1
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Shi BX, Wales DJ, Michaelides A, Myung CW. Going for Gold(-Standard): Attaining Coupled Cluster Accuracy in Oxide-Supported Nanoclusters. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:5306-5316. [PMID: 38856017 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
The structure of oxide-supported metal nanoclusters plays an essential role in their sharply enhanced catalytic activity over that of bulk metals. Simulations provide the atomic-scale resolution needed to understand these systems. However, the sensitive mix of metal-metal and metal-support interactions, which govern their structure, puts stringent requirements on the method used, requiring calculations beyond standard density functional theory (DFT). The method of choice is coupled cluster theory [specifically CCSD(T)], but its computational cost has so far prevented its application to these systems. In this work, we showcase two approaches to make CCSD(T) accuracy readily achievable in oxide-supported nanoclusters. First, we leverage the SKZCAM protocol to provide the first benchmarks of oxide-supported nanoclusters, revealing that it is specifically metal-metal interactions that are challenging to capture with DFT. Second, we propose a CCSD(T) correction (ΔCC) to the metal-metal interaction errors in DFT, reaching accuracy comparable to that of the SKZCAM protocol at significantly lower cost. This approach forges a path toward studying larger systems at reliable accuracy, which we highlight by identifying a ground-state structure in agreement with experiments for Au20 on MgO, a challenging system where DFT models have yielded conflicting predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin X Shi
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K
| | - David J Wales
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K
| | - Angelos Michaelides
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K
| | - Chang Woo Myung
- Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Seobu-ro 2066, Suwon 16419, Korea
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2
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Sun X, Wu D, Saidi WA, Zhu W, Yang WCD, House SD, Li M, Sharma R, Yang JC, Zhou G. Atomic Dynamics of Multi-Interfacial Migration and Transformations. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2305746. [PMID: 37941496 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202305746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Redox-induced interconversions of metal oxidation states typically result in multiple phase boundaries that separate chemically and structurally distinct oxides and suboxides. Directly probing such multi-interfacial reactions is challenging because of the difficulty in simultaneously resolving the multiple reaction fronts at the atomic scale. Using the example of CuO reduction in H2 gas, a reaction pathway of CuO → monoclinic m-Cu4 O3 → Cu2 O is demonstrated and identifies interfacial reaction fronts at the atomic scale, where the Cu2 O/m-Cu4 O3 interface shows a diffuse-type interfacial transformation; while the lateral flow of interfacial ledges appears to control the m-Cu4 O3 /CuO transformation. Together with atomistic modeling, it is shown that such a multi-interface transformation results from the surface-reaction-induced formation of oxygen vacancies that diffuse into deeper atomic layers, thereby resulting in the formation of the lower oxides of Cu2 O and m-Cu4 O3 , and activate the interfacial transformations. These results demonstrate the lively dynamics at the reaction fronts of the multiple interfaces and have substantial implications for controlling the microstructure and interphase boundaries by coupling the interplay between the surface reaction dynamics and the resulting mass transport and phase evolution in the subsurface and bulk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianhu Sun
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA
| | - Dongxiang Wu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA
| | - Wissam A Saidi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15216, USA
| | - Wenhui Zhu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA
| | - Wei-Chang D Yang
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA
| | - Stephen D House
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Meng Li
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Renu Sharma
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA
| | - Judith C Yang
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Guangwen Zhou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA
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3
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Hu J, Zheng H, Li L, Chen G, Li K, Qi M, Zhang Y, Zhao P, Meng W, Jia S, Wang J. Probing the Atomistic Reaction Pathways in CuO/C Catalysts. NANO LETTERS 2023; 23:9367-9374. [PMID: 37807279 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c02651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
CuOx/C catalysts have been used in the selective catalytic reduction of NOx because of the exceptional low-temperature denitration (de-NOx) activity. A fundamental understanding of the reaction between CuO and C is critical for controlling the component of CuOx/C and thus optimizing the catalytic performance. In this study, a transmission electron microscope equipped with an in situ heating device was utilized to investigate the atomic-scale reaction between CuO and C. We report two reaction mechanisms relying on the volume ratio between C and CuO: (1) The reduction from CuO to Cu2O (when the ratio is < ∼31%); (2) the reduction of CuO into polycrystalline Cu (when the ratio is > ∼34%). The atomistic reduction pathway can be well interpreted by considering the diffusion of O vacancy through the first-principle calculations. The atomic-scale exploration of CuO/C offers ample prospects for the design of industrial de-NOx catalysts in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Hu
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - He Zheng
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
- Wuhan University Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518057, China
| | - Lei Li
- Core Facility of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Guoxujia Chen
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Kaixuan Li
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Meng Qi
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Core Facility of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Peili Zhao
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Weiwei Meng
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Shuangfeng Jia
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Jianbo Wang
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
- Core Facility of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
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4
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Zhu Y, Wang J, Patel SB, Li C, Head AR, Boscoboinik JA, Zhou G. Tuning the surface reactivity of oxides by peroxide species. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2215189120. [PMID: 36943886 PMCID: PMC10068848 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2215189120] [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: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The Mars-van Krevelen mechanism is the foundation for oxide-catalyzed oxidation reactions and relies on spatiotemporally separated redox steps. Herein, we demonstrate the tunability of this separation with peroxide species formed by excessively adsorbed oxygen, thereby modifying the catalytic activity and selectivity of the oxide. Using CuO as an example, we show that a surface layer of peroxide species acts as a promotor to significantly enhance CuO reducibility in favor of H2 oxidation but conversely as an inhibitor to suppress CuO reduction against CO oxidation. Together with atomistic modeling, we identify that this opposite effect of the peroxide on the two oxidation reactions stems from its modification on coordinately unsaturated sites of the oxide surface. By differentiating the chemical functionality between lattice oxygen and peroxide, these results are closely relevant to a wide range of catalytic oxidation reactions using excessively adsorbed oxygen to activate lattice oxygen and tune the activity and selectivity of redox sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaguang Zhu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY13902
| | - Jianyu Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY13902
| | - Shyam Bharatkumar Patel
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY13902
| | - Chaoran Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY13902
| | - Ashley R. Head
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY11973
| | | | - Guangwen Zhou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY13902
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5
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Wang J, Ni G, Liao W, Liu K, Chen J, Liu F, Zhang Z, Jia M, Li J, Fu J, Pensa E, Jiang L, Bian Z, Cortés E, Liu M. Subsurface Engineering Induced Fermi Level De-pinning in Metal Oxide Semiconductors for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202217026. [PMID: 36577697 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202217026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising approach for renewable solar light conversion. However, surface Fermi level pinning (FLP), caused by surface trap states, severely restricts the PEC activities. Theoretical calculations indicate subsurface oxygen vacancy (sub-Ov ) could release the FLP and retain the active structure. A series of metal oxide semiconductors with sub-Ov were prepared through precisely regulated spin-coating and calcination. Etching X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and electron energy loss spectra (EELS) demonstrated Ov located at sub ∼2-5 nm region. Mott-Schottky and open circuit photovoltage results confirmed the surface trap states elimination and Fermi level de-pinning. Thus, superior PEC performances of 5.1, 3.4, and 2.1 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE were achieved on BiVO4 , Bi2 O3 , TiO2 with outstanding stability for 72 h, outperforming most reported works under the identical conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Wang
- School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China.,Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Ganghai Ni
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Wanru Liao
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Kang Liu
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Jiawei Chen
- School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Fangyang Liu
- School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Zongliang Zhang
- School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Ming Jia
- School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Jie Li
- School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Junwei Fu
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Evangelina Pensa
- Nanoinstitut München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80539, München, Germany
| | - Liangxing Jiang
- School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China.,Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Value-added Metallurgy, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Zhenfeng Bian
- MOE Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, P.R. China
| | - Emiliano Cortés
- Nanoinstitut München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80539, München, Germany
| | - Min Liu
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, P.R. China
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6
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Huang W, Xiang X, Jin L, He Y. Oscillatory Reaction Activity of Single Cuprous Oxide Microparticles with NO 2. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:10342-10349. [PMID: 36314659 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Here, we report on using dark-field microscopy (DFM) as a simple and low-cost imaging platform to visually resolve the kinetics of single cuprous oxide (Cu2O) microparticles for NO2 removal in a real-time manner. Unexpectedly, we find that the redox reaction between Cu2O microparticles and NO2 is oscillating with the reaction time. Specifically, the oscillatory behavior of single Cu2O microparticles for NO2 reduction shows a large particle-to-particle variability, which is also dependent upon the NO2 pressure and Cu2O facets. A combined DFM imaging, spectroscopic, scanning electron microscopy, and density functional theory study uncovers that Cu2O is gradually transformed to copper nitrate hydroxide [Cu2(NO3)(OH)3], and this oscillatory reaction is attributed to the cyclic formation and structural collapse of Cu2(NO3)(OH)3. The present findings open an alternative avenue for probing structure-performance relationships, which are anticipated to benefit the creation of functional materials for air purification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Huang
- National Collaborative Innovation Center for Nuclear Waste and Environmental Safety, School of National Defence Science & Technology, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan 621010, People's Republic of China
- College of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Zigong, Sichuan 643000, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinyue Xiang
- National Collaborative Innovation Center for Nuclear Waste and Environmental Safety, School of National Defence Science & Technology, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan 621010, People's Republic of China
| | - Luyue Jin
- National Collaborative Innovation Center for Nuclear Waste and Environmental Safety, School of National Defence Science & Technology, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan 621010, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi He
- National Collaborative Innovation Center for Nuclear Waste and Environmental Safety, School of National Defence Science & Technology, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan 621010, People's Republic of China
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7
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Sun X, Wu D, Zou L, House SD, Chen X, Li M, Zakharov DN, Yang JC, Zhou G. Dislocation-induced stop-and-go kinetics of interfacial transformations. Nature 2022; 607:708-713. [PMID: 35896645 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04880-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Most engineering materials are based on multiphase microstructures produced either through the control of phase equilibria or by the fabrication of different materials as in thin-film processing. In both processes, the microstructure relaxes towards equilibrium by mismatch dislocations (or geometric misfit dislocations) across the heterophase interfaces1-5. Despite their ubiquitous presence, directly probing the dynamic action of mismatch dislocations has been unachievable owing to their buried nature. Here, using the interfacial transformation of copper oxide to copper as an example, we demonstrate the role of mismatch dislocations in modulating oxide-to-metal interfacial transformations in an intermittent manner, by which the lateral flow of interfacial ledges is pinned at the core of mismatch dislocations until the dislocation climbs to the new oxide/metal interface location. Together with atomistic calculations, we identify that the pinning effect is associated with the non-local transport of metal atoms to fill vacancies at the dislocation core. These results provide mechanistic insight into solid-solid interfacial transformations and have substantial implications for utilizing structural defects at buried interfaces to modulate mass transport and transformation kinetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianhu Sun
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Dongxiang Wu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Lianfeng Zou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Stephen D House
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Xiaobo Chen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Meng Li
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dmitri N Zakharov
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA
| | - Judith C Yang
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Guangwen Zhou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA.
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8
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Wu D, Zhu Y, Shan W, Wang J, Liu Q, Zhou G. Revealing an Intermediate Cu-O/OH Superstructure on Cu(110). J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:2396-2403. [PMID: 35257576 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c04145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Identifying the atomic structure and formation mechanism of intermediates during chemical transformations is challenging because of their short-lived nature. With a combination of microscopic and spectroscopic measurements and first-principles calculations, herein we report the formation of a metastable intermediate Cu-O/OH superstructure during the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen-covered Cu(110). This superstructure resembles the parent c(6 × 2)-O phase and can be termed as c(6 × 2)-(4O+2OH) with OH groups occupying the missing Cu sites between isolated Cu atoms. Using atomistic calculations, we elucidate the reaction pathways leading to the c(6 × 2)-(4O+2OH) formation via both molecular and dissociative H2 adsorption. These results demonstrate the complex surface dynamics resulting from the parallel reaction pathways and may open up the possibility of directing the reaction dynamics by deliberately manipulating transient surface structure and composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongxiang Wu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
| | - Yaguang Zhu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
| | - Weitao Shan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
| | - Jianyu Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
| | - Qianqian Liu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
| | - Guangwen Zhou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
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9
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Fan H, Qiu L, Fedorov A, Willinger MG, Ding F, Huang X. Dynamic State and Active Structure of Ni-Co Catalyst in Carbon Nanofiber Growth Revealed by in Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy. ACS NANO 2021; 15:17895-17906. [PMID: 34730325 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c06189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Alloy catalysts often show superior effectiveness in the growth of carbon nanotubes/nanofibers (CNTs/CNFs) as compared to monometallic catalysts. However, due to the lack of an understanding of the active state and active structure, the origin of the superior performance of alloy catalysts is unknown. In this work, we report an in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of the CNF growth enabled by one of the most active known alloy catalysts, i.e., Ni-Co, providing insights into the active state and the interaction between Ni and Co in the working catalyst. We reveal that the functioning catalyst is highly dynamic, undergoing constant reshaping and periodic elongation/contraction. Atomic-scale imaging combined with in situ electron energy-loss spectroscopy further identifies the active structure as a Ni-Co metallic alloy (face-centered cubic, FCC). Aided by the molecular dynamics simulation and density functional theory calculations, we rationalize the dynamic behavior of the catalyst and the growth mechanism of CNFs and provide insight into the origin of the superior performance of the Ni-Co alloy catalyst.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Fan
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Wulong River North Street 2, 350108 Fuzhou, People's Republic of China
- Office of Science and Technology, Fuzhou University, Wulong River North Street 2, 350108 Fuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Lu Qiu
- Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, Institute for Basic Science, 50 UNIST-gil, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, 44919 Ulsan, South Korea
| | - Alexey Fedorov
- Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Leonhardstrasse 21, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marc-Georg Willinger
- Scientific Center for Optical and Electron Microscopy, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Feng Ding
- Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, Institute for Basic Science, 50 UNIST-gil, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, 44919 Ulsan, South Korea
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, 50 UNIST-gil, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, 44919 Ulsan, South Korea
| | - Xing Huang
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Wulong River North Street 2, 350108 Fuzhou, People's Republic of China
- Scientific Center for Optical and Electron Microscopy, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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10
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Huang X, Jones T, Fedorov A, Farra R, Copéret C, Schlögl R, Willinger MG. Phase Coexistence and Structural Dynamics of Redox Metal Catalysts Revealed by Operando TEM. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2021; 33:e2101772. [PMID: 34117665 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202101772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Metal catalysts play an important role in industrial redox reactions. Although extensively studied, the state of these catalysts under operating conditions is largely unknown, and assignments of active sites remain speculative. Herein, an operando transmission electron microscopy study is presented, which interrelates the structural dynamics of redox metal catalysts to their activity. Using hydrogen oxidation on copper as an elementary redox reaction, it is revealed how the interaction between metal and the surrounding gas phase induces complex structural transformations and drives the system from a thermodynamic equilibrium toward a state controlled by the chemical dynamics. Direct imaging combined with the simultaneous detection of catalytic activity provides unparalleled structure-activity insights that identify distinct mechanisms for water formation and reveal the means by which the system self-adjusts to changes of the gas-phase chemical potential. Density functional theory calculations show that surface phase transitions are driven by chemical dynamics even when the system is far from a thermodynamic phase boundary. In a bottom-up approach, the dynamic behavior observed here for an elementary reaction is finally extended to more relevant redox reactions and other metal catalysts, which underlines the importance of chemical dynamics for the formation and constant re-generation of transient active sites during catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Huang
- Scientific Center for Optical and Electron Microscopy, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland
- College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350116, P. R. China
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland
- Fritz-Haber Institute of Max-Planck Society, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Travis Jones
- Fritz-Haber Institute of Max-Planck Society, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexey Fedorov
- Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Leonhardstrasse 21, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ramzi Farra
- Fritz-Haber Institute of Max-Planck Society, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christophe Copéret
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland
| | - Robert Schlögl
- Fritz-Haber Institute of Max-Planck Society, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department Heterogeneous Reactions, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, 45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Marc-Georg Willinger
- Scientific Center for Optical and Electron Microscopy, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, Zurich, 8093, Switzerland
- Fritz-Haber Institute of Max-Planck Society, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
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11
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Li L, Chen G, Zheng H, Meng W, Jia S, Zhao L, Zhao P, Zhang Y, Huang S, Huang T, Wang J. Room-temperature oxygen vacancy migration induced reversible phase transformation during the anelastic deformation in CuO. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3863. [PMID: 34162862 PMCID: PMC8222270 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24155-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
From the mechanical perspectives, the influence of point defects is generally considered at high temperature, especially when the creep deformation dominates. Here, we show the stress-induced reversible oxygen vacancy migration in CuO nanowires at room temperature, causing the unanticipated anelastic deformation. The anelastic strain is associated with the nucleation of oxygen-deficient CuOx phase, which gradually transforms back to CuO after stress releasing, leading to the gradual recovery of the nanowire shape. Detailed analysis reveals an oxygen deficient metastable CuOx phase that has been overlooked in the literatures. Both theoretical and experimental investigations faithfully predict the oxygen vacancy diffusion pathways in CuO. Our finding facilitates a better understanding of the complicated mechanical behaviors in materials, which could also be relevant across multiple scientific disciplines, such as high-temperature superconductivity and solid-state chemistry in Cu-O compounds, etc. The effect of point defects on mechanical behaviour of materials is generally considered at high temperatures. This work reports a reversible stress-induced migration of point defects during anelastic deformation in CuO nanowires at room temperature resulting from heterogeneous strain distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Li
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Guoxujia Chen
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - He Zheng
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. .,Suzhou Institute of Wuhan University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. .,Wuhan University Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
| | - Weiwei Meng
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shuangfeng Jia
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ligong Zhao
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Peili Zhao
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shuangshuang Huang
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Tianlong Huang
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jianbo Wang
- School of Physics and Technology, Center for Electron Microscopy, MOE Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures, and Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
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12
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S Mofarah S, Khayyam Nekouei R, Maroufi S, Biswal S, Lim S, Yao Y, Sahajwalla V. Controllable design of defect-rich hybrid iron oxide nanostructures on mesoporous carbon-based scaffold for pseudocapacitive applications. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:3662-3672. [PMID: 33538731 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr06880b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The controllable design of functional nanostructures for energy and environmental applications represents a critical yet challenging technology. The existing fabrication strategies focus mainly on increasing the number of accessible active sites. However, these techniques generally necessitate complex chemical agents and suffer from limited experimental conditions delivering high costs, low yields, and poor reproducibility. The present work reports a new strategy for controllable synthesis of a hybrid system including mixed iron oxide nanostructures enriched with non-stoichiometric Fe21.34O32 and Fe3+[Fe5/33+□1/32+]O4 phases, which possess a high concentration of oxygen and Fe2+ vacancies, and a mesoporous carbon-based scaffold (MCS), which was dervied from coffee residues, with graphitic surface and perforated architecture. The nanoperforates acted as trapping sites to localise the FexOy nanoparticles, thereby boosting the density of accessible active sites. Additionally, at the interfacial regions between the FexOy crystallites, a high density of oxygen vacancies with an oriented pattern was shown to create superlattice structures. The energy storage functionality of the defect-rich MCS/FexOy nanostructure with nanoperforated architecture was investigated, where the results exhibited a high gravimetric capacitance of 540 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 with outstanding capacitance retention of 73.6% after 14 000 cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajjad S Mofarah
- Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, SMaRT@UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Rasoul Khayyam Nekouei
- Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, SMaRT@UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Samane Maroufi
- Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, SMaRT@UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Smitirupa Biswal
- Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, SMaRT@UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Sean Lim
- Electron Microscopy Unit (EMU)Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Yin Yao
- Electron Microscopy Unit (EMU)Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Veena Sahajwalla
- Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, SMaRT@UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
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13
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Tang M, Yuan W, Ou Y, Li G, You R, Li S, Yang H, Zhang Z, Wang Y. Recent Progresses on Structural Reconstruction of Nanosized Metal Catalysts via Controlled-Atmosphere Transmission Electron Microscopy: A Review. ACS Catal 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.0c03335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Min Tang
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Wentao Yuan
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Yang Ou
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Guanxing Li
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Ruiyang You
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Songda Li
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Hangsheng Yang
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Ze Zhang
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Yong Wang
- Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
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14
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Wang J, Lu D, Li C, Zhu Y, Boscoboinik JA, Zhou G. Measuring Charge Transfer between Adsorbate and Metal Surfaces. J Phys Chem Lett 2020; 11:6827-6834. [PMID: 32787215 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Charge transfer between dissimilar atoms is an essential step for many chemical processes such as corrosion and heterogeneous catalysis, but directly probing the charge transfer has been a challenge. Using the oxygen-copper system as an example, we show that synchrotron-based ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy can be employed to monitor the charge transfer between adsorbates and metal surfaces. It is shown that oxygen chemisorption on Cu surfaces results in an Auger process that differs from the photoexcitation-induced Coster-Kroning transition and can be used to derive the degree of charge transfer in combination with ab initio calculations. The identified chemisorption-induced Auger process may have broader implications for its use as a fingerprint to monitor bond formation and charge transfer between dissimilar atoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianyu Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, Binghamton University State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
| | - Deyu Lu
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Chaoran Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, Binghamton University State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
| | - Yaguang Zhu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, Binghamton University State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
| | - Jorge Anibal Boscoboinik
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Guangwen Zhou
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program, Binghamton University State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902, United States
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15
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Sha H, Liang S, Liu L, Cheng Z, Zhu J, Yu R. Surface termination and stoichiometry of LaAlO 3(001) surface studied by HRTEM. Micron 2020; 137:102919. [PMID: 32763838 DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2020.102919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
As an important topic of condensed matter physics, metal oxide surfaces often exhibit exotic properties such as high catalytic activity, enhanced ferroelectricity and electronic phase transition, originating from the different local symmetry with respect to the bulk. As the structure determination of oxide surfaces presents challenges to conventional surface science techniques like scanning tunneling microscopy, aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been increasingly used to solve structures of oxide surfaces. In this work, the (001) surface of LaAlO3, one of the most used components of oxide heterostructures, has been investigated. Our TEM experiments and extensive image simulations show that the La-O terminated LaAlO3(001) surface undergoes significant reconstructions, forming La vacancies on the surface layer. Energetically, the LaAlO3(001) surface is stable with the reconstructed La-O termination in a wide range of oxygen chemical potentials. Polarity compensation, reduced density of states at the Fermi level and bond enhancement of subsurface oxygen anions all contribute to the stabilization of the reconstructed surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haozhi Sha
- National Center for Electron Microscopy in Beijing, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Shiyou Liang
- National Center for Electron Microscopy in Beijing, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Linhan Liu
- National Center for Electron Microscopy in Beijing, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Zhiying Cheng
- National Center for Electron Microscopy in Beijing, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Jing Zhu
- National Center for Electron Microscopy in Beijing, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Rong Yu
- National Center for Electron Microscopy in Beijing, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education of China, State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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