ABSTRACT
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with maximized metal atom utilization and intriguing properties are of utmost importance for energy conversion and catalysis science. However, the lack of a straightforward and scalable synthesis strategy of SACs on diverse support materials remains the bottleneck for their large-scale industrial applications. Herein, we report a general approach to directly transform bulk metals into single atoms through the precise control of the electrodissolution-electrodeposition kinetics in ionic liquids and demonstrate the successful applicability of up to twenty different monometallic SACs and one multimetallic SAC with five distinct elements. As a case study, the atomically dispersed Pt was electrodeposited onto Ni3N/Ni-Co-graphene oxide heterostructures in varied scales (up to 5 cm × 5 cm) as bifunctional catalysts with the electronic metal-support interaction, which exhibits low overpotentials at 10 mA cm-2 for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, 30 mV) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER, 263 mV) with a relatively low Pt loading (0.98 wt%). This work provides a simple and practical route for large-scale synthesis of various SACs with favorable catalytic properties on diversified supports using alternative ionic liquids and inspires the methodology on precise synthesis of multimetallic single-atom materials with tunable compositions.
ABSTRACT
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with atomic dispersion active sites have exhibited huge potentials in peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-based Fenton-like chemistry in water purification. However, four-N coordination metal (MN4) moieties often suffer from such problems as low selectivity and narrow workable pH. How to construct SACs in a controllable strategy with optimized electronic structures is of great challenge. Herein, an innovative strategy (i.e., the "4 + 1" fabrication) was devised to precisely modulate the first-shell coordinated microenvironment of FeN4 SAC using an additional N (SA-FeN5). This leads to almost 100% selective formation of high-valent iron-oxo [Fe(IV)âO] (steady-state concentration: 2.00 × 10-8 M) in the SA-FeN5/PMS system. In-depth theoretical calculations unveil that FeN5 configuration optimizes the electron distribution of monatomic Fe sites, which thus fosters PMS adsorption and reduces the energy barrier for Fe(IV)âO generation. SA-FeN5 was then attached to polyvinylidene difluoride membrane for a continuous flow device, showing long-term abatement of the microcontaminant. This work furnishes a general strategy for effective PMS activation and selective high-valent metal-oxo species generation by high N-coordination number regulation in SACs, which would provide guidance in the rational design of superior environmental catalysts for water purification.
ABSTRACT
The kinetics and pathway of most catalyzed reactions depend on the existence of interface, which makes the precise construction of highly active single-atom sites at the reaction interface a desirable goal. Herein, we propose a thermal printing strategy that not only arranges metal atoms at the silica and carbon layer interface but also stabilizes them by strong coordination. Just like the typesetting of Chinese characters on paper, this method relies on the controlled migration of movable nanoparticles between two contact substrates and the simultaneous emission of atoms from the nanoparticle surface at high temperatures. Observed by in situ transmission electron microscopy, a single Fe3O4 nanoparticle migrates from the core of a SiO2 sphere to the surface like a droplet at high temperatures, moves along the interface of SiO2 and the coated carbon layer, and releases metal atoms until it disappears completely. These detached atoms are then in situ trapped by nitrogen and sulfur defects in the carbon layer to generate Fe single-atom sites, exhibiting excellent activity for oxygen reduction reaction. Also, sites' densities can be regulated by controlling the size of Fe3O4 nanoparticle between the two surfaces. More importantly, this strategy is applicable to synthesize Mn, Co, Pt, Pd, Au single-atom sites, which provide a general route to arrange single-atom sites at the interface of different supports for various applications.
ABSTRACT
Developing green heterogeneous catalysts with excellent Fenton-like activity is critical for water remediation technologies. However, current catalysts often rely on toxic transitional metals, and their catalytic performance is far from satisfactory as alternatives of homogeneous Fenton-like catalysts. In this study, a green catalyst based on Zn single-atom was prepared in an ammonium atmosphere using ZIF-8 as a precursor. Multiple characterization analyses provided evidence that abundant intrinsic defects due to the edge sites were created, leading to the formation of a thermally stable edge-hosted Zn-N4 single-atom catalyst (ZnN4-Edge). Density functional theory calculations revealed that the edge sites equipped the single-atom Zn with a super catalytic performance, which not only promoted decomposition of peroxide molecule (HSO5-) but also greatly lowered the activation barrier for â¢OH generation. Consequently, the as-prepared ZnN4-Edge exhibited extremely high Fenton-like performance in oxidation and mineralization of phenol as a representative organic contaminant in a wide range of pH, realizing its quick detoxification. The atom-utilization efficiency of the ZnN4-Edge was ~104 higher than an equivalent amount of the control sample without edge sites (ZnN4), and the turnover frequency was ~103 times of the typical benchmark of homogeneous catalyst (Co2+). This study opens up a revolutionary way to rationally design and optimize heterogeneous catalysts to homogeneous catalytic performance for Fenton-like application.
ABSTRACT
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution presents a severe threat to the environment and human health. Catalytic reduction of NOx with H2 using single-atom catalysts poses considerable potential in the remediation of air pollution; however, the unfavorable process of H2 dissociation limits its practical application. Herein, we report that the in situ formation of PtTi cocatalytic sites (which are stabilized by Pt-Ti bonds) over Pt1/TiO2 significantly increases NOx conversion by reducing the energy barrier of H2 activation. We demonstrate that two H atoms of H2 molecule are absorbed by adjacent Pt atoms in Pt-O and Pt-Ti, respectively, which can promote the cleave of H-H bonds. Besides, PtTi sites facilitate the adsorption of NO molecules and further lower the activation barrier of the whole de-NOx reaction. Extending the concept to Pt1/Nb2O5 and Pd1/TiO2 systems also sees enhanced catalytic activities, demonstrating that engineering the cocatalytic sites can be a general strategy for the design of high-efficiency catalysts that can benefit environmental sustainability.
ABSTRACT
The high-valent cobalt-oxo species (Co(IV)=O) is being increasingly investigated for water purification because of its high redox potential, long half-life, and antiinterference properties. However, generation of Co(IV)=O is inefficient and unsustainable. Here, a cobalt-single-atom catalyst with N/O dual coordination was synthesized by O-doping engineering. The O-doped catalyst (Co-OCN) greatly activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and achieved a pollutant degradation kinetic constant of 73.12 min-1 g-2, which was 4.9 times higher than that of Co-CN (catalyst without O-doping) and higher than those of most reported single-atom catalytic PMS systems. Co-OCN/PMS realized Co(IV)=O dominant oxidation of pollutants by increasing the steady-state concentration of Co(IV)=O (1.03 × 10-10 M) by 5.9 times compared with Co-CN/PMS. A competitive kinetics calculation showed that the oxidation contribution of Co(IV)=O to micropollutant degradation was 97.5% during the Co-OCN/PMS process. Density functional theory calculations showed that O-doping influenced the charge density (increased the Bader charge transfer from 0.68 to 0.85 e), optimized the electron distribution of the Co center (increased the d-band center from -1.14 to -1.06 eV), enhanced the PMS adsorption energy from -2.46 to -3.03 eV, and lowered the energy barrier for generation of the key reaction intermediate (*O*H2O) during Co(IV)=O formation from 1.12 to 0.98 eV. The Co-OCN catalyst was fabricated on carbon felt for a flow-through device, which achieved continuous and efficient removal of micropollutants (degradation efficiency of >85% after 36 h operation). This study provides a new protocol for PMS activation and pollutant elimination through single-atom catalyst heteroatom-doping and high-valent metal-oxo formation during water purification.
ABSTRACT
Developing heterogeneous catalysts with atomically dispersed active sites is vital to boost peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for Fenton-like activity, but how to controllably adjust the electronic configuration of metal centers to further improve the activation kinetics still remains a great challenge. Herein, we report a systematic investigation into heteroatom-doped engineering for tuning the electronic structure of Cu-N4 sites by integrating electron-deficient boron (B) or electron-rich phosphorus (P) heteroatoms into carbon substrate for PMS activation. The electron-depleted Cu-N4/C-B is found to exhibit the most active oxidation capacity among the prepared Cu-N4 single-atom catalysts, which is at the top rankings of the Cu-based catalysts and is superior to most of the state-of-the-art heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts. Conversely, the electron-enriched Cu-N4/C-P induces a decrease in PMS activation. Both experimental results and theoretical simulations unravel that the long-range interaction with B atoms decreases the electronic density of Cu active sites and down-shifts the d-band center, and thereby optimizes the adsorption energy for PMS activation. This study provides an approach to finely control the electronic structure of Cu-N4 sites at the atomic level and is expected to guide the design of smart Fenton-like catalysts.
ABSTRACT
The bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst is the Achilles' heel of achieving robust reversible Zn-air batteries (ZABs). Herein, durable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis in alkaline media is realized on atomic Fe-N4-C sites reinforced by NixCo3-xO4 (NixCo3-xO4@Fe1/NC). Compared with that of pristine Fe1/NC, the stability of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is increased 10 times and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance is also improved. The steric hindrance alters the valence electron at the Fe-N4-C sites, resulting in a shorter Fe-N bond and enhanced stability of the Fe-N4-C sites. The corresponding solid-state ZABs exhibit an ultralong lifespan (>460 h at 5 mA cm-2) and high rate performance (from 2 to 50 mA cm-2). Furthermore, the structural evolution of NixCo3-xO4@Fe1/NC before and after the OER and ORR as well as charge-discharge cycling is explored. This work develops an efficient strategy for improving bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis and possibly other processes.
ABSTRACT
It is challenging to achieve highly efficient CO-CO coupling toward C2 products in electrochemical CO and CO2 reductions on single-atom catalysts (SACs). Herein, we report a modulation strategy of phosphorus coordination in the second shell of Cu SACs with a Cu-N4 structure (Cu-N4-P4/C4) and demonstrate experimentally and theoretically the CO-CO coupling through an Eley-Rideal mechanism in electrochemical CO reduction (COR). Remarkably, the Cu SACs exhibit a selectivity of 63.9% toward acetate production in alkaline media on a gas diffusion electrode. Operando synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirms the robust Cu-N4-P4/C4 structure of the Cu SACs against the harsh electrochemical reduction conditions throughout the electrochemical COR, instead of forming Cu clusters for Cu-N4 configuration, enabling an excellent COR performance toward acetate. This work not only unravels a new mechanism for CO-CO coupling toward C2 products in COR but also offers a novel strategy for SAC regulation toward multicarbon production with high activity, selectivity, and durability.
ABSTRACT
Electroreduction of nitrate/nitrite to high-value-added products, including NH2OH, is an important way to achieve sustainable production of green energy. However, this electrosynthesis of NH2OH still suffers from poor selectivity due to the various competing reactions. Here, we screen out Ni-N4 and Cu-N4 catalysts for highly efficient nitrite electroreduction to NH2OH by adopting density functional theory (DFT) calculations. DFT calculations reveal that the high selectivity of Ni-N4 and Cu-N4 is ascribed to their weak adsorption of *NH2OH and *NH intermediates, thereby preventing the further reduction of NH2OH. Moreover, using *NO as a model intermediate, we studied the relationship between the 3d orbital occupancy and adsorption strength of the intermediate. It is found that Ni-N4 and Cu-N4 with fully occupied dxz, dyz, and dz2 orbitals have poor adsorption of *NO intermediate. This work provides a new route for NH2OH synthesis and offers perspectives on the crucial factors in determining the catalytic selectivity.
ABSTRACT
FeNC catalysts are considered one of the most promising alternatives to platinum group metals for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Despite the extensive research on improving ORR activity, the undesirable durability of FeNC is still a critical issue for its practical application. Herein, inspired by the antioxidant mechanism of natural enzymes, CeO2 nanozymes featuring catalase-like and superoxide dismutase-like activities were coupled with FeNC to mitigate the attack of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for improving durability. Benefiting from the multienzyme-like activities of CeO2, ROS generated from FeNC is instantaneously eliminated to alleviate the corrosion of carbon and demetallization of metal sites. Consequently, FeNC/CeO2 exhibits better ORR durability with a decay of only 5 mV compared to FeNC (18 mV) in neutral electrolyte after 10k cycles. The FeNC/CeO2-based zinc-air battery also shows minimal voltage decay over 140 h in galvanostatic discharge-charge cycling tests, outperforming FeNC and commercial Pt/C.
ABSTRACT
The electrooxidation of propylene presents a promising route for the production of 1,2-propylene glycol (PG) under ambient conditions. However, the C-O coupling process remains a challenge owing to the high energy barrier. In this work, we developed a highly efficient electrocatalyst of bipyridine-confined Ag single atoms on UiO-bpy substrates (Ag SAs/UiO-bpy), which exposed two in-plane coordination vacancies during reaction for the co-adsorption of key intermediates. Detailed structure and electronic property analyses demonstrate that CH3CHCH2OH* and *OH could stably co-adsorb in a square planar configuration, which then accelerates the charge transfer between them. The combination of stable co-adsorption and efficient charge transfer facilitates the C-O coupling process, thus significantly lowering its energy barrier. At 2.4 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode, Ag SAs/UiO-bpy achieved a record-high activity of 61.9 gPG m-2 h-1. Our work not only presents a robust electrocatalyst but also advances a new perspective on catalyst design for propylene electrooxidation.
ABSTRACT
The synergistic interaction between the isolated metal sites promoted the electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts. However, the structural heterogeneity of the isolated sites makes it challenging to evaluate this effect accurately. In this work, metal-coordinated polyphthalocyanine molecules (Fe-PPc, Co-PPc, FeCo-PPc) with long-range ordered and precise coordination structures are used as a platform to study the synergies of different isolated metal sites in the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. The combination means of experimental and theoretical calculation clearly reveal that the coexistence of Fe and Co sites in PPc significantly enhances the conjugation effect of the macrocycle. This enhancement subsequently causes the metal sites to lose more electrons, thereby improving their adsorption of CO2 and facilitating the formation of intermediate *COOH on them. As a result, FeCo-PPc achieves a CO partial current density of about 57.4 mA/cm2 with a high turnover frequency of over 49000 site-1 h-1 at -0.9 V (vs RHE).
ABSTRACT
In the pursuit of efficient singlet oxygen generation in Fenton-like catalysis, the utilization of single-atom catalysts (SACs) emerges as a highly desired strategy. Here, a discovery is reported that the single-atom Fe coordinated with five N-atoms on N-doped porous carbon, denoted as Fe-N5/NC, outperform its counterparts, those coordinated with four (Fe-N4/NC) or six N-atoms (Fe-N6/NC), as well as state-of-the-art SACs comprising other transition metals. Thus, Fe-N5/NC exhibits exceptional efficacy in activating peroxymonosulfate for the degradation of organic pollutants. The coordination number of N-atoms can be readily adjusted by pyrolysis of pre-assembly structures consisting of Fe3+ and various isomers of phenylenediamine. Fe-N5/NC displayed outstanding tolerance to environmental disturbances and minimal iron leaching when incorporated into a membrane reactor. A mechanistic study reveals that the axial ligand N reduces the contribution of Fe-3d orbitals in LUMO and increases the LUMO energy of Fe-N5/NC. This, in turn, reduces the oxophilicity of the Fe center, promoting the reactivity of *OO intermediate-a pivotal step for yielding singlet oxygen and the rate-determining step. These findings unveil the significance of manipulating the oxophilicity of metal atoms in single-atom catalysis and highlight the potential to augment Fenton-like catalysis performance using Fe-SACs.
ABSTRACT
Single-atom catalysts (SACs), combining the advantages of multiphase and homogeneous catalysis, have been increasingly investigated in various catalytic applications. Carbon-based SACs have attracted much attention due to their large specific surface area, high porosity, particular electronic structure, and excellent stability. As a cheap and readily available carbon material, biochar has begun to be used as an alternative to carbon nanotubes, graphene, and other such expensive carbon matrices to prepare SACs. However, a review of biochar-based SACs for environmental pollutant removal and energy conversion and storage is lacking. This review focuses on strategies for synthesizing biochar-based SACs, such as pre-treatment of organisms with metal salts, insertion of metal elements into biochar, or pyrolysis of metal-rich biomass, which are more simplistic ways of synthesizing SACs. Meanwhile, this paper attempts to 1) demonstrate their applications in environmental remediation based on advanced oxidation technology and energy conversion and storage based on electrocatalysis; 2) reveal the catalytic oxidation mechanism in different catalytic systems; 3) discuss the stability of biochar-based SACs; and 4) present the future developments and challenges regarding biochar-based SACs.
Subject(s)
Charcoal , Charcoal/chemistry , Catalysis , Environmental Restoration and Remediation/methodsABSTRACT
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) hold immense promise in facilitating the rational use of metal resources and achieving atomic economy due to their exceptional atom-utilization efficiency and distinct characteristics. Despite the growing interest in SACs, only limited reviews have holistically summarized their advancements centering on performance metrics. In this review, first, a thorough overview on the research progress in SACs is presented from a performance perspective and the strategies, advancements, and intriguing approaches employed to enhance the critical attributes in SACs are discussed. Subsequently, a comprehensive summary and critical analysis of the electrochemical applications of SACs are provided, with a particular focus on their efficacy in the oxygen reduction reaction , oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction , CO2 reduction reaction, and N2 reduction reaction . Finally, the outline future research directions on SACs by concentrating on performance-driven investigation, where potential areas for improvement are identified and promising avenues for further study are highlighted, addressing challenges to unlock the full potential of SACs as high-performance catalysts.
ABSTRACT
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with specific N-coordinated configurations immobilized on the carbon substrates have recently been verified to effectively alleviate the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) in lithium-sulfur (LiâS) batteries. Herein, a versatile molten salt (KCl/ZnCl2 )-mediated pyrolysis strategy is demonstrated to fabricate Zn SACs composed of well-defined Zn-N4 sites embedded into porous carbon sheets with rich pyridine-N defects (ZnâN/CS). The electrochemical kinetic analysis and theoretical calculations reveal the critical roles of Zn-N4 active sites and surrounding pyridine-N defects in enhancing adsorption toward LiPS intermediates and catalyzing their liquid-solid conversion. It is confirmed by reducing the overpotential of the rate-determining step of Li2 S2 to Li2 S and the energy barrier for Li2 S decomposition, thus the ZnâN/CS guarantees fast redox kinetics between LiPSs and Li2 S products. As a proof of concept demonstration, the assembled LiâS batteries with the ZnâN/CS-based sulfur cathode deliver a high specific capacity of 1132 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C and remarkable capacity retention of 72.2% over 800 cycles at 2 C. Furthermore, a considerable areal capacity of 6.14 mAh cm-2 at 0.2 C can still be released with a high sulfur loading of 7.0 mg cm-2 , highlighting the practical applications of the as-obtained ZnâN/CS cathode in LiâS batteries.
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Future renewable energy supply and green, sustainable environmental development rely on various types of catalytic reactions. Copper single-atom catalysts (Cu SACs) are attractive due to their distinctive electronic structure (3d orbitals are not filled with valence electrons), high atomic utilization, and excellent catalytic performance and selectivity. Despite numerous optimization studies are conducted on Cu SACs in terms of energy conversion and environmental purification, the coupling among Cu atoms-support interactions, active sites, and catalytic performance remains unclear, and a systematic review of Cu SACs is lacking. To this end, this work summarizes the recent advances of Cu SACs. The synthesis strategies of Cu SACs, metal-support interactions between Cu single atoms and different supports, modification methods including modification for carriers, coordination environment regulating, site distance effect utilizing, and dual metal active center catalysts constructing, as well as their applications in energy conversion and environmental purification are emphatically introduced. Finally, the opportunities and challenges for the future Cu SACs development are discussed. This review aims to provide insight into Cu SACs and a reference for their optimal design and wide application.
ABSTRACT
Carbon materials with unique sp2 -hybridization are extensively researched for catalytic applications due to their excellent conductivity and tunable physicochemical properties. However, the development of economic approaches to tailoring carbon materials into desired morphologies remains a challenge. Herein, a convenient "bottom-up" strategy by pyrolysis of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ) (or other carbon/nitrogen (C, N)-enriched compounds) together with selected metal salts and molecules is reported for the construction of different carbon-based catalysts with tunable morphologies, including carbon nano-balls, carbon nanotubes, nitrogen/sulfur (S, N) doped-carbon nanosheets, and single-atom catalysts, supported by carbon layers. The catalysts are systematically investigated through various microscopic, spectroscopic, and diffraction methods and they demonstrate promising and broad applications in electrocatalysis such as in the oxygen reduction reaction and water splitting. Mechanistic monitoring of the synthesis process through online thermogravimetric-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry measurements indicates that the release of CâN-related moieties, such as dicyan, plays a key role in the growth of carbon products. This enables to successfully predict other widely available precursor compounds beyond g-C3 N4 such as caffeine, melamine, and urea. This work develops a novel and economic strategy to generate morphologically diverse carbon-based catalysts and provides new, essential insights into the growth mechanism of carbon nanomaterials syntheses.
ABSTRACT
The low energy efficiency and limited cycling life of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs) arising from the sluggish oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OERs) severely hinder their commercial deployment. Herein, a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-derived strategy associated with subsequent thermal fixing treatment is proposed to fabricate dual-atom CoFeâNâC nanorods (Co1 Fe1 âNâC NRs) containing atomically dispersed bimetallic Co/Fe sites, which can promote the energy efficiency and cyclability of ZABs simultaneously by introducing the low-potential oxidation redox reactions. Compared to the mono-metallic nanorods, Co1 Fe1 âNâC NRs exhibit remarkable ORR performance including a positive half-wave potential of 0.933 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in alkaline electrolyte. Surprisingly, after introducing the potassium iodide (KI) additive, the oxidation overpotential of Co1 Fe1 âNâC NRs to reach 10 mA cm-2 can be significantly reduced by 395 mV compared to the conventional destructive OER. Theoretical calculations show that the markedly decreased overpotential of iodide oxidation can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of neighboring CoâFe diatomic sites as the unique adsorption sites. Overall, aqueous ZABs assembled with Co1 Fe1 âNâC NRs and KI as the air-cathode catalyst and electrolyte additive, respectively, can deliver a low charging voltage of 1.76 V and ultralong cycling stability of over 230 h with a high energy efficiency of ≈68%.