Catalytic effect in lithium metal batteries: From heterogeneous catalyst to homogenous catalyst

Lithium metal batteries are regarded as prominent contenders to address the pressing needs owing to the high theoretical capacity.Toward the broader implementation,the primary obstacle lies in the intricate multi-electron,multi-step redox reaction associated with sluggish conversion kinetics,subsequently giving rise to a cascade of parasitic issues.In order to smooth reaction kinetics,catalysts are widely introduced to accelerate reaction rate via modulating the energy barrier.Over past decades,a large amount of research has been devoted to the catalyst design and catalytic mechanism exploration,and thus the great progress in electrochemical performance has been realized.Therefore,it is necessary to make a comprehensive review toward key progress in catalyst design and future development pathway.In this review,the basic mechanism of lithium metal batteries is provided along with corresponding advantages and existing challenges detailly described.The main catalysts employed to accelerate cathode reaction with emphasis on their catalytic mechanism are summarized as well.Finally,the rational design and innovative direction toward efficient catalysts are suggested for future application in metal-sulfur/gas battery and beyond.This review is expected to drive and benefit future research on rational catalyst design with multi-parameter synergistic impacts on the activity and stability of next-generation metal battery,thus opening new avenue for sustainable solution to climate change,energy and environmental issues,and the potential industrial economy.

A Review on Engineering Transition Metal Compound Catalysts to Accelerate the Redox Kinetics of Sulfur Cathodes for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Engineering transition metal compounds(TMCs)catalysts with excellent adsorption-catalytic ability has been one of the most effec-tive strategies to accelerate the redox kinetics of sulfur cathodes.Herein,this review focuses on engineering TMCs catalysts by cation doping/anion doping/dual doping,bimetallic/bi-anionic TMCs,and TMCs-based heterostructure composites.It is obvious that introducing cations/anions to TMCs or constructing heterostructure can boost adsorption-catalytic capacity by regulating the electronic structure including energy band,d/p-band center,electron filling,and valence state.Moreover,the elec-tronic structure of doped/dual-ionic TMCs are adjusted by inducing ions with different electronegativity,electron filling,and ion radius,resulting in electron redistribution,bonds reconstruction,induced vacancies due to the electronic interaction and changed crystal structure such as lat-tice spacing and lattice distortion.Different from the aforementioned two strategies,heterostructures are constructed by two types of TMCs with different Fermi energy levels,which causes built-in electric field and electrons transfer through the interface,and induces electron redistribution and arranged local atoms to regulate the electronic structure.Additionally,the lacking studies of the three strategies to comprehensively regulate electronic structure for improving catalytic performance are pointed out.It is believed that this review can guide the design of advanced TMCs catalysts for boosting redox of lithium sulfur batteries.

Application and Development Trends of Spectral Analysis in Draft of Non-Ferrous Metal Standards in China

Spectral analysis was a method of identifying substances, determining their chemical composition and calculating their content based on their spectral characteristics. This paper mainly discussed the application of various spectroscopic techniques, mainly including atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (AFS) direct reading spectroscopy (OES) glow discharge emission spectroscopy (GD-OSE) laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), in the formulation of non-ferrous metal standards in China. The AAS method was the most widely used single-element microanalysis method among the non-ferrous metal standards. The ICP-AES method was good at significant advantages in the simultaneous detection of multiple elements. The XRF method was increasingly used in the determination of primary and secondary trace elements due to its simple sample preparation and high efficiency. The AFS was mostly detected by single-element trace analysis. OES GD-OES and LIBS were playing an increasingly important role in the new demand area for non-ferrous metals. This paper discussed matrix elimination, sample digestion, sample preparation, instrument categories and other aspects of some standards, and summarized the advantages of spectral analysis and traditional chemical analysis methods. The new methods of future spectroscopic technology had been illustrated in the process of developing non-ferrous metal standards.

General approach for atomically dispersed precious metal catalysts toward hydrogen reaction

As a carbon-free energy carrier,hydrogen has become the pivot for future clean energy,while efficient hydrogen production and combustion still require precious metal-based catalysts.Single-atom catalysts(SACs)with high atomic utilization open up a desirable perspective for the scale applications of precious metals,but the general and facile preparation of various precious metal-based SACs remains challenging.Herein,a general movable printing method has been developed to synthesize various precious metal-based SACs,such as Pd,Pt,Rh,Ir,and Ru,and the features of highly dispersed single atoms with nitrogen coordination have been identified by comprehensive characterizations.More importantly,the synthesized Pt-and Ru-based SACs exhibit much higher activities than their corresponding nanoparticle counterparts for hydrogen oxidation reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).In addition,the Pd-based SAC delivers an excellent activity for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.Especially for the superior mass activity of Ru-based SACs toward HER,density functional theory calculations confirmed that the adsorption of the hydrogen atom has a significant effect on the spin state and electronic structure of the catalysts.

Recent advances in regulating the performance of acid oxygen reduction reaction on carbon-supported non-precious metal single atom catalysts

Developing high performance and low-cost catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in challenging acid condition is vital for proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs).Carbon-supported nonprecious metal single atom catalysts(SACs)have been identified as potential catalysts in the field.Great advance has been obtained in constructing diverse active sites of SACs for improving the performance and understanding the fundamental principles of regulating acid ORR performance.However,the ORR performance of SACs is still unsatisfactory.Importantly,microenvironment adjustment of SACs offers chance to promote the performance of acid ORR.In this review,acid ORR mechanism,attenuation mechanism and performance improvement strategies of SACs are presented.The strategies for promoting ORR activity of SACs include the adjustment of center metal and its microenvironment.The relationship of ORR performance and structure is discussed with the help of advanced experimental investigations and theoretical calculations,which will offer helpful direction for designing advanced SACs for ORR.

Novel ternary metals-based telluride electrocatalyst with synergistic effects of high valence non-3d metal and oxophilic Te for pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction

Electrocatalyst designs based on oxophilic foreign atoms are considered a promising approach for developing efficient pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)electrocatalysts by overcoming the sluggish alkaline HER kinetics.Here,we design ternary transition metals-based nickel telluride(Mo WNi Te)catalysts consisting of high valence non-3d Mo and W metals and oxophilic Te as a first demonstration of non-precious heterogeneous electrocatalysts following the bifunctional mechanism.The Mo WNi Te showed excellent HER catalytic performance with overpotentials of 72,125,and 182 mV to reach the current densities of 10,100,and 1000 mA cm^(-2),respectively,and the corresponding Tafel slope of 47,52,and 58 mV dec-1in alkaline media,which is much superior to commercial Pt/C.Additionally,the HER performance of Mo WNi Te is well maintained up to 3000 h at the current density of 100 mA cm^(-2).It is further demonstrated that the Mo WNi Te exhibits remarkable HER activities with an overpotential of 45 mV(31 mV)and Tafel slope of 60 mV dec-1(34 mV dec-1)at 10 mA cm^(-2)in neutral(acid)media.The superior HER performance of Mo WNi Te is attributed to the electronic structure modulation,inducing highly active low valence states by the incorporation of high valence non-3d transition metals.It is also attributed to the oxophilic effect of Te,accelerating water dissociation kinetics through a bifunctional catalytic mechanism in alkaline media.Density functional theory calculations further reveal that such synergistic effects lead to reduced free energy for an efficient water dissociation process,resulting in remarkable HER catalytic performances within universal pH environments.

An intelligent system for calculating the scale of rational,enlarged production of an underground non-ferrous metal mine

The enlarged production scale of underground non-ferrous metal mines is affected by many uncertain factors difficult to describe mathematically with any level of accuracy.The problem can be solved by a synthesis of artificial intelligence.Based on the analysis of the major factors affecting the scale of enlarged production,we first interpreted in detail the design principles and structure of the intelligent system.Secondly,we introduced an ANN subsystem.In order to ensure technological and scale efficien- cies of the training samples for ANN,we filtrated the samples with a DEA method.Finally,we trained the intelligent system,which was proved to be very efficient.

Cross-Lingual Non-Ferrous Metals Related News Recognition Method Based on CNN with A Limited Bi-Lingual Dictionary

To acquire non-ferrous metals related news from different countries’internet,we proposed a cross-lingual non-ferrous metals related news recognition method based on CNN with a limited bilingual dictionary.Firstly,considering the lack of related language resources of non-ferrous metals,we use a limited bilingual dictionary and CCA to learn cross-lingual word vector and to represent news in different languages uniformly.Then,to improve the effect of recognition,we use a variant of the CNN to learn recognition features and construct the recognition model.The experimental results show that our proposed method acquires better results.

The role of morphology on the electrochemical CO_(2) reduction performance of transition metal-based catalysts

The continued increase in population and the industrial revolution have led to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO_(2)) concentration. Consequently, developing and implementing effective solutions to reduce CO_(2) emissions is a global priority. The electrochemical CO_(2) reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR) is strongly believed to be a promising alternative to fossil fuel-based technologies for the production of value-added chemicals. So far, the implementation of CO_(2)RR is hindered by associated electrochemical reactions, such as low selectivity, hydrogen evolution reaction(HER), and additional overpotential induced in some cases. As a result, it is necessary to conduct a timely evaluation of the state-of-the-art strategies in CO_(2)RR, with a focus on the engineering of the electrocatalytic systems. Catalyst morphology is one factor that plays a critical role in overcoming these drawbacks and significantly contributes to enhancing product selectivity and Faradaic efficiency(FE). This review article summarizes the recent advances in the rational design of electrocatalysts with various morphologies and the influence of these morphologies on CO_(2)RR. To compare literature findings in a meaningful way, the article focuses on results reported under a well-defined period and considers the first three rows of the d-block metal catalysts. The discussion typically covers the design of nanostructured catalysts and the molecular-level understanding of morphology-performance relationship in terms of activity, selectivity, and stability during CO_(2) electrolysis. Among others, it would be convenient to recommend a comprehensive discussion on the morphologies of single metals and heterostructures, with a detailed emphasis on their impact on CO_(2) conversion.

Towards the selectivity distinction of phenol hydrogenation on noble metal catalysts

Selective hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone is intriguing in chemical industry.Though a few catalysts with promising performances have been developed in recent years,the basic principle for catalyst design is still missing owing to the unclear catalytic mechanism.This work tries to unravel the mechanism of phenol hydro-genation and the reasons causing the selectivity discrepancy on noble metal catalysts under mild conditions.Results show that different reaction pathways always firstly converge to the formation of cyclohexanone under mild conditions.The selectivity discrepancy mainly depends on the activity for cyclohexanone sequential hy-drogenation,in which two factors are found to be responsible,i.e.the hydrogenation energy barrier and the competitive chemisorption between phenol and cyclohexanone,if the specific co-catalyzing effect of H 2 O on Ru is not considered.Based on the above results,a quantitative descriptor,E b(one/pl)/E a,in which E a can be further correlated to the d band center of the noble metal catalyst,is proposed by the first time to roughly evaluate and predict the selectivity to cyclohexanone for catalyst screening.

Optimizing Non-Ferrous Metal Value from MSWI Bottom Ashes

The bottom ashes resulted annually from the incineration of municipal solid waste in Europe contain about 400,000 tonnes of metallic aluminium and 200,000 tonnes of heavy non-ferrous metals, such as copper and zinc. Efficient recovery of this non-ferrous metal resource requires state-of-the-art separation technologies and a continuous feedback of laboratory analyses of the metal products and the depleted bottom ash to the operators of the bottom ash treatment plants. A methodology is presented for the optimization of the production of non-ferrous metal value from Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator bottom ash. Results for an incineration plant in the Netherlands show that efficient recycling can have a significant impact on value recovery as well as on non-ferrous metal recycling rates, producing up to 8% more revenue and 25% more metals from the ash.

Endeavors on the development of efficient and sustainable supported metal catalysts for chemical synthesis on solid-liquid interfaces

Supported metal catalysts,particularly for precious metals,have gained increasing attention in green synthetic chemistry.They can make metal-catalyzed organic synthesis more sustainable and economical due to easy separation of product with less metal residue,as well as reusability of the high-cost catalysts.Although great effort has been spent,the precise catalytic mechanism of supported metal-catalyzed reactions has not been clearly elucidated and the development of efficient and stable recyclable catalysts remains challenging.This highlight reveals a“molecular fence”metal stabilization strategy and discloses the metal evolution in Pd-catalyzed C-C bond formation reactions using Nheterocyclic carbene(NHC)-functionalized hypercrosslinked polymer support,wherein the polymeric skeleton isolates or confines the metal species involved in the catalytic reactions,and NHC captures free low-valent metal species in solution and stabilizes them on the support via strong metal-support coordination interaction.This strategy creates a novel route for the development of supported metal catalysts with high stability and provides insights into the reaction mechanism of heterogeneous catalysis.

Promotion effects of alkali metals on iron molybdate catalysts for CO_(2)catalytic hydrogenation

CO_(2)hydrogenation is an attractive way to store and utilize carbon dioxide generated by industrial processes,as well as to produce valuable chemicals from renewable and abundant resources.Iron catalysts are commonly used for the hydrogenation of carbon oxides to hydrocarbons.Iron-molybdenum catalysts have found numerous applications in catalysis,but have been never evaluated in the CO_(2)hydrogenation.In this work,the structural properties of iron-molybdenum catalysts without and with a promoting alkali metal(Li,Na,K,Rb,or Cs)were characterized using X-ray diffraction,hydrogen temperatureprogrammed reduction,CO_(2)temperature-programmed desorption,in-situ^(57)Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy and operando X-ray adsorption spectroscopy.Their catalytic performance was evaluated in the CO_(2)hydrogenation.During the reaction conditions,the catalysts undergo the formation of an iron(Ⅱ)molybdate structure,accompanied by a partial reduction of molybdenum and carbidization of iron.The rate of CO_(2)conversion and product selectivity strongly depend on the promoting alkali metals,and electronegativity was identified as an important factor affecting the catalytic performance.Higher CO_(2)conversion rates were observed with the promoters having higher electronegativity,while low electronegativity of alkali metals favors higher light olefin selectivity.

Three-dimensional porous bimetallic metal–organic framework/gelatin aerogels: A readily recyclable peroxymonosulfate activator for efficient and continuous organic dye removal

As promising catalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants,metal–organic frameworks(MOFs)often face limitations due to the particle agglomeration and challenging recovery in liquid-catalysis application,stemming from their powdery nature.Engineering macroscopic structures from pulverous MOF is thus of great importance for broadening their practical applications.In this study,three-dimensional porous MOF aerogel catalysts were successfully fabricated for degrading organic dyes by activating peroxymonosulfate(PMS).MOF/gelatin aerogel(MOF/GA)catalysts were prepared by directly integrating bimetallic FeCo-BDC with gelatin solutions,followed by freeze-drying and low-temperature calcination.The FeCo-BDC-0.15/GA/PMS system exhibited remarkable performance in degrading various organic dyes,eliminating 99.2%of rhodamine B within a mere 5 min.Compared to the GA/PMS system,there was over a 300-fold increase in the reaction rate constant.Remarkably,high removal efficiency was maintained across varying conditions,including different solution pH,co-existing inorganic anions,and natural water matrices.Radical trapping experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance analysis revealed that the degradation involved radical(SO_(4)^(-)·)and non-radical routes(^(1)O_(2)),of which ^(1)O_(2) was dominant.Furthermore,even after a continuous 400-min reaction in a fixed-bed reactor at a liquid hourly space velocity of 27 h^(-1),the FeCo-BDC/GA composite sustained a degradation efficiency exceeding 98.7%.This work presents highly active MOF-gelatin aerogels for dye degradation and expands the potential for their large-scale,continuous treatment application in organic dye wastewater management.

Progress in electrocatalytic nitrate reduction for green energy:Catalyst engineering,mechanisms,and techno-economic feasibility

Ammonia(NH_(3))is an irreplaceable chemical that has been widely demanded to keep the sustainable development of modern society.However,its industrial production consumes a huge amount of energy and releases extraordinary greenhouse gases(GHGs),leading to various environmental issues.Achieving the green production of ammonia is a great challenge,which has been extensively pursued in the last decade.In this review,the most promising strategy,electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction(e-NO_(3)RR),is comprehensively investigated to give a complete understanding of its development and mechanism and provide guidance for future directions.However,owing to the complex reactions and limited selectivity,a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms is crucial to further development and commercialization.Moreover,NO_(3)^(-)RR is a promising strategy for simultaneous water treatment and NH_(3)production.A detailed overview of the recent progress in NO_(3)^(-)RR for NH_(3)production with nontransition and transition metal based electrocatalysts is summarized.In addition,critical advanced techniques,future challenges,and prospects are discussed to guide future research on transition metal-based catalysts for commercial NH_(3)synthesis by NO_(3)^(-)reduction.

Atomically Adjustable Rhodium Catalyst Synthesis with Outstanding Mass Activity via Surface-Li mi ted Cation Exchange

Rh has been widely studied as a catalyst for the promising hydrazine oxidation reaction that can replace oxygen evolution reactions for boosting hydrogen production from hydrazine-containing wastewater.Despite Rh being expensive,only a few studies have examined its electrocatalytic mass activity.Herein,surface-limited cation exchange and electrochemical activation processes are designed to remarkably enhance the mass activity of Rh.Rh atoms were readily replaced at the Ni sites on the surface of NiOOH electrodes by cation exchange,and the resulting RhOOH compounds were activated by the electrochemical reduction process.The cation exchange-derived Rh catalysts exhibited particle sizes not exceeding 2 nm without agglomeration,indicating a decrease in the number of inactive inner Rh atoms.Consequently,an improved mass activity of 30 A mg_(Rh)^(-1)was achieved at 0.4 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode.Furthermore,the two-electrode system employing the same CE-derived Rh electrodes achieved overall hydrazine splitting over 36 h at a stable low voltage.The proposed surface-limited CE process is an effective method for reducing inactive atoms of expensive noble metal catalysts.

Preparation and Microstructural Analysis of Smelting Waste Non-ferrous Metal Slag Geopolymer

The geopolymer samples were prepared with smelting waste slag of non-ferrous metal as the raw material and water glass as the activator. The effect of modulus of water glass and water binder ratio on the compressive strength was studied. The results show that the strength of the geopolymer activated by water glass with modulus of 1.1 and water binder ratio of 0.28 can maintain an increasing trend in the 90 curing days. Through the analyses with XRD, SEM（EDS）, and FTIR, the main reaction products are found to be geopolymer gels, which bond the crystalline minerals to provide strength. The molecular chains of amorphous phase in slag become shorter after depolymerization-polycondensation.

Non-ferrous Metal Industry in Hunan Province

In the last ten years (1982～1991) 2.26 Mt of 10 kinds of nonferrous metals had been pro-duced in Hunan Province. Up to date the mining capacity achieves 6.52 Mt, ore-dressing capacity--7.25 Mt, smelt capacity--334 kt and the processing capacity--113 kt. In 1991 the output of10 kinds of nonferrous metals amounted to 292.8 kt. At present Hunan Province produces alloys,oxides and other compounds for copper, aluminium, lead, zinc, antimony and mercury. Species ofrare-earth metals and its alloys produced in Hunan Province amount to 160 and more. In this

A Brief Introduction to the Rare Earths Research Institute,General Research Institute for Non-Ferrous Metals

The Rare Earths Research Institute(the former Rare Earths Research Laboratory)under the GRINM,the first institute to conduct R&D for rare earths(RE)industry in China,was founded in 1958.The Institutewas mainly engaged in the research work of comprehensive utilization of the mine at Baiyun-ebo,the largest

A Brief Introduction to the Rare Earths Research Institute,General Research Institute for Non-Ferrous Metals

The Rare Earths Research Institute(the former Rare Earths Research Laboratory)under the GRINM,the first institute to conduct R&D for rare earths(RE)industry in China,was founded in 1958.The Institutewas mainly engaged in the research work of comprehensive utilization of the mine at Baiyun-ebo,the largestRE mine in the world,and the ion adsorption type RE mineral in southern China.The ore decomposition,