Ultrathin quantum light source with van der Waals NbOCl2 crystal.

Interlayer electronic coupling in two-dimensional materials enables tunable and emergent properties by stacking engineering. However, it also results in significant evolution of electronic structures and attenuation of excitonic effects in two-dimensional semiconductors as exemplified by quickly degrading excitonic photoluminescence and optical nonlinearities in transition metal dichalcogenides when monolayers are stacked into van der Waals structures. Here we report a van der Waals crystal, niobium oxide dichloride (NbOCl2), featuring vanishing interlayer electronic coupling and monolayer-like excitonic behaviour in the bulk form, along with a scalable second-harmonic generation intensity of up to three orders higher than that in monolayer WS2. Notably, the strong second-order nonlinearity enables correlated parametric photon pair generation, through a spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) process, in flakes as thin as about 46 nm. To our knowledge, this is the first SPDC source unambiguously demonstrated in two-dimensional layered materials, and the thinnest SPDC source ever reported. Our work opens an avenue towards developing van der Waals material-based ultracompact on-chip SPDC sources as well as high-performance photon modulators in both classical and quantum optical technologies1-4.

Electrochemical Knocking-Down of Zn Metal Clusters into Single Atoms.

Single Atoms Catalysts (SACs) have emerged as a class of highly promising heterogeneous catalysts, where the traditional bottom-up synthesis approaches often encounter considerable challenges in relation to aggregation issues and poor stability. Consequently, achieving densely dispersed atomic species in a reliable and efficient manner remains a key focus in the field. Herein, we report a new facile electrochemical knock-down strategy for the formation of SACs, whereby the metal Zn clusters are transformed into single atoms. While a defect-rich substrate plays a pivotal role in capturing and stabilizing isolated Zn atoms, the feasibility of this novel strategy is demonstrated through a comprehensive investigation, combining experimental and theoretical studies. Furthermore, when studied in exploring for potential applications, the material prepared shows a remarkable improvement of 58.21% for the Li+ storage and delivers a capacity over 300 Wh kg-1 after 500 cycles upon the transformation of Zn clusters into single atoms.

Switch Volmer-Heyrovsky to Volmer-Tafel Pathway for Efficient Acidic Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution by Correlating Pt Single Atoms with Clusters.

As cost-effective catalysts, platinum (Pt) single-atom catalysts (SACs) have attracted substantial attention. However, most studies indicate that Pt SACs in acidic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) follow the slow Volmer-Heyrovsky (VH) mechanism instead of the fast kinetic Volmer-Tafel (VT) pathway. Here, this work propose that the VH mechanism in Pt SACs can be switched to the faster VT pathway for efficient HER by correlating Pt single atoms (SAs) with Pt clusters (Cs). Our calculations reveal that the correlation between Pt SAs and Cs significantly impacts the electronic structure of exposed Pt atoms, lowering the adsorption barrier for atomic hydrogen and enabling a faster VT mechanism. To validate these findings, this work purposely synthesize three catalysts: l-Pt@MoS2, m-Pt@MoS2 and h-Pt@MoS2 with low, moderate, and high Pt-loading, having different distributions of Pt SAs and Cs. The m-Pt@MoS2 catalyst with properly correlating Pt SAs and Cs exhibits outstanding performance with an overpotential of 47 mV and Tafel slope of 32 mV dec-1. Further analysis of the Tafel values confirms that the m-Pt@MoS2 sample indeed follows the VT reaction mechanism, aligning with the theoretical findings. This study offers a deep understanding of the synergistic mechanism, paving a way for designing novel-advanced catalysts.

Atomic Layers of B2 CuPd on Cu Nanocubes as Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation.

The search for highly active and selective catalysts with high precious metal atom utilization efficiency has attracted increasing interest in both the fundamental synthesis of materials and important industrial reactions. Here, we report the synthesis of Pd-Cu nanocubes with a Cu core and an ordered B2 intermetallic CuPd shell with controllable atomic layers on the surface (denoted as Cu/B2 CuPd), which can efficiently and robustly catalyze the selective hydrogenation of acetylene (C2H2) to ethylene (C2H4) under mild conditions. The optimized Cu/B2 CuPd with a Pd loading of 9.5 at. % exhibited outstanding performance in the C2H2 semi-hydrogenation with 100% C2H2 conversion and 95.2% C2H4 selectivity at 90 °C. We attributed this outstanding performance to the core/shell structure with a high surface density of active Pd sites isolated by Cu in the B2 intermetallic matrix, representing a structural motif of single-atom alloys (SAAs) on the surface. The combined experimental and computational studies further revealed that the electronic states of Pd and Cu are modulated by SAAs from the synergistic effect between Pd and Cu, leading to enhanced performance compared with pristine Pd and Cu catalysts. This study provides a new synthetic methodology for making single-atom catalysts with high precious metal atom utilization efficiency, enabling simultaneous tuning of both geometric and electronic structures of Pd active sites for enhanced catalysis.

Metal-Metal Oxide Catalytic Interface Formation and Structural Evolution: A Discovery of Strong Metal-Support Bonding, Ordered Intermetallics, and Single Atoms.

In-depth investigation of metal-metal oxide interactions and their corresponding evolution is of paramount importance to heterogeneous catalysis as it allows the understanding and maneuvering of the structure of catalytic motifs. Herein, using a series of core/shell metal/iron oxide (M/FeOx, M = Pd, Pt, Au) nanoparticles and through a combination of in situ and ex situ electron and X-ray investigations, we revealed anomalous and dissimilar M-FeOx interactions among different systems under reducing conditions. Pd interacts strongly with FeOx after high-temperature reductive treatment, featured by the formation of Pd single atoms in the FeOx matrix and increased Pd-Fe bonding, while Pt transforms into ordered PtFe intermetallics and Pt single atoms immediately upon the coating of FeOx. In contrast, Au does not manifest strong bonding with FeOx. As a proof of concept of tailoring metal-metal oxide interactions for catalysis, optimized Pd/FeOx demonstrates 100% conversion and 86.5% selectivity at 60 °C for acetylene semihydrogenation.

Size-Dependent Activity and Selectivity of Atomic-Level Copper Nanoclusters during CO/CO2 Electroreduction.

As a favorite descriptor, the size effect of Cu-based catalysts has been regularly utilized for activity and selectivity regulation toward CO2 /CO electroreduction reactions (CO2 /CORR). However, little progress has been made in regulating the size of Cu nanoclusters at the atomic level. Herein, the size-gradient Cu catalysts from single atoms (SAs) to subnanometric clusters (SCs, 0.5-1 nm) to nanoclusters (NCs, 1-1.5 nm) on graphdiyne matrix are readily prepared via an acetylenic-bond-directed site-trapping approach. Electrocatalytic measurements show a significant size effect in both the activity and selectivity toward CO2 /CORR. Increasing the size of Cu nanoclusters will improve catalytic activity and selectivity toward C2+ productions in CORR. A high C2+ conversion rate of 312 mA cm-2 with the Faradaic efficiency of 91.2 % are achieved at -1.0 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) over Cu NCs. The activity/selectivity-size relations provide a clear understanding of mechanisms in the CO2 /CORR at the atomic level.

Twinned Tungsten Carbonitride Nanocrystals Boost Hydrogen Evolution Activity and Stability.

Synergistic integration of two active metal-based compounds can lead to much higher electrocatalytic activity than either of the two individually, due to the interfacial effects. Herein, a proof-of-concept strategy is creatively developed for the successful fabrication of twinned tungsten carbonitride (WCN) nanocrystals, where W2 C and WN are chemically bonded at the molecule level. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy analyses demonstrate that the intergrowth of W2 C and WN in the WCN nanocrystals produces abundant N-W-C interfaces, leading to a significant enhancement in catalytic activity and stability for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Indeed, it shows 14.2 times higher and 140 mV lower in the respective turn-over frequency (TOF) and overpotential at 10 mA cm-2 compared to W2 C alone. To complement the experimental observation, the theoretical calculations demonstrate that the WCN endows more favorable hydrogen evolution reaction than the single W2 C or WN crystals due to abundant interfaces, beneficial electronic states, lower work function, and more active W sites at the N-W-C interfaces.

Strong Charge Transfer at 2H-1T Phase Boundary of MoS2 for Superb High-Performance Energy Storage.

Transition metal dichalcogenides exhibit several different phases (e.g., semiconducting 2H, metallic 1T, 1T') arising from the collective and sluggish atomic displacements rooted in the charge-lattice interaction. The coexistence of multiphase in a single sheet enables ubiquitous heterophase and inhomogeneous charge distribution. Herein, by combining the first-principles calculations and experimental investigations, a strong charge transfer ability at the heterophase boundary of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) assembled together with graphene is reported. By modulating the phase composition in MoS2 , the performance of the nanohybrid for energy storage can be modulated, whereby remarkable gravimetric and volumetric capacitances of 272 F g-1 and 685 F cm-3 are demonstrated. As a proof of concept for energy application, a flexible solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor is constructed with the MoS2 -graphene heterolayers, which shows superb energy and power densities (46.3 mWh cm-3 and 3.013 W cm-3 , respectively). The present work demonstrates a new pathway for efficient charge flow and application in energy storage by engineering the phase boundary and interface in 2D materials of transition metal dichalcogenides.

Correction to How Pt Influences H2 Reactions on High Surface-Area Pt/CeO2 Powder Catalyst Surfaces.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00330.].

Mechanistic Insights into the Synthesis of Nickel-Graphene Nanostructures for Gas Sensors.

Toxic gases are used in different types of industries and thus, present a potential health hazard. Therefore, highly sensitive gas sensing materials are essential for the safety of those operating in their environments. A process involving electrospinning polymer solutions impregnated with transition metal ions are developed to yield nanofibers that are annealed to form graphitic carbon / nickel nanoparticle-based fibers for gas sensing applications. The performance of these gas sensors is strongly related to the ability to control the material parameters of the active material. As the formation of these nanostructures, which nucleate within solid carbon scaffolds, have not been investigated, the growth mechanisms are look to understand in order to exert control over the resulting material. Evaluation of these growth mechanisms are conducted through a combination of thermogravimetric analysis with mass spectrometry (TGA-MS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and reveal nucleation of nickel at the onset of the polymer scaffold decomposition with subsequent growth processes, including surface diffusion, aggregation, coalescence and evaporation condensation, that are activated at different temperatures. Gas sensing experiments conducted on analyte gases demonstrate good sensitivity and response times, and significant potential for use in other energy and environmental applications.

Distribution of Pt single atom coordination environments on anatase TiO2 supports controls reactivity.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer efficient metal utilization and distinct reactivity compared to supported metal nanoparticles. Structure-function relationships for SACs often assume that active sites have uniform coordination environments at particular binding sites on support surfaces. Here, we investigate the distribution of coordination environments of Pt SAs dispersed on shape-controlled anatase TiO2 supports specifically exposing (001) and (101) surfaces. Pt SAs on (101) are found on the surface, consistent with existing structural models, whereas those on (001) are beneath the surface after calcination. Pt SAs under (001) surfaces exhibit lower reactivity for CO oxidation than those on (101) surfaces due to their limited accessibility to gas phase species. Pt SAs deposited on commercial-TiO2 are found both at the surface and in the bulk, posing challenges to structure-function relationship development. This study highlights heterogeneity in SA coordination environments on oxide supports, emphasizing a previously overlooked consideration in the design of SACs.

Alkali cation-induced cathodic corrosion in Cu electrocatalysts.

The reconstruction of Cu catalysts during electrochemical reduction of CO2 is a widely known but poorly understood phenomenon. Herein, we examine the structural evolution of Cu nanocubes under CO2 reduction reaction and its relevant reaction conditions using identical location transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, in situ X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Our results suggest that Cu catalysts reconstruct via a hitherto unexplored yet critical pathway - alkali cation-induced cathodic corrosion, when the electrode potential is more negative than an onset value (e.g., -0.4 VRHE when using 0.1 M KHCO3). Having alkali cations in the electrolyte is critical for such a process. Consequently, Cu catalysts will inevitably undergo surface reconstructions during a typical process of CO2 reduction reaction, resulting in dynamic catalyst morphologies. While having these reconstructions does not necessarily preclude stable electrocatalytic reactions, they will indeed prohibit long-term selectivity and activity enhancement by controlling the morphology of Cu pre-catalysts. Alternatively, by operating Cu catalysts at less negative potentials in the CO electrochemical reduction, we show that Cu nanocubes can provide a much more stable selectivity advantage over spherical Cu nanoparticles.

Synergizing Fe2O3 Nanoparticles on Single Atom Fe-N-C for Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia at Industrial Current Densities.

The electrochemical reduction of nitrates (NO3 -) enables a pathway for the carbon neutral synthesis of ammonia (NH3), via the nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR), which has been demonstrated at high selectivity. However, to make NH3 synthesis cost-competitive with current technologies, high NH3 partial current densities (jNH3) must be achieved to reduce the levelized cost of NH3. Here, the high NO3RR activity of Fe-based materials is leveraged to synthesize a novel active particle-active support system with Fe2O3 nanoparticles supported on atomically dispersed Fe-N-C. The optimized 3×Fe2O3/Fe-N-C catalyst demonstrates an ultrahigh NO3RR activity, reaching a maximum jNH3 of 1.95 A cm-2 at a Faradaic efficiency (FE) for NH3 of 100% and an NH3 yield rate over 9 mmol hr-1 cm-2. Operando XANES and post-mortem XPS reveal the importance of a pre-reduction activation step, reducing the surface Fe2O3 (Fe3+) to highly active Fe0 sites, which are maintained during electrolysis. Durability studies demonstrate the robustness of both the Fe2O3 particles and Fe-Nx sites at highly cathodic potentials, maintaining a current of -1.3 A cm-2 over 24 hours. This work exhibits an effective and durable active particle-active support system enhancing the performance of the NO3RR, enabling industrially relevant current densities and near 100% selectivity.

How Pt Influences H2 Reactions on High Surface-Area Pt/CeO2 Powder Catalyst Surfaces.

The addition of platinum-group metals (PGMs, e.g., Pt) to CeO2 is used in heterogeneous catalysis to promote the rate of redox surface reactions. Well-defined model system studies have shown that PGMs facilitate H2 dissociation, H-spillover onto CeO2 surfaces, and CeO2 surface reduction. However, it remains unclear how the heterogeneous structures and interfaces that exist on powder catalysts influence the mechanistic picture of PGM-promoted H2 reactions on CeO2 surfaces developed from model system studies. Here, controlled catalyst synthesis, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), in situ infrared spectroscopy (IR), and in situ electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) were used to interrogate the mechanisms of how Pt nanoclusters and single atoms influence H2 reactions on high-surface area Pt/CeO2 powder catalysts. TPR showed that Pt promotes H2 consumption rates on Pt/CeO2 even when Pt exists on a small fraction of CeO2 particles, suggesting that H-spillover proceeds far from Pt-CeO2 interfaces and across CeO2-CeO2 particle interfaces. IR and EELS measurements provided evidence that Pt changes the mechanism of H2 activation and the rate limiting step for Ce3+, oxygen vacancy, and water formation as compared to pure CeO2. As a result, higher-saturation surface hydroxyl coverages can be achieved on Pt/CeO2 compared to pure CeO2. Further, Ce3+ formed by spillover-H from Pt is heterogeneously distributed and localized at and around interparticle CeO2-CeO2 boundaries, while activated H2 on pure CeO2 results in homogeneously distributed Ce3+. Ce3+ localization at and around CeO2-CeO2 boundaries for Pt/CeO2 is accompanied by surface reconstruction that enables faster rates of H2 consumption. This study reconciles the materials gap between model structures and powder catalysts for H2 reactions with Pt/CeO2 and highlights how the spatial heterogeneity of powder catalysts dictates the influence of Pt on H2 reactions at CeO2 surfaces.

Insight into Key Parameters for Fabricating Stable Single-Atom Pt-Nix Alloy by Reduction Environment-Induced Anti-Ostwald Effects.

Developing single-atom catalysts with superior stability under reduction conditions is essential for hydrogenation/dehydrogenation catalysis and green hydrogen generation. In this contribution, single-atom Pt catalysts were achieved via a reduction environment-induced anti-Ostwald approach in the highly confined Ni species (Pt-Nix ) on nonreducible Al2 O3 matrix. In-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy indicated that the isolated Pt-Nix metallic bonds, generated at high reduction temperature, dominated the formation of single Pt atoms. A relatively large cluster of metallic Ni would benefit the stabilization of Pt single atom as observed via high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and validated by density functional theory simulation. Excellent performance on cellulose hydrogenolysis was demonstrated under harsh reductive and hydrothermal conditions, potentially expandable to other hydrogen involved reactions like CO2 hydrogenation, green hydrogen production from different hydrogen carriers, and beyond.

Elucidating electrochemical nitrate and nitrite reduction over atomically-dispersed transition metal sites.

Electrocatalytic reduction of waste nitrates (NO3-) enables the synthesis of ammonia (NH3) in a carbon neutral and decentralized manner. Atomically dispersed metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) catalysts demonstrate a high catalytic activity and uniquely favor mono-nitrogen products. However, the reaction fundamentals remain largely underexplored. Herein, we report a set of 14; 3d-, 4d-, 5d- and f-block M-N-C catalysts. The selectivity and activity of NO3- reduction to NH3 in neutral media, with a specific focus on deciphering the role of the NO2- intermediate in the reaction cascade, reveals strong correlations (R=0.9) between the NO2- reduction activity and NO3- reduction selectivity for NH3. Moreover, theoretical computations reveal the associative/dissociative adsorption pathways for NO2- evolution, over the normal M-N4 sites and their oxo-form (O-M-N4) for oxyphilic metals. This work provides a platform for designing multi-element NO3RR cascades with single-atom sites or their hybridization with extended catalytic surfaces.

Ferromagnetic single-atom spin catalyst for boosting water splitting.

Heterogeneous single-atom spin catalysts combined with magnetic fields provide a powerful means for accelerating chemical reactions with enhanced metal utilization and reaction efficiency. However, designing these catalysts remains challenging due to the need for a high density of atomically dispersed active sites with a short-range quantum spin exchange interaction and long-range ferromagnetic ordering. Here, we devised a scalable hydrothermal approach involving an operando acidic environment for synthesizing various single-atom spin catalysts with widely tunable substitutional magnetic atoms (M1) in a MoS2 host. Among all the M1/MoS2 species, Ni1/MoS2 adopts a distorted tetragonal structure that prompts both ferromagnetic coupling to nearby S atoms as well as adjacent Ni1 sites, resulting in global room-temperature ferromagnetism. Such coupling benefits spin-selective charge transfer in oxygen evolution reactions to produce triplet O2. Furthermore, a mild magnetic field of ~0.5 T enhances the oxygen evolution reaction magnetocurrent by ~2,880% over Ni1/MoS2, leading to excellent activity and stability in both seawater and pure water splitting cells. As supported by operando characterizations and theoretical calculations, a great magnetic-field-enhanced oxygen evolution reaction performance over Ni1/MoS2 is attributed to a field-induced spin alignment and spin density optimization over S active sites arising from field-regulated S(p)-Ni(d) hybridization, which in turn optimizes the adsorption energies for radical intermediates to reduce overall reaction barriers.