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Peng X, Zhang M, Zhang T, Zhou Y, Ni J, Wang X, Jiang L. Single-atom and cluster catalysts for thermocatalytic ammonia synthesis at mild conditions. Chem Sci 2024; 15:5897-5915. [PMID: 38665515 PMCID: PMC11041362 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc06998b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Ammonia (NH3) is closely related to the fields of food and energy that humans depend on. The exploitation of advanced catalysts for NH3 synthesis has been a research hotspot for more than one hundred years. Previous studies have shown that the Ru B5 sites (step sites on the Ru (0001) surface uniquely arranged with five Ru atoms) and Fe C7 sites (iron atoms with seven nearest neighbors) over nanoparticle catalysts are highly reactive for N2-to-NH3 conversion. In recent years, single-atom and cluster catalysts, where the B5 sites and C7 sites are absent, have emerged as promising catalysts for efficient NH3 synthesis. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in single-atom and cluster catalysts, including single-atom catalysts (SACs), single-cluster catalysts (SCCs), and bimetallic-cluster catalysts (BCCs), for thermocatalytic NH3 synthesis at mild conditions. In addition, we discussed and summarized the unique structural properties and reaction performance as well as reaction mechanisms over single-atom and cluster catalysts in comparison with traditional nanoparticle catalysts. Finally, the challenges and prospects in the rational design of efficient single-atom and cluster catalysts for NH3 synthesis were provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanbei Peng
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University Fuzhou Fujian 350002 China
- Qingyuan Innovat Lab Quanzhou Fujian 362801 China
| | - Mingyuan Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University Fuzhou Fujian 350002 China
| | - Tianhua Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University Fuzhou Fujian 350002 China
| | - Yanliang Zhou
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University Fuzhou Fujian 350002 China
- Qingyuan Innovat Lab Quanzhou Fujian 362801 China
| | - Jun Ni
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University Fuzhou Fujian 350002 China
| | - Xiuyun Wang
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University Fuzhou Fujian 350002 China
- Qingyuan Innovat Lab Quanzhou Fujian 362801 China
| | - Lilong Jiang
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University Fuzhou Fujian 350002 China
- Qingyuan Innovat Lab Quanzhou Fujian 362801 China
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Gao Y, Li Q, Yin Z, Wang H, Wei Z, Gao J. Transition metal small clusters anchored on biphenylene for effective electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:6991-7000. [PMID: 38344948 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp05763a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
The synthesis of ammonia via an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR, N2 + 6H+ + 6e- → 2NH3), which can weaken but not directly break an inert NN bond under mild conditions via multiple progressive protonation steps, has been proposed as one of the most attractive alternatives for the production of NH3. However, the development of appropriate catalyst materials is a major challenge in the application of NRRs. Recently, single- or multi-metal atoms anchored on two-dimensional (2D) substrates have been demonstrated as ideal candidates for facilitating NRRs. In this work, by applying spin-polarized density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamic simulations, we systematically explored the performances of nine types of transition metal multi-atoms anchored on a recently developed 2D biphenylene (BPN) sheet in nitrogen reduction. Structural stability and NRR performance catalyzed by TMn (TM = V, Fe, Ni, Mo, Ru, Rh, W, Re, Ir; n = 1-4) clusters anchored on BPN sheets were systematically explored. After a strict six-step screening strategy, it was found that W2, Ru2 and Mo4 clusters loaded on BPN demonstrate superior potential for nitrogen reduction with extremely low onset potentials of -0.26, -0.36 and -0.17 V, respectively. Electronic structure analysis revealed that the enhanced ability of these multi-atom catalysts to effectively capture and reduce the N2 molecule can be attributed to bidirectional charge transfer between the d orbitals of transition metal atoms and molecular orbitals of the adsorbed N2 through a "donation-back donation" mechanism. Our findings highlight the value of BPN sheets as a substrate for designing multi-atom nitrogen reduction reaction catalysts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Gao
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
- Department of Physics, College of Science, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
| | - Qingchen Li
- Department of Physics, College of Science, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
| | - Zhilii Yin
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
| | - Haifeng Wang
- Department of Physics, College of Science, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
| | - Zhong Wei
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
| | - Junfeng Gao
- Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of Education, Dalian 116024, China.
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Kamiguchi S, Asakura K, Shibayama T, Yokaichiya T, Ikeda T, Nakayama A, Shimizu KI, Hou Z. Catalytic ammonia synthesis on HY-zeolite-supported angstrom-size molybdenum cluster. Chem Sci 2024; 15:2914-2922. [PMID: 38404367 PMCID: PMC10882513 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc05447k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The development of new catalysts with high N2 activation ability is an effective approach for low-temperature ammonia synthesis. Herein, we report a novel angstrom-size molybdenum metal cluster catalyst for efficient ammonia synthesis. This catalyst is prepared by the impregnation of a molybdenum halide cluster complex with an octahedral Mo6 metal core on HY zeolite, followed by the removal of all the halide ligands by activation with hydrogen. In this activation, the size of the Mo6 cluster (ca. 7 Å) is almost retained. The resulting angstrom-size cluster shows catalytic activity for ammonia synthesis from N2 and H2, and the reaction proceeds continuously even at 200 °C under 5.0 MPa. DFT calculations suggest that N[triple bond, length as m-dash]N bond cleavage is promoted by the cooperation of the multiple molybdenum sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Kamiguchi
- Advanced Catalysis Research Group, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
- Organometallic Chemistry Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
| | - Kiyotaka Asakura
- Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University Sapporo 001-0021 Japan
| | - Tamaki Shibayama
- Center for Advanced Research of Energy Conversion Materials, Hokkaido University Sapporo 060-8628 Japan
| | - Tomoko Yokaichiya
- Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo Tokyo 113-8656 Japan
| | - Tatsushi Ikeda
- Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo Tokyo 113-8656 Japan
| | - Akira Nakayama
- Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo Tokyo 113-8656 Japan
| | - Ken-Ichi Shimizu
- Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University Sapporo 001-0021 Japan
| | - Zhaomin Hou
- Advanced Catalysis Research Group, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
- Organometallic Chemistry Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
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Su K, Huang D, Fang H, Zhou Y, Qi H, Ni J, Zheng L, Lin J, Wang X, Jiang L. Boosting N 2 Conversion into NH 3 over Ru Catalysts via Modulating the Ru-Promoter Interface. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023. [PMID: 38015642 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c12531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Promoters are indispensable components of Ru-based catalysts to promote N2 activation in ammonia (NH3) synthesis. The rational addition and regulation of promoters play a critical role in affecting the NH3 synthesis rate. In this work, we report a simple method by altering the loading sequence of Ba and Ru species to modulate the Ru-promoter interface, thus significantly boosting the NH3 synthesis rate. The Ba-Ru/GC BM catalyst via the prior loading of Ba rather than Ru over graphitic carbon (GC) exhibits a high NH3 synthesis rate of 18.7 mmol gcat-1 h-1 at 400 °C and 1 MPa, which is 2.5 times that of the Ru-Ba/GC BM catalyst via the conventional prior loading of Ru rather than Ba on GC. Our studies reveal that the prior loading of Ba benefits the high dispersion of the basic Ba promoter over an electron-withdrawing GC support, and then Ba species serve as structural promoters to stabilize Ru with small particle sizes, which exposes more active sites for N2 activation. Additionally, the intimate Ba and Ru interface enables facile electron donation from Ba to Ru sites, thus accelerating N2 dissociation to realize efficient NH3 synthesis. This work provides a simple approach to modulating the Ru-promoter interface and maximizing promoter utilization to enhance NH3 synthesis performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kailin Su
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Dongya Huang
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Hongpeng Fang
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Yanliang Zhou
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Haifeng Qi
- Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V., Rostock 18059, Germany
| | - Jun Ni
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Lirong Zheng
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100864, China
| | - Jianxin Lin
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Xiuyun Wang
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Lilong Jiang
- National Engineering Research Center of Chemical Fertilizer Catalyst, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
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Fan S, Zhao F, Wang X, Wang Q, Zhao Q, Li J, Liu G. Phosphorus-doped potassium peroxyniobate electrocatalyst with enriched oxygen vacancy boosts electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia. Dalton Trans 2022; 51:11163-11168. [DOI: 10.1039/d2dt01501c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Electrochemical ammonia synthesis is an environmentally friendly method for ammonia production, but still impeded by the bottleneck of N2 activation and challenging hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Rational design and develop...
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