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Pan L, Kang X, Gao S, Duan X. Design of Single-Atom Catalysts on C 5N 2 for Nitrogen Fixation at Ambient Conditions: A First-Principles Study. Chemistry 2024:e202401675. [PMID: 38842477 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202401675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2024] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Single atom catalysts (SACs) exhibit the flexible coordination structure of the active site and high utilization of active atoms, making them promising candidates for nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions. By the aid of first-principles calculations based on DFT, we have systematically explored the NRR catalytic behavior of thirteen 4d- and 5d-transition metal atoms anchored on 2D porous graphite carbon nitride C5 ${_5 }$ N2 ${_2 }$ . With high selectivity and outstanding activity, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ta, W and Re-doped C5 ${_5 }$ N2 ${_2 }$ are identified as potential nominees for NRR. Particularly, Mo@C5 ${_5 }$ N2 ${_2 }$ possesses an impressive low limiting potential of -0.39 V (corresponding to a very low temperature and atmospheric pressure), featuring the potential determining step involving *N-N transitions to *N-NH via the distal path. The catalytic performance of TM@C5 ${_5 }$ N2 ${_2 }$ can be well characterized by the adsorption strength of intermediate *N2 ${_2 }$ H. Moreover, there exists a volcanic relationship between the catalytic property UL ${_{\rm{L}} }$ and the structure descriptor Ψ ${{{\Psi }}}$ , which validates the robustness and universality of Ψ ${{{\Psi }}}$ , combined with our previous study. This work sheds light on the design of SACs with eminent NRR performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liying Pan
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China
| | - Xuxin Kang
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China
| | - Shan Gao
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China
- Laboratory of Clean Energy Storage and Conversion, Ningbo, 315211, China
| | - Xiangmei Duan
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China
- Laboratory of Clean Energy Storage and Conversion, Ningbo, 315211, China
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2
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Kagdada HL, Jain A. Impact of Vacancy Defects on Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reaction Performance of MXenes. Chemphyschem 2024; 25:e202300993. [PMID: 38369607 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202300993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
We investigated electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (eNRR) on MXenes consisting of the vacancy defects in the functional layer using density functional theory calculations. We considered Mo2C, W2C, Mo2N, and W2N MXenes with F, N, and O functionalization and investigated distal and alternative associative pathways. We analyzed these MXenes for eNRR based on N2 adsorption energy, NH3 desorption energy, NRR selectivity, and electrochemical limiting potential. While we find that most of the considered MXenes surfaces are more favorable for eNRR compared to hydrogen evolution, these surfaces also have strong NH3 binding (>-1.0 eV) and thus will be covered with NH3 during operating conditions. Amongst all considered MXenes, only W2NF2 is found to have a low NH3 desorption energy along with low eNRR overpotential and selectivity towards eNRR. The obtained eNRR overpotential and NH3 desorption energy on W2NF2 are superior to those reported for pristine W2N3 as well as functionalized MXenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hardik L Kagdada
- Mechanical Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India
| | - Ankit Jain
- Mechanical Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India
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3
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Alhowity S, Balogun K, Ganesan A, Lund CJ, Omolere O, Adesope Q, Chukwunenye P, Amagbor SC, Anwar F, Altafi MK, D'Souza F, Cundari TR, Kelber JA. Niobium Carbide and Tantalum Carbide as Nitrogen Reduction Electrocatalysts: Catalytic Activity, Carbophilicity, and the Importance of Intermediate Oxidation States. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:2180-2192. [PMID: 38174907 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c11683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Significant interest in the electrocatalytic reduction of molecular nitrogen to ammonia (the nitrogen reduction reaction: NRR) has focused attention on transition metal carbides as possible electrocatalysts. However, a fundamental understanding of carbide surface structure/NRR reactivity relationships is sparse. Herein, electrochemistry, DFT-based calculations, and in situ photoemission studies demonstrate that NbC, deposited by magnetron sputter deposition, is active for NRR at pH 3.2 but only after immersion of an ambient-induced Nb2O5 surface layer in 0.3 M NaOH, which leaves Nb suboxides with niobium in intermediate formal oxidation states. Photoemission data, however, show that polarization to -1.3 V vs Ag/AgCl restores the Nb2O5 overlayer, correlating with electrochemical measurements showing inhibition of NRR activity under these conditions. In contrast, a similar treatment of a sputter-deposited TaC sample in 0.3 M NaOH fails to reduce the ambient-induced Ta2O5 surface layer, and TaC is inactive for NRR at potentials more positive than -1.0 V even though a significant cathodic current is observed. A TaC sample with surface oxide partially reduced by Ar ion sputtering in UHV prior to in situ transfer to UHV exhibits a restored Ta2O5 surface layer after electrochemical polarization to -1.0 V vs Ag/AgCl. The electrochemical and photoemission results are in accord with DFT-based calculations indicating greater N≡N bond activation for N2 bound end-on to Nb(IV) and Nb(III) sites than for N2 bound end-on to Nb(V) sites. Thus, theory and experiment demonstrate that with respect to NbC, the formation and stabilization of intermediate (non-d0) oxidation states for surface transition metal ions is critical for N≡N bond activation and NRR activity. Additionally, the Nb suboxide surface, formed by immersion in 0.3 M NaOH of ambient-exposed NbC, is shown to undergo reoxidation to catalytically inactive Nb2O5 at -1.3 V vs Ag/AgCl, possibly due to hydrolysis or other, as yet not understood, phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samar Alhowity
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Kabirat Balogun
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Ashwin Ganesan
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Colton J Lund
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Olatomide Omolere
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Qasim Adesope
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Precious Chukwunenye
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Stella C Amagbor
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Fatima Anwar
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - M K Altafi
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Francis D'Souza
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Thomas R Cundari
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
| | - Jeffry A Kelber
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, No. 305070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, United States
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Izelaar B, Ripepi D, van Noordenne DD, Jungbacker P, Kortlever R, Mulder FM. Identification, Quantification, and Elimination of NO x and NH 3 Impurities for Aqueous and Li-Mediated Nitrogen Reduction Experiments. ACS ENERGY LETTERS 2023; 8:3614-3620. [PMID: 37588017 PMCID: PMC10425974 DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.3c01130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Boaz Izelaar
- Large
Scale Energy Storage, Process and Energy Department, Faculty of Mechanical,
Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft
University of Technology, 2628 CB Delft, The
Netherlands
| | - Davide Ripepi
- Materials
for Energy Conversion and Storage, Chemical Engineering Department,
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University
of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The
Netherlands
| | - Dylan D. van Noordenne
- Materials
for Energy Conversion and Storage, Chemical Engineering Department,
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University
of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The
Netherlands
| | - Peter Jungbacker
- Materials
for Energy Conversion and Storage, Chemical Engineering Department,
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University
of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The
Netherlands
| | - Ruud Kortlever
- Large
Scale Energy Storage, Process and Energy Department, Faculty of Mechanical,
Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft
University of Technology, 2628 CB Delft, The
Netherlands
| | - Fokko M. Mulder
- Materials
for Energy Conversion and Storage, Chemical Engineering Department,
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University
of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The
Netherlands
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Peters JC. Advancing electrocatalytic nitrogen fixation: insights from molecular systems. Faraday Discuss 2023; 243:450-472. [PMID: 37021388 PMCID: PMC10524484 DOI: 10.1039/d3fd00017f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen fixation has a rich history within the inorganic chemistry community. In recent years attention has (re)focused on developing electrocatalytic systems capable of mediating the nitrogen reduction reaction (N2RR). Well-defined molecular catalyst systems have much to offer in this context. This personal perspective summarizes recent progress from our laboratory at Caltech, pulling together lessons learned from a number of studies we have conducted, placing them within the broader context of thermodynamic efficiency and selectivity for the N2RR. In particular, proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) provides an attractive strategy to achieve enhanced efficiency for the multi-electron/proton reduction of N2 to produce NH3 (or NH4+), and electrocatalytic PCET (ePCET) via an ePCET mediator affords a promising means of mitigating HER such that the N2RR can be achieved in a catalytic fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas C Peters
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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6
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Zhang Q, Wang X, Zhang F, Fang C, Liu D, Zhou Q. A High-Throughput Screening toward Efficient Nitrogen Fixation: Transition Metal Single-Atom Catalysts Anchored on an Emerging π-π Conjugated Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C 10N 3) Substrate with Dirac Dispersion. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:11812-11826. [PMID: 36808933 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c22519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
TM-Nx is becoming a comforting catalytic center for sustainable and green ammonia synthesis under ambient conditions, resulting in increasing interest in single-atom catalysts (SACs) for the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). However, given the poor activity and unsatisfactory selectivity of existing catalysts, it remains a long-standing challenge to design efficient catalysts for nitrogen fixation. Currently, the two-dimensional (2D) graphitic carbon-nitride substrate provides abundant and evenly distributed holes for stably supporting transition-metal atoms, which presents a fascinating prospect for overcoming this challenge and promoting single-atom NRR. An emerging holey graphitic carbon-nitride skeleton with a C10N3 stoichiometric ratio (g-C10N3) from a supercell of graphene is constructed, which provides outstanding electric conductivity for achieving high-efficiency NRR due to the Dirac band dispersion. Herein, a high-throughput first-principles calculation is carried out to evaluate the feasibility of π-d conjugated SACs resulting from a single TM atom anchored on g-C10N3 (TM = Sc-Au) for NRR. We find that W metal embedded in g-C10N3 (W@g-C10N3) can compromise the ability to adsorb the key target reaction species (N2H and NH2), hence acquiring an optimal NRR behavior among 27 TM-candidates. Our calculations demonstrate that W@g-C10N3 shows a well-suppressed HER ability and, impressively, a low energy cost of -0.46 V. Additionally, all-around descriptors are proposed to uncover the fundamental mechanism of NRR activity, among which a 3D volcano plot (limiting potential, screening strategy, and electron origin) uncovers the NRR activity trend, achieving a quick and high-efficiency prescreening for numerous candidates. Overall, the strategy of the structure- and activity-based TM-Nx-containing unit design will offer useful insight for further theoretical and experimental attempts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Zhang
- College of Science, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, People's Republic of China
| | - Xian Wang
- College of Science, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, People's Republic of China
| | - Fuchun Zhang
- School of Physics and Electronic Information, Yan'an University, Yan'an 716000, China
| | - Chunyao Fang
- College of Science, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, People's Republic of China
| | - Di Liu
- College of Science, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingjun Zhou
- College of Science, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, People's Republic of China
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