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Selective CO 2 electrolysis to CO using isolated antimony alloyed copper. Nat Commun 2023; 14:340. [PMID: 36670129 PMCID: PMC9860050 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35960-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Renewable electricity-powered CO evolution from CO2 emissions is a promising first step in the sustainable production of commodity chemicals, but performing electrochemical CO2 reduction economically at scale is challenging since only noble metals, for example, gold and silver, have shown high performance for CO2-to-CO. Cu is a potential catalyst to achieve CO2 reduction to CO at the industrial scale, but the C-C coupling process on Cu significantly depletes CO* intermediates, thus limiting the CO evolution rate and producing many hydrocarbon and oxygenate mixtures. Herein, we tune the CO selectivity of Cu by alloying a second metal Sb into Cu, and report an antimony-copper single-atom alloy catalyst (Sb1Cu) of isolated Sb-Cu interfaces that catalyzes the efficient conversion of CO2-to-CO with a Faradaic efficiency over 95%. The partial current density reaches 452 mA cm-2 with approximately 91% CO Faradaic efficiency, and negligible C2+ products are observed. In situ spectroscopic measurements and theoretical simulations reason that the atomic Sb-Cu interface in Cu promotes CO2 adsorption/activation and weakens the binding strength of CO*, which ends up with enhanced CO selectivity and production rates.
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Myneni H, Jónsson EÖ, Jónsson H, Dohn AO. Polarizable Force Field for Acetonitrile Based on the Single-Center Multipole Expansion. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:9339-9348. [PMID: 36343220 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
A polarizable potential function describing the interaction between acetonitrile molecules is introduced. The molecules are described as rigid and linear, with three mass sites corresponding to the CH3 group (methyl, Me), the central carbon atom (C), and the nitrogen atom (N). The electrostatic interaction is represented using a single-center multipole expansion as has been done previously for H2O [Wikfeldt et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 15, 16542 (2013)], by including multipole moments from dipole up to and including hexadecapole, as well as anisotropic dipole-dipole, dipole-quadrupole, and quadrupole-quadrupole polarizability tensors. The model is free of point charges. The non-electrostatic part is described in a pair-wise fashion by a Born-Mayer repulsion and damped dispersion attraction. The potential function is parameterized to fit the interaction energy of small (CH3CN)n, n = 2-6, clusters calculated using the PBE0 hybrid functional with an additional atomic many-body dispersion contribution. The parameterized potential function is found to compare well with results of the electronic structure calculations of dissociation curves for different dimer orientations and cohesive properties (the equilibrium volume, cohesive energy, and the bulk modulus) of the α-phase of acetonitrile crystal. The average value of the molecular dipole moment obtained in the α-phase is 5.53 D, corresponding to ca. 40% increase as compared to the dipole moment of an isolated acetonitrile molecule, 3.92 D. The calculated densities of solid and liquid acetonitrile turn out to be 8-10% higher than experimental values. This appears to be caused by an overestimate of the atomic many-body dispersion interaction in the density functional calculations used as input in the parametrization of the potential function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hemanadhan Myneni
- Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland VR-III, 107Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Elvar Örn Jónsson
- Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland VR-III, 107Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Hannes Jónsson
- Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland VR-III, 107Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Asmus Ougaard Dohn
- Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland VR-III, 107Reykjavík, Iceland
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Insights of Fe2O3 and MoO3 Electrodes for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction in Aprotic Media. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232113367. [DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Transition metal oxides (TMO) have been successfully used as electrocatalytically active materials for CO2 reduction in some studies. Because of the lack of understanding of the catalytic behavior of TMOs, electrochemical methods are used to investigate the CO2 reduction in thin-film nanostructured electrodes. In this context, nanostructured thin films of Fe2O3 and MoO3 in an aprotic medium of acetonitrile have been used to study the CO2 reduction reaction. In addition, a synergistic effect between CO2 and the TMO surface is observed. Faradic cathodic processes not only start at lower potentials than those reported with metal electrodes, but also an increase in capacitive currents is observed, which is directly related to an increase in oxygen vacancies. Finally, the results obtained show CO as a product of the reduction.
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Abstract
An annual increase of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere causes global environmental problems, addressed by systematic research to develop effective technologies for capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide. Electrochemical catalytic reduction is one of the effective directions of CO2 conversion into valuable chemicals and fuels. The electrochemical conversion of CO2 at catalytically active electrodes in aqueous solutions is the most studied. However, the problems of low selectivity for target products and hydrogen evolution are unresolved. Literature sources on CO2 reduction at catalytically active cathodes in nonaqueous mediums, particularly in organic aprotic solvents, are analyzed in this article. Two directions of cathodic reduction of CO2 are considered—nonaqueous organic aprotic solvents and organic aprotic solvents containing water. The current interpretation of the cathodic conversion mechanism of carbon (IV) oxide into CO and organic products and the main factors influencing the rate of CO2 reduction, Faradaic efficiency of conversion products, and the ratio of direct cathodic reduction of CO2 are given. The influence of the nature of organic aprotic solvent is analyzed, including the topography of the catalytically active cathode, values of cathode potential, and temperature. Emphasis is placed on the role of water impurities in reducing CO2 electroreduction overpotentials and the formation of new CO2 conversion products, including formate and H2.
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Cencer M, Li C, Agarwal G, Gomes Neto RJ, Amanchukwu CV, Assary RS. Interactions of CO 2 Anion Radicals with Electrolyte Environments from First-Principles Simulations. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:18131-18138. [PMID: 35664611 PMCID: PMC9161390 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c01733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Successful transformation of carbon dioxide (CO2) into value-added products is of great interest, as it contributes in part to the circular carbon economy. Understanding chemical interactions that stabilize crucial reaction intermediates of CO2 is important, and in this contribution, we employ atom centered density matrix propagation (ADMP) molecular dynamics simulations to investigate interactions between CO2 - anion radicals with surrounding solvent molecules and electrolyte cations in both aqueous and nonaqueous environments. We show how different cations and solvents affect the stability of the CO2 - anion radical by examining its angle and distance to a coordinating cation in molecular dynamics simulations. We identify that the strength of CO2 - interactions can be tailored through choosing an appropriate cation and solvent combination. We anticipate that this fundamental understanding of cation/solvent interactions can facilitate the optimization of a chemical pathway that results from selective stabilization of a crucial reaction intermediate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan
M. Cencer
- Materials
Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Chenyang Li
- Materials
Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Garvit Agarwal
- Materials
Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Reginaldo Jose Gomes Neto
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, The University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Chibueze V. Amanchukwu
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, The University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
- Chemical
Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne
National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Rajeev S. Assary
- Materials
Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
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Kant R, Mishra GK. Theory for nanoscale curvature induced enhanced inactivation kinetics of SARS-CoV-2. NANOSCALE 2022; 14:5600-5611. [PMID: 35348150 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr08390b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We develop a novel theory for the nanomorphology dependent outer sphere heterogeneous electron transfer (ET) rate constant () based on an energy level alignment approach. is modelled through the activation free energy, which is a product of the water monolayer covered metal work function (WF) and the fractional electronic charge exchanged at the transition state (attained through the alignment of the metal Fermi and HOMO/LUMO energy levels of the electroactive species). The theory shows that is an exponentially increasing and decreasing function of the mean curvature in concave and convex nanomorphologies, respectively, for electroactive species or proteins involving their HOMO energy. For the specific spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, we have estimated the half lifetime (t1/2) and degree of inactivation as a function of the metal WF, nanostructure mean curvature, spike protein HOMO energy, and the environmental temperature (T). By varying the metal from Ag to Au, t1/2 is reduced from 7 h to 4 min, respectively. The reduction in the copper nanoparticle size from 50 to 5 nm increases the degree of inactivation from 60 to 99.6% (with a reduction factor of 10 in t1/2). Similarly, the increase in T from 10 °C to 65 °C causes a 100 times lowering of the t1/2 and t99.9% of SARS-CoV-2 on Cu metal. The theory predicts that involving the HOMO energy level of a protein follows the surface nanostructure shape dependent order as follows: spherical nanoparticle > cylindrical nanorod > cylindrical nanopore > spherical nanocavity, while the opposite trend is observed in the case of the LUMO energy level participation. Finally, the theory shows agreement with the reported experimental data of the degree of inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 on Ag and Cu nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rama Kant
- Complex Systems Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India.
| | - Gaurav Kumar Mishra
- Complex Systems Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India.
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Smith RS, Tylinski M, Kimmel GA, Kay BD. Crystallization kinetics of amorphous acetonitrile nanoscale films. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:144703. [PMID: 33858151 DOI: 10.1063/5.0045461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We measure the isothermal crystallization kinetics of amorphous acetonitrile films using molecular beam dosing and reflection adsorption infrared spectroscopy techniques. Experiments on a graphene covered Pt(111) substrate revealed that the crystallization rate slows dramatically during long time periods and that the overall kinetics cannot be described by a simple application of the Avrami equation. The crystallization kinetics also have a thickness dependence with the thinner films crystallizing much slower than the thicker ones. Additional experiments showed that decane layers at both the substrate and vacuum interfaces can also affect the crystallization rates. A comparison of the crystallization rates for CH3CN and CD3CN films showed only an isotope effect of ∼1.09. When amorphous films were deposited on a crystalline film, the crystalline layer did not act as a template for the formation of a crystalline growth front. These overall results suggest that the crystallization kinetics are complicated, indicating the possibility of multiple nucleation and growth mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Scott Smith
- Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA
| | - M Tylinski
- Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA
| | - Greg A Kimmel
- Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA
| | - Bruce D Kay
- Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA
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