The rational design of single-atom catalysts for electrochemical ammonia synthesis via a descriptor-based approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (33) ◽  
pp. 17078-17088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Long ◽  
Xiaoyan Fu ◽  
Jianping Xiao

The descriptor-based approach was generalized to the rational design of single-atom catalysts.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingjie Yang ◽  
Yanhui Yu ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Qingrong Chen ◽  
Yanlian Du ◽  
...  

AbstractThe investigation of highly effective, durable, and cost-effective electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a prerequisite for the upcoming hydrogen energy society. To establish a new hydrogen energy system and gradually replace the traditional fossil-based energy, electrochemical water-splitting is considered the most promising, environmentally friendly, and efficient way to produce pure hydrogen. Compared with the commonly used platinum (Pt)-based catalysts, ruthenium (Ru) is expected to be a good alternative because of its similar hydrogen bonding energy, lower water decomposition barrier, and considerably lower price. Analyzing and revealing the HER mechanisms, as well as identifying a rational design of Ru-based HER catalysts with desirable activity and stability is indispensable. In this review, the research progress on HER electrocatalysts and the relevant describing parameters for HER performance are briefly introduced. Moreover, four major strategies to improve the performance of Ru-based electrocatalysts, including electronic effect modulation, support engineering, structure design, and maximum utilization (single atom) are discussed. Finally, the challenges, solutions and prospects are highlighted to prompt the practical applications of Ru-based electrocatalysts for HER.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinsun Lee ◽  
Xinghui Liu ◽  
Ashwani Kumar ◽  
Yosep Hwang ◽  
Eunji Lee ◽  
...  

This work highlights the importance of a rational design for more energetically suitable nitrogen reduction reaction routes and mechanisms by regulating the electronic band structures with phase-selective defect sites.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panlong Zhai ◽  
Mingyue Xia ◽  
Yunzhen Wu ◽  
Guanghui Zhang ◽  
Junfeng Gao ◽  
...  

AbstractRational design of single atom catalyst is critical for efficient sustainable energy conversion. However, the atomic-level control of active sites is essential for electrocatalytic materials in alkaline electrolyte. Moreover, well-defined surface structures lead to in-depth understanding of catalytic mechanisms. Herein, we report a single-atomic-site ruthenium stabilized on defective nickel-iron layered double hydroxide nanosheets (Ru1/D-NiFe LDH). Under precise regulation of local coordination environments of catalytically active sites and the existence of the defects, Ru1/D-NiFe LDH delivers an ultralow overpotential of 18 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for hydrogen evolution reaction, surpassing the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Density functional theory calculations reveal that Ru1/D-NiFe LDH optimizes the adsorption energies of intermediates for hydrogen evolution reaction and promotes the O–O coupling at a Ru–O active site for oxygen evolution reaction. The Ru1/D-NiFe LDH as an ideal model reveals superior water splitting performance with potential for the development of promising water-alkali electrocatalysts.


Author(s):  
Jieying Wan ◽  
Jiageng Zheng ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Angjian Wu ◽  
Xiaodong Li

Ammonia is a vital base molecule for modern agriculture and industry. As the commercially-mature approach for NH3 production, the traditional Haber–Bosch process has achieved great success; however, it also suffers...


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1803689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Delowar Hossain ◽  
Zhenjing Liu ◽  
Minghao Zhuang ◽  
Xingxu Yan ◽  
Gui-Liang Xu ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Cheng Liu ◽  
Hai Xiao ◽  
Xiao-Kun Zhao ◽  
Nan-Nan Zhang ◽  
Yuan Liu ◽  
...  

<p>While single-atom catalysts (SACs) have achieved great success in the past decade, their application is potentially limited by the simplistic single-atom active centers, which makes single-cluster catalysts (SCCs) a natural extension. SCCs with precise numbers of atoms and structural configurations possess SAC’s merits, yet have greater potentials for catalyzing complex reactions and/or bulky reactants. Through systematic quantum-chemical studies and computational screening, we report here the rational design of transition metal trimer clusters anchored on graphdiyne as a novel kind of stable SCCs with great potentials for efficient and precise heterogenous catalysis. By investigating their structures and catalytic performance for oxygen reduction reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reactions, we provide theoretical guidelines for their potential applications as heterogeneous catalysts. These graphdiyne supported SCCs provide an ideal benchmark scaffold for rational design of precise catalysts for industrially important chemical reactions. </p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guokui Zheng ◽  
Ziqi Tian ◽  
Xingwang Zhang ◽  
Liang Chen ◽  
Xu Qian ◽  
...  

<p></p><p>Exploring electrocatalyst with high activity, selectivity and stability is essential for development of applicable electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis technology. By performing density functional theory calculations, we systematically investigated a series of transition-metal doped Au-based single atom alloys (SAAs) as promising electrocatalysts for nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). For Au-based electrocatalyst, the first hydrogenation step (*N<sub>2</sub>→*NNH) normally determines the limiting potential of the overall reaction process. Compared with pristine Au(111) surface, introducing single atom can significantly enhance the binding strength of N<sub>2</sub>, leading to decreased energy barrier of the key step, i.e., ΔG(*N<sub>2</sub>→*NNH). According to simulation results, three descriptors were proposed to describe ΔG(*N<sub>2</sub>→*NNH), including ΔG(*NNH), <i>d</i>-band center, and . Eight doped elements (Ti, V, Nb, Ru, Ta, Os, W, and Mo) were initially screened out with limiting potential ranging from -0.75V to -0.30 V. Particularly, Mo- and W-doped systems possess the best activity with limiting potentials of -0.30 V, respectively. Then the intrinsic relationship between structure and the potential performance was further analyzed by using machine-learning. The selectivity, feasibility, stability of these candidates were also evaluated, confirming that SAA containing Mo, Ru ,Ta, and W could be outstanding NRR electrocatalysts. This work not only broadens the understating of SAA application in electrocatalysis, but also devotes to the discovery of novel NRR electrocatalysts.</p><br><p></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junjie Li ◽  
Ya-fei Jiang ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
Cong-Qiao Xu ◽  
Duojie Wu ◽  
...  

AbstractSingle-atom catalysts (SACs) have been applied in many fields due to their superior catalytic performance. Because of the unique properties of the single-atom-site, using the single atoms as catalysts to synthesize SACs is promising. In this work, we have successfully achieved Co1 SAC using Pt1 atoms as catalysts. More importantly, this synthesis strategy can be extended to achieve Fe and Ni SACs as well. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) results demonstrate that the achieved Fe, Co, and Ni SACs are in a M1-pyrrolic N4 (M= Fe, Co, and Ni) structure. Density functional theory (DFT) studies show that the Co(Cp)2 dissociation is enhanced by Pt1 atoms, thus leading to the formation of Co1 atoms instead of nanoparticles. These SACs are also evaluated under hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and the nature of active sites under HER are unveiled by the operando XAS studies. These new findings extend the application fields of SACs to catalytic fabrication methodology, which is promising for the rational design of advanced SACs.


Author(s):  
Xin-Chen Zhu ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Qian Xia ◽  
Anfu Hu ◽  
Jian Jiang ◽  
...  

To study the effect of coordination field on catalytic property is critical for rational design of outstanding electrocatalyst for H2O2 synthesis. Herein, via density functional theory calculations, we built an...


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