Integration of morphology and electronic structure modulation on cobalt phosphide nanosheets to boost photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane hydrolysis

The controllable and safe hydrogen storage technologies are widely recognized as the main bottleneck for the accomplishment of sustainable hydrogen energy.Ammonia borane(AB)has regarded as a competitive candidate for chemical hydrogen storage.However,developing efficient yet high-performance catalysts towards hydrogen evolution from AB hydrolysis remains an enormous challenge.Herein,cobalt phosphide nanosheets are synthesized by a facile salt-assisted along with low-temperature phosphidation strategy for simultaneously modulating its morphology and electronic structure,and function as hydrogen evolution photocatalysts.Impressively,the Co_(2)P nanosheets display extraordinary performance with a record high turnover frequency of 44.9 min^(-1),outperforming most of the noble-metal-free catalysts reported to date.This remarkable performance is attributed to its desired nanosheets structure,featuring with high specific surface area,abundant exposed active sites,and short charge diffusion paths.Our findings provide a novel strategy for regulating metal phosphides with desired phase structure and morphology for energy-related applications and beyond.

A reduced combustion mechanism of ammonia/diesel optimized with multi-objective genetic algorithm

For the deep understanding on combustion of ammonia/diesel,this study develops a reduced mechanism of ammonia/diesel with 227 species and 937 reactions.The sub-mechanism on ammonia/interactions of N-based and C-based species(N—C)/NOx is optimized using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II(NSGA-II)with 200 generations.The optimized mechanism(named as 937b)is validated against combustion characteristics of ammonia/methane(which is used to examine the accuracy of N—C interactions)and ammonia/diesel blends.The ignition delay times(IDTs),the laminar flame speeds and most of key intermediate species during the combustion of ammonia/methane blends can be accurately simulated by 937b under a wide range of conditions.As for ammonia/diesel blends with various diesel energy fractions,reasonable predictions on the IDTs under pressures from 1.0 MPa to5.0 MPa as well as the laminar flame speeds are also achieved by 937b.In particular,with regard to the IDT simulations of ammonia/diesel blends,937b makes progress in both aspects of overall accuracy and computational efficiency,compared to a detailed ammonia/diesel mechanism.Further kinetic analysis reveals that the reaction pathway of ammonia during the combustion of ammonia/diesel blend mainly differs in the tendencies of oxygen additions to NH_2 and NH with different equivalence ratios.

100 W-class green hydrogen production from ammonia at a dual-layer electrode containing a Pt-Ir catalyst for an alkaline electrolytic process

Ammonia allows storage and transport of hydrogen over long distances and is an attractive potential hydrogen carrier.Electrochemical decomposition has recently been used for the conversion of ammonia to hydrogen and is regarded as a future technology for production of CO_(2)-free pure hydrogen.Herein,a heterostructural Pt-Ir dual-layer electrode is developed and shown to achieve successful long-term operation in an ammonia electrolyzer with an anion exchange membrane(AEM).This electrolyzer consisted of eight membra ne electrode assemblies(MEAs)with a total geometric area of 200 cm~2 on the anode side,which resulted in a hydrogen production rate of 25 L h~(-1).We observed the degradation in MEA performance attributed to changes in the anode catalyst layer during hydrogen production via ammonia electrolysis.Furthermore,we demonstrated the relationship between the ammonia oxidation reaction(AOR)and the oxygen evolution reaction(OER).

Bimetallic RuM(M=Co,Ni)Alloy NPs Supported on MIL-110(AI):Synergetic Catalysis in Hydrolytic Dehydrogenation of Ammonia Borane

By adjusting various Ru/M （M=Co, Ni） molar ratios, a series of highly dispersed bimetallic RuM alloy nanoparticles （NPs） anchored on MIL-110（Al） have been successfully prepared via a conventional impregnation-reduction method. And they are first used as heterogeneous catalysts for the dehydrogenation reaction of AB at room temperature. The results reveal that the as-prepared RulCo1@MIL-110 and RulNi1@MIL-110 exhibit the highest catalytic activities in different RuCo and RuNi molar ratios, respectively. It is worthy of note that the turnover frequency （TOF） values of Ru1Co1@MIL-110 and Ru1Ni1@MIL-110 catalysts reached 488.1 and 417.1 mol H2 min-1 （mol Ru）-1 and the activation energies （Ea） are 31.7 and 36.0 k J/tool, respectively. The superior catalytic performance is attributed to the bimetallic synergistic action between Ru and M, uniform distribution of metal NPs as well as bi-functional effect between RuM alloy NPs and MIL-110. Moreover, these catalysts exhibit favorable stability after 5 consecutive cycles for the hydrolysis of AB.

Transition metal nanoparticles supported La-promoted MgO as catalysts for hydrogen production via catalytic decomposition of ammonia

The uniformly dispersed transition metal(Co, Ni and Fe) nanoparticles supported on the surface of La-promoted Mg O were prepared via a deposition-precipitation method for hydrogen production from catalytic decomposition of ammonia. X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption-desorption, transmission electron microscopy, temperature-programmed reduction and temperature-programmed desorption were used to investigate the structure-activity relation of catalysts in NH3 decomposition. The results show that the strong interaction between active species and support can effectively prevent the active species from agglomerating during ammonia decomposition reaction. In addition, the introduction of La species not only facilitates the adsorption and decomposition of NH3 and desorption of N2, but also benefits the better dispersion of the active species. The prepared catalysts showed very high catalytic activity for ammonia decomposition compared with the same active composition samples that reported previously. Meanwhile, the catalysts showed excellent high-temperature stability and no any deactivation was observed, which are very promising candidates for the decomposition of ammonia to hydrogen.

Biological removal of air loaded with a hydrogen sulfide and ammonia mixture

The nuisance impact of air pollutant emissions from wastewater pumping stations is a major issue of concern to China. Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are commonly the primary odor and are important targets for removal. An alternative control technology, biofiltration, was studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of unit systems packed with compost in terms of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions treatment, and to establish optimal operating conditions for a full-scale conceptual design. The laboratory scale biofilter packed with compost was continuously supplied with hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gas mixtures. A volumetric load of less than 150 gH 2S/(m3·d) and 230 gNH 3/(m3·d) was applied for about fifteen weeks. Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia elimination occurred in the biofilter simultaneously. The removal efficiency, removal capacity and removal kinetics in the biofilter were studied. The hydrogen sulfide removal efficiency reached was very high above 99%, and ammonia removal efficiency was about 80%. Hydrogen sulfide was oxidized into sulphate. The ammonia oxidation products were nitrite and nitrate. Ammonia in the biofilter was mainly removed by adsorption onto the carrier material and by absorption into the water fraction of the carrier material. High percentages of hydrogen sulfide or ammonia were oxidized in the first section of the column. Through kinetics analysis, the presence of ammonia did not hinder the hydrogen sulfide removal. According to the relationship between pressure drop and gas velocity for the biofilter and Reynolds number, non-Darcy flow can be assumed to represent the flow in the medium.

Hydrogen generation from ammonia electrolysis on bifunctional platinum nanocubes electrocatalysts

The ammonia electrolysis is a highly efficient and energy-saving method for ultra-pure hydrogen generation, which highly relies on electrocatalytic performance of electrocatalysts. In this work, high-quality platinum(Pt) nanocubes(Pt-NCs) with 4.5 nm size are achieved by facile hydrothermal synthesis. The physical morphology and structure of Pt-NCs are exhaustively characterized, revealing that Pt-NCs with special {100} facets have excellent uniformity, good dispersity and high crystallinity. Meanwhile, the electrocatalytic performance of Pt-NCs for ammonia electrolysis are carefully investigated in alkaline solutions, which display outstanding electroactivity and stability for both ammonia electrooxidation reaction(AEOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) in KOH solution. Furthermore, a symmetric Pt-NCs||Pt-NCs ammonia electrolyzer based on bifunctional Pt-NCs electrocatalyst is constructed, which only requires 0.68 V electrolysis voltage for hydrogen generation. Additionally, the symmetric Pt-NCs||Pt-NCs ammonia electrolyzer has excellent reversible switch capability for AEOR at anode and HER at cathode, showing outstanding alternating operation ability for ammonia electrolysis.

Removal of Organic Matter and Ammonia Nitrogen in Azodicarbonamide Wastewater by a Combination of Power Ultrasound Radiation and Hydrogen Peroxide

A simple and efficient sonochemical method was developed for the degradation of organic matter and ammonia nitrogen in azodicarbonamide wastewater.The effects of initial pH,ultrasound format and peripheral water level on the sonolysis of hydrazine,urea,COD and ammonia nitrogen were investigated.It is found that the initial pH has a significant influence on the degradation of hydrazine and ammonia nitrogen,whereas this impact to urea is relatively small.It also shows that a noticeable enhancement of ammonia nitrogen removal could be achieved in a proper intermittent ultrasound operation mode,i.e.,1/1 min on/off mode.The height difference between the periph-eral water level and the inner water level of the flask affects the efficiency of ultrasonic treatment as well.

Interface electron collaborative migration of Co–Co3O4/carbon dots:Boosting the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane

Ammonia borane(AB)is an excellent candidate for the chemical storage of hydrogen.However,its practical utilization for hydrogen production is hindered by the need for expensive noble-metal-based catalysts.Herein,we report Co-Co3O4 nanoparticles(NPs)facilely deposited on carbon dots(CDs)as a highly efficient,robust,and noble-metal-free catalyst for the hydrolysis of AB.The incorporation of the multiinterfaces between Co,Co3O4 NPs,and CDs endows this hybrid material with excellent catalytic activity(rB=6816 mLH2 min^-1 gCo^-1)exceeding that of previous non-noble-metal NP systems and even that of some noble-metal NP systems.A further mechanistic study suggests that these interfacial interactions can affect the electronic structures of interfacial atoms and provide abundant adsorption sites for AB and water molecules,resulting in a low energy barrier for the activation of reactive molecules and thus substantial improvement of the catalytic rate.

Recovery of Hydrogen from Ammonia Plant Tail Gas by Absorption-Hydration Hybrid Method

In this work, the absorption-hydration hybrid method was used to recover （hydrogen ＋ nitrogen） from （hydrogen ＋ nitrogen ＋ methane ＋ argon） tail gas mixtures of synthetic ammonia plant through hydrate formation/dissociation. A high-pressure reactor with magnetic stirrer was used to study the separation efficiency. The in-fluences of the concentration of anti-agglomerant, temperature, pressure, initial gas-liquid volume ratio, and oil-water volume ratio on the separation efficiency were systematically investigated in the presence of tetrahydro-furan （THF）. Anti-agglomerant was used to disperse hydrate particles into the condensate phase for water-in-oil emulsion system. Since nitrogen is the material for ammonia production, the objective production in our separation process is （hydrogen ＋ nitrogen）. Our experimental results show that by adopting appropriate operating conditions, high concentration of （hydrogen ＋ nitrogen） can be obtained using the proposed technology based on forming hydrate.

Carbon dots-confined CoP-CoO nanoheterostructure with strong interfacial synergy triggered the robust hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane

Ammonia borane(NH_(3)BH_(3),AB) is promising for chemical hydrogen sto rage;however,current systems for rapid hydrogen production are limited by the expensive noble metal catalysts required for AB hydrolysis.Here we report the design and synthesis of a highly efficient and robust non-noble-metal catalyst for the hydrolysis of AB at 298 K(TOF=89.56 molH_(2) min^(-1) molCo^(-1)).Experiments and density functional theory calculations were performed to explore the catalyst’s hybrid nanoparticle heterostructure and its catalytic mechanism.The catalyst comprised nitrogen-doped carbon dots confining CoO and CoP,and exhibited strong interface-induced synergistic catalysis for AB hydrolysis that effectively decreased the energy barriers for the dissociation of both AB and water molecules.The co-doping of N and P introduced numerous defects,and further regulated the reactivity of the carbon layers.The heterogeneous interface design technique presented here provides a new strategy for developing efficient and inexpensive non-noblemetal catalysts that may be applicable in other fields related to energy catalysis.

Co-CoO_x supported onto TiO_(2) coated with carbon as a catalyst for efficient and stable hydrogen generation from ammonia borane

Ammonia borane(AB) can be catalytically hydrolyzed to provide hydrogen at room temperature due to its high potentaial for hydrogen storage. Non-precious metal heterogeneous catalysts have broad application in the field of energy catalysis. In this article, catalysts precursor is obtained from Co-Ti-resorcinol-formaldehyde resin by sol–gel method. Co/TiO_(2)@N-C(CTC) catalyst is prepared by calcining the precursor under high temperature conditions in nitrogen atmosphere. Co-CoO_x/TiO_(2)@N-C(COTC) is generated by the controllable oxidation reaction of CTC. The catalyst can effectively promote the release of hydrogen during the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB. High hydrogen generation at a specific rate of 5905 m L min^(-1) g_(Co)^(-1) is achieved at room temperature. The catalyst retains its 85% initial catalytic activity even for its fifth time use in AB hydrolysis. The synergistic effect among Co, Co_(3)O_(4) and TiO_(2) promotes the rate limiting step with dissociation and activation of water molecules by reducing its activation energy. The applied method in this study promotes the development of non-precious metals in catalysis for utilization in clean energy sources.

Core-shell structured nanospheres with mesoporous silica shell and Ni core as a stable catalyst for hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane

Core-shell structured nanospheres with mesoporous silica shell and Ni core(denoted as Ni@meso-SiO2) are prepared through a three-step process. Monodispersed Ni precursors are first prepared, and then coated with mesoporous SiO2. Final Ni@meso-SiO2spheres are obtained after calcination. The products are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and N2adsorption-desorption methods. These spheres have a high surface area and are well dispersed in water, showing a high catalytic activity with a TOF value of 18.5,and outstanding stability in hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane at room temperature.

Electrolysis of ammonia for hydrogen production catalyzed by Pt and Pt-Ir deposited on nickel foam

Electrolysis of ammonia in alkaline electrolyte solution was applied for the production of hydrogen. Both Pt-loaded Ni foam and Pt-Ir loaded Ni foam electrodes were prepared by electrodeposition and served as anode and cathode in ammonia electrolytic cell, respectively. The electrochemical behaviors of ammonia in KOH solution were individually investigated via cyclic voltammetry on three electrodes, i.e. bare Ni foam electrode, Pt-loaded Ni foam electrode and Pt-Ir loaded Ni foam electrode. The morphology and composition of the prepared Ni foam electrode were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD). Effects of the concentration of electrolyte solution and temperature of electrolytic cell on the electrolysis reaction were examined in order to enhance the efficiency of ammonia electrolysis. The competition of ammonia electrolysis and water electrolysis in the same alkaline solution was firstly proposed to explain the changes of cell voltage with the electrolysis proceeding. At varying current densities, different cell voltages could be obtained from galvanostatic curves.The low cell voltage of 0.58 V, which is less than the practical electrolysis voltage of water(1.6 V), can be obtained at a current density of2.5 mA/cm2. Based on some experimental parameters, such as the applied current, the resulting cell voltage and output of hydrogen gas, the power consumption per gram of H2produced can be estimated.

Energy and economic analysis of a hydrogen and ammonia co-generation system based on double chemical looping

In this work,a model of hydrogen production by double chemical looping is introduced.The efficiency benefit obtained was investigated.The chemical looping hydrogen generation unit is connected in series to the downstream of a chemical looping gasification unit as an additional system for 100 MWh coal gasification,with the function of supplementary combustion to produce hydrogen.Using Aspen Plus software for process simulation,the production of H_(2) and N_(2) in the series system is higher than that in the independent Chemical looping gasification and Chemical looping hydrogen generation systems,and the production of hydrogen is approximately 25.63%and 12.90%higher,respectively;The study found that when the gasification temperature is 900C,steam-carbon ratio is 0.84 and oxygen-carbon ratio is 1.5,the hydrogen production rate of the system was the maximum.At the same time,through heat exchange between logistics,high-pressure steam at 8.010×10^(4) kg·h^(-1) and medium-pressure steam at 1.101×10^(4) kg·h^(-1) are generated,and utility consumption is reduced by 61.58%,with utility costs decreasing by 48.69%.An economic estimation study found that the production cost of ammonia is 108.66 USD(t NH_(3))^(-1).Finally,cost of equipment is the main factors influencing ammonia production cost were proposed by sensitivity analysis.

Hydrogen solubility prediction for diesel molecules based on a modified Henry equation

Diesel hydrotreatment removes heteroatoms and polycyclic aromatics in diesel in the presence of highpressure hydrogen gas.The hydrogen solubility is the basis for hydrogen consumption prediction and process design/optimization.In the presented study,we established a method to predict the hydrogen solubility of diesel molecules and mixture.A modified Henry equation was proposed to illustrate the hydrogen solubility variation among the temperature and pressure.The parameters of the modified Henry equation for typical molecules were regressed from literature data.Then we established an empirical correlation between the parameter and the structure and property of molecules.The method was then combined with a molecular-level compositional model to accurately predict the hydrogen solubility in diesel,illustrating the validity of the method.

Ammonia borane-enabled hydrogen transfer processes:Insights into catalytic strategies and mechanisms

Transfer hydrogenation(TH) with in situ generated hydrogen donor is of great importance in reduction reactions, and an alternative strategy to traditional hydrogenation processes involving pressurized molecular hydrogen. Ammonia borane(NH3BH3, AB) is a promising material of hydrogen storage, and it has attracted much attention in reductive organic transformations owing to its high activity, good atom economy, nontoxicity, sustainability, and ease of transport and storage. This review focuses on summarizing the recent progress of AB-mediated TH reactions of diverse substrates including nitro compounds, nitriles, imines, alkenes, alkynes, carbonyl compounds(ketones and aldehydes), carbon dioxide,and N-and O-heterocycles. Syntheses protocols(metal-containing and metal-free), the effect of reaction parameters, product distribution, and variation of reactivity are surveyed, and the mechanism of each reaction involving the action mode of AB as well as structure-activity relationships is discussed in detail. Finally, perspectives are presented to highlight the challenges and opportunities for AB-enabled TH reactions of unsaturated compounds.

Ru surface density effect on ammonia synthesis activity and hydrogen poisoning of ceria-supported Ru catalysts

Evaluating the effect of metal surface density on catalytic performance is critical for designing high-activity metal-based catalysts.In this study,a series of ceria(CeCO_(2))-supported Ru catalysts(Ru/CeCO_(2))were prepared to analyze the effect of Ru surface density on the catalytic performance of Ru/CeCO_(2) for ammonia synthesis.For the Ru/CeCO_(2) catalysts with Ru surface densities lower than 0.68 Ru nm^(-2),the Ru layers were in close contact with CeCO_(2),and electrons were transferred directly from the CeCO_(2) defect sites to the Ru species.In such cases,the adsorption of hydrogen species on the Ru sites in the vicinity of 0 atoms was high,leading to a high ammonia synthesis activity and strong hydrogen poisoning.In contrast,the preferential aggregation of Ru species into large particles on top of the Ru overlayer resulted in the coexistence of Ru clusters and particles,for catalysts with a Ru surface density higher than 1.4 Ru nm^(-2),for which Ru particles were isolated from the direct electronic influence of CeCO_(2).Consequently,the Ru-Ceth interactions were weak,and hydrogen poisoning can be significantly alleviated.Overall,electron transfer and hydrogen adsorption synergistically affected the synthesis of ammonia over Ru/CeCO_(2) catalysts,and catalyst samples with a Ru surface density lower than 0.31 Ru nm^(-2) or exactly 2.1 Ru nm^(-2) exhibited high catalytic activity for ammonia synthesis.

Recent progress in electrochemical synthesis of carbon-free hydrogen carrier ammonia and ammonia fuel cells:A review

Ammonia(NH3)is a cornerstone widely used in the modern agriculture and industry,the annual global production gradually increases to almost 200 million tons.Nearly 80%of the produced NH3 is used in the fertilizer industry and is essential for the development of global agriculture and consequently for maintaining population growth.Furthermore,NH3 can power hydrogen(H2)fueled devices,such as H2 fuel cells(FC),to use the interconversion between chemical energy and electric energy of nitrogen(N2)cycle,which can effectively alleviate the intermittent problems of renewable energy.However,the problems faced by NH3 in storage and release still restrict its development.Herein,this review introduces the latest research and development of electrochemical NH3 synthesis and direct NH3 FC,as well as outlines the technical challenges,possible improvement measures and development perspectives.N2 reduction reaction(NRR)and nitrate reduction reaction(NO3RR)are two potential approaches for electrochemical NH3 synthesis.However,the existing research foundation still faces challenges in achieving high selectivity and efficiency.Direct NH3 FC are easy to transport and are expected to be widely used in mobile energy consuming equipment,but also limited by the lack of highly active and stable NH3 oxidation electrocatalysts.The perspectives of ammonia fuel cells as an alternative green energy are discussed.

Removal of Manganese and Iron from Groundwater in the Presence of Hydrogen Sulfide and Ammonia

Presence of iron and manganese in water not only affects the organoleptic properties of water, but also can cause a number of problems in drinking water treatments. Their removal in drinking water preparation processes becomes more complicated in the presence of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia in water. There are certain commercialized products at the market that are used for removal of manganese, iron and ammonia, but it is of crucial importance to establish an appropriate order of removal in the technological process during drinking water treatment. Through the various combinations of commercialized filtration media, the removal of iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, was being examined and on the basis of obtained results their effectiveness was estimated. Research results have shown that hydrogen sulfide is pollutant that causes problems during the adsorption in removing manganes. Ammonia, which is bonded to hydrogen sulphide influences the volume of treated water when it comes to removing the iron and manganese. Decrease in the concentration of hydrogen sulfide at the entrance to Filtersorb FMH for four times, has led to an increase in the volume of treated water in the amount of two times, followed by the breakthrough point of concentration of manganese. For complete usage capacity of commercialized products for the removal of these pollutants, finding their mutual bond in compounds which are present in the water, is of the importance.