon removal and photonic efficiency.

Synthesis and Photocatalytic Activity of TiO_2/V_2O_5 Composite Catalyst Doped with Rare Earth Ions

TiO2/V2O5 catalyst doped with rare earth ions was prepared by sol-gel method. Titanium tetrapropoxide and vanadium pentoxide were used as precursor of the composite catalyst and rare earth ions were used as dopant. The crystal phases, crystalline sizes, microstructure, absorption spectra of doped composite catalyst were studied by XRD, EDS, FT-IR and UV-Vis. Photoactivity of the prepared catalyst under ultraviolet irradiation were evaluated by degradation of methyl orange （MO） in aqueous solution. It is shown that the prepared catalyst is composed of anatase and futile. The rare earth ions are highly dispersed in composite catalyst. All the doped catalysts appear higher photocatalytic activity than TiO2/V2O5 catalyst and catalyst doped with Ce^4＋ present the best activity to MO.

Rational design strategies of Cu-based electrocatalysts for CO_(2) electroreduction to C_(2) products

Electrochemical reduction of CO_(2)(CO_(2)RR)to high value-added chemicals is an effective way to remove excess CO_(2) from the atmosphere.Due to the unique propensity of Cu for valuable hydrocarbons,Cu-based electrocatalysts are the most potential catalysts that allow the conversion of CO_(2) into a variety of C_(2) products such as ethylene and ethanol.Rational design of Cu-based catalysts can improve their directional selectivity to C_(2) products.Hence,in this review,we summarize the recent progress in the mechanistic studies of Cu-based catalysts on reducing CO_(2) to C_(2) products.We focus on three key strategies for efficiently enhancing electrocatalytic performance of Cu-based catalysts,including tuning electronic structure,surface structure,and coordination environment.The correlation between the structural characteristics of Cu-based catalysts and their activity and selectivity to C_(2) products is discussed.Finally,we discuss the challenges in the field of CO_(2) electroreduction to C_(2) products and provide the perspectives to design efficient Cu-based catalysts in the future.

Preparation of CuO-CoO-MnO/SiO_2 Nanocomposite Aerogels as Catalyst Carriers and Their Application in the Synthesis of Diphenyl Carbonate

CuO-CoO-MnO/SiO2 nanocomposite aerogels were prepared by using tetraethyl orthosilicate （TEOS） as Si source, and aqueous solution of Cu, Co and Mn acetates as transition metal sources via sol-gel process and supercritical drying （SCD） technique. The effect of synthesis conditions on gelation was investigated. Moreover, the composition of the CuO-CoO-MnO/SiO2 nanocomposite aerogels was characterized by electron dispersive spectroscopy （EDS） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, and the specific surface area of the nanocomposite aerogels was determined by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller （BET） method. Diphenyl carbonate （DPC） as the product was analyzed by gas chromatography （GC）. The experimental results show that the range of optimal temperature for gelation is 30-45 ℃, and the pH is 3.0-4.5. CuO-CoO-MnO/SiO2 nanocomposite aerogels are porous with a specific surface area of 384.9-700.6 m2/g. Compared to CO2 SCD, ethanol SCD is even favorable to the formation of aerogel with high specific surface area. The transition metals content in the nanocomposite aerogels can be controlled to be 0.71at%-13.77at%. With CuO-CoO-MnO/SiO2 nanocomposite aerogels as catalyst carrier, the yield of DPC is in direct proportion to the atomic fraction of transition metals in the nanocomposite aerogels, and it is up to 26.31 mass%, which is much higher than that via other porous carriers.

ZSM-5/MAPO Composite Catalyst for Converting Methanol to Olefins in a Two-Stage Unit with a Dimethyl Ether Pre-Reactor

A ZSM-5/MAPO composite catalyst was prepared by adding ZSM-5 zeolite powder to a conventional molecular sieve synthesis system, followed by modification with NH_4H_2PO_4. The samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, IR, NH_3-TPD, and BET analyses. The catalytic property of the samples toward the methanol-to-olefin(MTO) reaction was evaluated in a connected in series two-stage unit equipped with a continuous flow(once-through) fixed-bed tubular reactor similar to an industrial reactor. The first reactor mainly converted methanol into dimethyl ether and water, followed by being subject to continuous reaction in the second reactor, in which DME was converted to hydrocarbons. The composites exhibited the typical framework topology of MFI, AEI and AFI, which represented the ZSM-5 zeolite, the molecular sieves AlPO-18 or SAPO-18, AlPO-5 or SAPO-5, respectively. The composites showed several advantages for optimizing the zeolite acidity, enhancing the mass transfer, and restraining the side reactions. Catalytic reaction results showed that the composites exhibited higher selectivity to light olefins(84.0%) and lower selectivity to C_2―C_4 alkanes and C_5^+ hydrocarbons than pure ZSM-5. Moreover, the composite zeolite loaded with 3% of P demonstrated improved catalytic activity and stability for the conversion of methanol to propylene, because the coking rate was obviously suppressed.

Carbon nanotubes-Nafion composites as Pt-Ru catalyst support for methanol electro-oxidation in acid media

Carbon nanotubes-Nafion （CNTs-Nation） composites were prepared by impregnated CNTs with Nation in ethanol solution and characterized by FT-IR. Pt-Ru catalysts supported on CNTs-Nafion composites were synthesized by microwave-assisted polyol process. The physical and electrochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscope （TEM）, CO stripping voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry （CV） and chronoamperometry （CA）. The results showed that the Nation incorporation in CNTs-Nation composites did not significantly alter the oxygen-containing groups on the CNTs surface. The Pt-Ru catalyst supported on CNTs-Nafion composites with 2 wt% Naton showed good dispersion and the best CO oxidation and methanol electro-oxidation activities.

Composition Engineering Opens an Avenue Toward Efficient and Sustainable Nitrogen Fixation

In this work,we open an avenue toward rational design of potential efficient catalysts for sustainable ammonia synthesis through composition engineering strategy by exploiting the synergistic effects among the active sites as exemplified by diatomic metals anchored graphdiyne via the combination of hierarchical high-throughput screening,first-principles calculations,and molecular dynamics simulations.Totally 43 highly efficient catalysts feature ultralow onset potentials(|U_(onset)|≤0.40 V)with Rh-Hf and Rh-Ta showing negligible onset potentials of 0 and-0.04 V,respectively.Extremely high catalytic activities of Rh-Hf and Rh-Ta can be ascribed to the synergistic effects.When forming heteronuclears,the combinations of relatively weak(such as Rh)and relatively strong(such as Hf or Ta)components usually lead to the optimal strengths of adsorption Gibbs free energies of reaction intermediates.The origin can be ascribed to the mediate d-band centers of Rh-Hf and Rh-Ta,which lead to the optimal adsorption strengths of intermediates,thereby bringing the high catalytic activities.Our work provides a new and general strategy toward the architecture of highly efficient catalysts not only for electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction(eNRR)but also for other important reactions.We expect that our work will boost both experimental and theoretical efforts in this direction.

Optimization of dendritic TS-1/Silica micro–mesoporous composites for efficient hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene

A novel composite material(TD)composed of TS-1 microcrystalline and dendritic mesoporous silica nanospheres(DMSNs)was successfully prepared.The TD composite material had open pore structure and large specific surface area,which was conducive to the mass transfer of reactants and products.The Ti element in TS-1 could be used as an electron assistant,and the spillover d-electrons were conducive to the improvement of the sulfidation and dispersion of MoS_(2),thereby forming more type II MoS_(2) active phases.The incorporation of Ti could bring more Brønsted(B)and Lewis(L)acid,which was conducive to the hydrogenation pathway(HYD)selectivity(41.2%)of dibenzothiophene(DBT)hydrodesulfurization(HDS)and isomerization(ISO)route selectivity(21.9%)of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene(4,6-DMDBT)HDS,thus improve the HDS activity of DBT and 4,6-DMDBT.NiMo/TD-70(Aging temperature=70℃)had the best HDS activities of DBT(99.0%)and 4,6-DMDBT(93.7%)due to its large open pore structure,good acidity,suitable metal-support interaction(MSI)and perfect dispersion of the metallic active sites.

The carboxylates formed on oxides promoting the aromatization in syngas conversion over composite catalysts

Syngas to aromatics(STA)over bifunctional catalysts has attracted much attention in recent years,but the mechanism underlying the formation of aromatics remains controversial.The critical reaction intermediates,carboxylates,were first identified and then confirmed to essentially promote aromatization in the syngas conversion over a ZnCrAlO_(x)&H-ZSM-5 composite catalyst.This study provides evidence that the carboxylates can be formed during the reactions of formate species and olefins.In addition,it is shown that the carboxylates favor the formation of aromatics over H-ZSM-5 even in the presence of H2.A novel mechanism for the formation of aromatics via the generation and transformation of carboxylate intermediates is proposed,and the transformation of carboxylates to aromatics via methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one(MCPO)intermediates is indeed likely.A better understanding of the formation mechanism of aromatics would help optimize the composite catalyst.

Insights into effects of ZrO_(2) crystal phase on syngas‐to‐olefin conversion over ZnO/ZrO_(2) and SAPO‐34 composite catalysts

The utilization of metal oxide‐zeolite catalysts in the syngas‐to‐olefin reaction is a promising strategy for producing C_(2)–C_(4) olefins from non‐petroleum resources.However,the effect of the crystal phase of metal oxides on the catalytic activity of these oxides is still ambiguous.Herein,typical metal oxides(ZnO/ZrO_(2))with different crystal phases(monoclinic(m‐ZrO_(2))and tetragonal(t‐ZrO_(2)))were employed for syngas conversion.The(ZnO/m‐ZrO_(2)+SAPO‐34)composite catalyst exhibited 80.5%selectivity for C_(2)–C_(4) olefins at a CO conversion of 27.9%,where the results are superior to those(CO conversion of 16.4%and C_(2)–C_(4) olefin selectivity of 76.1%)obtained over(ZnO/t‐ZrO_(2)+SAPO‐34).The distinct differences are ascribed to the larger number of hydroxyl groups,Lewis acid sites,and oxygen defects in ZnO/m‐ZrO_(2) compared to ZnO/t‐ZrO_(2).These features result in the formation of more formate and methoxy intermediate species on the ZnO/m‐ZrO_(2) oxides during syngas conversion,followed by the formation of more light olefins over SAPO‐34.The present findings provide useful information for the design of highly efficient ZrO_(2)‐based catalysts for syngas conversion.

Synthesis and Application of a Zeolite-containing Composite Material Made from Spent FCC Catalyst

Novel composite material with a wide pore distribution was synthesized by an in situ technique using spent FCC catalyst as raw material. The characterization results indicated that the composite material contained 56.7% of zeolite Y and exhibited a much larger specific surface area and pore volume as well as strong hydrothermal stability. Fluid catalytic cracking(FCC) catalyst was prepared based on the composite material. The results indicated that the as-prepared catalyst possessed a unique pore structure that was advantageous to the diffusion-controlled reactions. In addition, the attrition resistance, activity and hydrothermal stability of the studied catalyst were superior to those of the reference catalyst. The catalyst also exhibited excellent nickel and vanadium passivation performance, strong bottoms upgrading selectivity, and better gasoline and coke selectivity. In comparison to the reference catalyst, the yields of the gasoline and light oil increased by 1.61 and 1.31 percentage points, respectively, and the coke yield decreased by 0.22 percentage points, and the olefin content in the produced gasoline reduced by 2.51 percentage points, with the research octane number increased by 0.7 unit.

Realizing methanol synthesis from CO and water via the synergistic effect of Cu^(0)/Cu^(+)over Cu/ZrO_(2) catalyst

The optimizing utilization of ca rbon resources has drawn wide attention all over the world,while exploiting the high-efficiency catalytic routes remains a challenge.Here,a direct methanol synthesis route is realized from pure CO and H_(2)O over 10%Cu/t-ZrO_(2) catalyst,where the time yield of methanol is144.43 mmol mol_(Cu)^(-1)h^(-1)and the methanol selectivity in hydrocarbons is 100%,The Cu species highly dispersed in the t-ZrO_(2) support lead parts of them in the cationic state.The Cu^(+)sites contribute to the dissociation of H_(2)O,providing the H*source for methanol synthesis,while the formed Cu^(0) sites promote the absorption and transfer of H*during the reaction.Moreover,the H_(2)O is even a better H resource than H_(2) due to its better dissociation effectivity in this catalytic system.The present work offers a new approach for methanol synthesis from CO and new insight into the process of supplying H donor.

Regeneration of copper catalysts mediated by molybdenum-based oxides

Cu catalysts,known for their unparalleled catalytic capabilities due to their unique electronic structure,have faced inherent challenges in maintaining long-term effectiveness under harsh hydrogenation conditions.Here,we demonstrate a molybdenum-mediated redispersion behavior of Cu under hightemperature oxidation conditions.The oxidized Cu nanoparticles with rich metal-support interfaces tend to dissolve into the MoO_(3)support upon heating to 600℃,which facilitates the subsequent regeneration in a reducing atmosphere.A similar redispersion phenomenon is observed for Cu nanoparticles supported on Zn O-modified MoO_(3).The modification of ZnO significantly improves the performance of the Cu catalyst for CO_(2)hydrogenation to methanol,with the high activity being well maintained after four repeated oxidation-reduction cycles.In situ spectroscopic and theoretical analyses suggest that the interaction involved in the formation of the copper molybdate-like compound is the driving force for the redispersion of Cu.This method is applicable to various Mo-based oxide supports,offering a practical strategy for the regeneration of sintered Cu particles in hydrogenation applications.