Grafting nanometer metal/oxide interface towards enhanced low-temperature acetylene semi-hydrogenation

Three-dimensional atomic insights into the metal-oxide interface in Zr-ZrO2 nanoparticles

Metal-oxide interfaces with poor coherency have specific properties comparing to bulk materials and offer broad applications in heterogeneous catalysis, battery, and electronics. However, current understanding of the three-dimensional (3D) atomic metal-oxide interfaces remains limited because of their inherent structural complexity and the limitations of conventional two-dimensional imaging techniques. Here, we determine the 3D atomic structure of metal-oxide interfaces in zirconium-zirconia nanoparticles using atomic-resolution electron tomography. We quantitatively analyze the atomic concentration and the degree of oxidation, and find the coherency and translational symmetry of the interfaces are broken. Atoms at the interface have low structural ordering, low coordination, and elongated bond length. Moreover, we observe porous structures such as Zr vacancies and nano-pores, and investigate their distribution. Our findings provide a clear 3D atomic picture of metal-oxide interface with direct experimental evidence. We anticipate this work could encourage future studies on fundamental problems of oxides, such as interfacial structures in semiconductor and atomic motion during oxidation process.

Cu-Pd bimetal-decorated siloxene nanosheets for semi-hydrogenation of acetylene

Metallic Pd has been proved highly promising when paired with Cu for industrially important acetylene semi-hydrogenation. Herein, we demonstrate that high-surface-area siloxene can feasibly enable alloying between Pd and Cu via room-temperature reduction with Si-H bonds. Unprecedentedly small Cu nanoparticles with isolated Pd were in situ loaded on siloxene, addressing the core problem of low selectivity of Pd and low activity of Cu. This devised structure outclassed the traditional impregnated SiO2 in every aspect of the catalytic performance for the semi-hydrogenation of acetylene under industry conditions, with a 91% acetylene conversion and an impressive 93% selectivity to ethylene at 200 °C, and showed long-term stability with negligible activity decay at this harsh temperature. This work provides new insights for the design of economic bimetallic loaded catalysts for balancing the activity-selectivity dilemma, demonstrating the viability of siloxene as both a synthetic reagent and a carrier material for efficient catalysis.

Highly efficient, selective, and stable photocatalytic methane coupling to ethane enabled by lattice oxygen looping

Light-driven oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) for multi-carbon (C2+) product evolution is a promising approach toward the sustainable production of value-added chemicals, yet remains challenging due to its low intrinsic activity. Here, we demonstrate the integration of bismuth oxide (BiOx) and gold (Au) on titanium dioxide (TiO2) substrate to achieve a high conversion rate, product selectivity, and catalytic durability toward photocatalytic OCM through rational catalytic site engineering. Mechanistic investigations reveal that the lattice oxygen in BiOx is effectively activated as the localized oxidant to promote methane dissociation, while Au governs the methyl transfer to avoid undesirable overoxidation and promote carbon─carbon coupling. The optimal Au/BiOx-TiO2 hybrid delivers a conversion rate of 20.8 millimoles per gram per hour with C2+ product selectivity high to 97% in the flow reactor. More specifically, the veritable participation of lattice oxygen during OCM is chemically looped by introduced dioxygen via the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism, endowing superior catalyst stability.

General and Scalable Synthesis of Mesoporous 2D MZrO2 (M = Co, Mn, Ni, Cu, Fe) Nanocatalysts by Amorphous-to-Crystalline Transformation

In modern heterogeneous catalysis, it remains highly challenging to create stable, low-cost, mesoporous 2D photo-/electro-catalysts that carry atomically dispersed active sites. In this work, a general shape-preserving amorphous-to-crystalline transformation (ACT) strategy is developed to dope various transition metal (TM) heteroatoms in ZrO2, which enabled the scalable synthesis of TMs/oxide with a mesoporous 2D structure and rich defects. During the ACT process, the amorphous MZrO2 nanoparticles (M = Fe, Ni, Cu, Co, Mn) are deposited within a confined space created by the NaCl template, and they transform to crystalline 2D ACT-MZrO2 nanosheets in a shape-preserving manner. The interconnected crystalline ACT-MZrO2 nanoparticles thus inherit the same structure as the original MZrO2 precursor. Owing to its rich active sites on the surface and abundant oxygen vacancies (OVs), ACT-CoZrO2 gives superior performance in catalyzing the CO2-to-syngas conversion as demonstrated by experiments and theoretical calculations. The ACT chemistry opens a general route for the scalable synthesis of advanced catalysts with precise microstructure by reconciliating the control of crystalline morphologies and the dispersion of heteroatoms.

Decoding Active Sites for Highly Efficient Semihydrogenation of Acetylene in Palladium-Copper Nanoalloys

Accurately decoding the three-dimensional atomic structure of surface active sites is essential yet challenging for a rational catalyst design. Here, we used comprehensive techniques combining the pair distribution function and reverse Monte Carlo simulation to reveal the surficial distribution of Pd active sites and adjacent coordination environment in palladium-copper nanoalloys. After the fine-tuning of the atomic arrangement, excellent catalytic performance with 98% ethylene selectivity at complete acetylene conversion was obtained in the Pd34Cu66 nanocatalysts, outperforming most of the reported advanced catalysts. The quantitative deciphering shows a large number of active sites with a Pd-Pd coordination number of 3 distributed on the surface of Pd34Cu66 nanoalloys, which play a decisive role in highly efficient semihydrogenation. This finding not only opens the way for guiding the precise design of bimetal nanocatalysts from atomic-level insight but also provides a method to resolve the spatial structure of active sites.

Layered Double Hydroxide Derivatives for Polyolefin Upcycling

While Ru-catalyzed hydrogenolysis holds significant promise in converting waste polyolefins into value-added alkane fuels, a major constraint is the high cost of noble metal catalysts. In this work, we propose, for the first time, that Co-based catalysts derived from CoAl-layered double hydroxide (LDH) are alternatives for efficient polyolefin hydrogenolysis. Leveraging the chemical flexibility of the LDH platform, we reveal that metallic Co species serve as highly efficient active sites for polyolefin hydrogenolysis. Furthermore, we introduced Ni into the Co framework to tackle the issue of restricted hydrogenation ability associated with contiguous Co-Co sites. In-situ analysis indicates that the integration of Ni induces electron transfer and facilitates hydrogen spillover. This dual effect synergistically enhances the hydrogenation/desorption of olefin intermediates, resulting in a significant reduction in the yield of low-value CH4 from 27.1 to 12.6%. Through leveraging the unique properties of LDH, we have developed efficient and cost-effective catalysts for the sustainable recycling and valorization of waste polyolefin materials.

Efficient Alkyne Semihydrogenation Catalysis Enabled by Synergistic Chemical and Thermal Modifications of a PdIn MOF

Recently, there has been a growing interest in using MOF templating to synthesize heterogeneous catalysts based on metal nanoparticles on carbonaceous supports. Unlike the common approach of direct pyrolysis of PdIn-MOFs at high temperatures, this work proposes a reductive chemical treatment under mild conditions before pyrolysis (resulting in PdIn-QT). The resulting material (PdIn-QT) underwent comprehensive characterization via state-of-the-art aberration-corrected electron microscopy, N2 physisorption, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. These analyses have proven the existence of PdIn bimetallic nanoparticles supported on N-doped carbon. In situ DRIFT spectroscopy reveals the advantageous role of indium (In) in regulating Pd activity in alkyne semihydrogenation. Notably, incorporating a soft nucleation step before pyrolysis enhances surface area, porosity, and nitrogen content compared to direct MOF pyrolysis. The optimized material exhibits outstanding catalytic performance with 96% phenylacetylene conversion and 96% selectivity to phenylethylene in the fifth cycle under mild conditions (5 mmol phenylacetylene, 7 mg cat, 5 mL EtOH, R.T., 1 H2 bar).

Pt-doped Ru nanoparticles loaded on 'black gold' plasmonic nanoreactors as air stable reduction catalysts

This study introduces a plasmonic reduction catalyst, stable only in the presence of air, achieved by integrating Pt-doped Ru nanoparticles on black gold. This innovative black gold/RuPt catalyst showcases good efficiency in acetylene semi-hydrogenation, attaining over 90% selectivity with an ethene production rate of 320 mmol g-1 h-1. Its stability, evident in 100 h of operation with continuous air flow, is attributed to the synergy of co-existing metal oxide and metal phases. The catalyst's stability is further enhanced by plasmon-mediated concurrent reduction and oxidation of the active sites. Finite-difference time-domain simulations reveal a five-fold electric field intensification near the RuPt nanoparticles, crucial for activating acetylene and hydrogen. Kinetic isotope effect analysis indicates the contribution from the plasmonic non-thermal effects along with the photothermal. Spectroscopic and in-situ Fourier transform infrared studies, combined with quantum chemical calculations, elucidate the molecular reaction mechanism, emphasizing the cooperative interaction between Ru and Pt in optimizing ethene production and selectivity.

Mesoporous α-Al2O3-supported PdCu bimetallic nanoparticle catalyst for the selective semi-hydrogenation of alkynes

The selective hydrogenation of alkynes to alkenes is widely applied in the chemical industry; nevertheless, achieving highly selective hydrogenation with high catalytic activity is considerably challenging. Herein, ultrafine PdCu bimetallic nanoparticles encapsulated by high-surface-area mesoporous α-Al2O3 were prepared by high-temperature calcination-reduction using a porous organic framework (POF) as the template. As-obtained PdCu@α-Al2O3 exhibited a high selectivity of 95% for the semi-hydrogenation of phenylacetylene as a probe reaction under mild reaction conditions. The separation of continuous Pd atoms and modification of the Pd electronic state by Cu atoms suppressed β-hydride formation and alkene adsorption, contributing to high selectivity for the catalytic hydrogenation of alkynes. The catalytic activity was maintained after 7 cycles due to the strong interaction between the PdCu bimetallic nanoparticles and α-Al2O3 as well as the encapsulation effect of mesoporous α-Al2O3. Thus, the current work provides a facile strategy for fabricating high-surface-area mesoporous α-Al2O3-supported catalysts for industrial catalysis applications.

Atomic Three-Dimensional Investigations of Pd Nanocatalysts for Acetylene Semi-hydrogenation

Deciphering the three-dimensional (3D) insight into nanocatalyst surfaces at the atomic level is crucial to understanding catalytic reaction mechanisms and developing high-performance catalysts. Nevertheless, better understanding the inherent insufficiency of a long-range ordered lattice in nanocatalysts is a big challenge. In this work, we report the local structure of Pd nanocatalysts, which is beneficial for demonstrating the shape-structure-adsorption relationship in acetylene hydrogenation. The 5.27 nm spherical Pd catalyst (Pdsph) shows an ethylene selectivity of 88% at complete acetylene conversion, which is much higher than those of the Pd octahedron and Pd cube and superior to other reported monometallic Pd nanocatalysts so far. By virtue of the local structure revelation combined with the atomic pair distribution function (PDF) and reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulation, the atomic surface distribution of the unique compressed strain of Pd-Pd pairs in Pdsph was revealed. Density functional theory calculations verified the obvious weakening of the ethylene adsorption energy on account of the surface strain of Pdsph. It is the main factor to avoid the over-hydrogenation of acetylene. The present work, entailing shape-induced surface strain manipulation and atomic 3D insight, opens a new path to understand and optimize chemical activity and selectivity in the heterogeneous catalysis process.

Acetylene Semi-Hydrogenation at Room Temperature over Pd-Zn Nanocatalyst

A reaction of fundamental and commercial importance is acetylene semi-hydrogenation. Acetylene impurity in the ethylene feedstock used in the polyethylene industry poisons the Ziegler-Natta catalyst which adversely affects the polymer quality. Pd based catalysts are most often employed for converting acetylene into the main reactant, ethylene, however, it often involves a tradeoff between the conversion and the selectivity and generally requires high temperatures. In this work, bimetallic Pd-Zn nanoparticles capped by hexadecylamine (HDA) have been synthesized by co-digestive ripening of Pd and Zn nanoparticles and studied for semi-hydrogenation of acetylene. The catalyst showed a high selectivity of ~85 % towards ethylene with a high ethylene productivity to the tune of ~4341 μmol g-1  min-1 , at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. It also exhibited excellent stability with ethylene selectivity remaining greater than 85 % even after 70 h on stream. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of room temperature acetylene semi-hydrogenation, with the catalyst effecting high amount of acetylene conversion to ethylene retaining excellent selectivity and stability among all the reported catalysts thus far. DFT calculations show that the disordered Pd-Zn nanocatalyst prepared by a low temperature route exhibits a change in the d-band center of Pd and Zn which in turn enhances the selectivity towards ethylene. TPD, XPS and a range of catalysis experiments provided in-depth insights into the reaction mechanism, indicating the key role of particle size, surface area, Pd-Zn interactions, and the capping agent.

Coherent Sub-Nanometer Interface between Crystalline and Amorphous Materials Boosts Electrochemical Synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide

There are enormous yet largely underexplored exotic phenomena and properties emerging from interfaces constructed by diverse types of components that may differ in composition, shape, or crystal structure. It remains poorly understood the unique properties a coherent interface between crystalline and amorphous materials may evoke, and there lacks a general strategy to fabricate such interfaces. It is demonstrated that by topotactic partial oxidation heterostructures composed of coherently registered crystalline and amorphous materials can be constructed. As a proof-of-concept study, heterostructures consisting of crystalline P3 N5 and amorphous P3 N5 Ox can be synthesized by creating amorphous P3 N5 Ox from crystalline P3 N5 without interrupting the covalent bonding across the coherent interface. The heterostructure is dictated by nanometer-sized short-range-ordered P3 N5 domains enclosed by amorphous P3 N5 Ox matrix, which entails simultaneously fast charge transfer across the interface and bicomponent synergistic effect in catalysis. Such a P3 N5 /P3 N5 Ox heterostructure attains an optimal adsorption energy for *OOH intermediates and exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance toward H2 O2 production by adopting a selectivity of 96.68% at 0.4 VRHE and a production rate of 321.5 mmol h-1 gcatalyst -1 at -0.3 VRHE . The current study provides new insights into the synthetic strategy, chemical structure, and catalytic property of a sub-nanometer coherent interface formed between crystalline and amorphous materials.

Metal Oxide-Supported Metal Catalysts for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Reaction: Characterization Methods, Modulation Strategies, and Recent Progress

The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with complex multielectron transfer steps significantly limits the large-scale application of electrochemical energy devices, including metal-air batteries and fuel cells. Recent years witnessed the development of metal oxide-supported metal catalysts (MOSMCs), covering single atoms, clusters, and nanoparticles. As alternatives to conventional carbon-dispersed metal catalysts, MOSMCs are gaining increasing interest due to their unique electronic configuration and potentially high corrosion resistance. By engineering the metal oxide substrate, supported metal, and their interactions, MOSMCs can be facilely modulated. Significant progress has been made in advancing MOSMCs for ORR, and their further development warrants advanced characterization methods to better understand MOSMCs and precise modulation strategies to boost their functionalities. In this regard, a comprehensive review of MOSMCs for ORR is still lacking despite this fast-developing field. To eliminate this gap, advanced characterization methods are introduced for clarifying MOSMCs experimentally and theoretically, discuss critical methods of boosting their intrinsic activities and number of active sites, and systematically overview the status of MOSMCs based on different metal oxide substrates for ORR. By conveying methods, research status, critical challenges, and perspectives, this review will rationally promote the design of MOSMCs for electrochemical energy devices.

Controllable Deposition of Bi onto Pd for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene

The rational regulation of catalyst active sites at atomic scale is a key approach to unveil the relationship between structure and catalytic performance. Herein, we reported a strategy for the controllable deposition of Bi on Pd nanocubes (Pd NCs) in the priority order from corners to edges and then to facets (Pd NCs@Bi). The spherical aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (ac-STEM) results indicated that Bi₂O₃ with an amorphous structure covers the specific sites of Pd NCs. When only the corners and edges of the Pd NCs were covered, the supported Pd NCs@Bi catalyst exhibited an optimal trade-off between high conversion and selectivity in the hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene under ethylene-rich conditions (99.7% C₂H₂ conversion and 94.3% C₂H₄ selectivity at 170 °C) with remarkable long-term stability. According to the H₂-TPR and C₂H₄-TPD measurements, the moderate hydrogen dissociation and the weak ethylene adsorption are responsible for this excellent catalytic performance. Following these results, the selectively Bi-deposited Pd nanoparticle catalysts showed incredible acetylene hydrogenation performance, which provides a feasible perspective to design and develop highly selective hydrogenation catalysts for industrial applications.

E-Selective semi-hydrogenation of alkynes via a sulfur-radical mediation over cyclodextrin-modified nickel nanocatalyst

An efficient cyclodextrin-modified Ni catalyst was developed for E-selective semi-hydrogenation of alkynes that takes into account for the highly active Hδ− and Hδ+, in situ formed Ni nanoparticles, and the host–guest interaction.

Metal-Metal Oxide Catalytic Interface Formation and Structural Evolution: A Discovery of Strong Metal-Support Bonding, Ordered Intermetallics, and Single Atoms

In-depth investigation of metal-metal oxide interactions and their corresponding evolution is of paramount importance to heterogeneous catalysis as it allows the understanding and maneuvering of the structure of catalytic motifs. Herein, using a series of core/shell metal/iron oxide (M/FeO_x, M = Pd, Pt, Au) nanoparticles and through a combination of in situ and ex situ electron and X-ray investigations, we revealed anomalous and dissimilar M-FeO_x interactions among different systems under reducing conditions. Pd interacts strongly with FeO_x after high-temperature reductive treatment, featured by the formation of Pd single atoms in the FeO_x matrix and increased Pd-Fe bonding, while Pt transforms into ordered PtFe intermetallics and Pt single atoms immediately upon the coating of FeO_x. In contrast, Au does not manifest strong bonding with FeO_x. As a proof of concept of tailoring metal-metal oxide interactions for catalysis, optimized Pd/FeO_x demonstrates 100% conversion and 86.5% selectivity at 60 °C for acetylene semihydrogenation.

Unveiling the Local Structure and Electronic Properties of PdBi Surface Alloy for Selective Hydrogenation of Propyne

Building a reliable relationship between the electronic structure of alloyed metallic catalysts and catalytic performance is important but remains challenging due to the interference from many entangled factors. Herein, a PdBi surface alloy structural model, by tuning the deposition rate of Bi atoms relative to the atomic interdiffusion rate at the interface, realizes a continuous modulation of the electronic structure of Pd. Using advanced X-ray characterization techniques, we provide a precise depiction of the electronic structure of the PdBi surface alloy. As a result, the PdBi catalysts show enhanced propene selectivity compared with the pure Pd catalyst in the selective hydrogenation of propyne. The prevented formation of saturated β-hydrides in the subsurface layers and weakened propene adsorption on the surface contribute to the high selectivity. Our work provides in-depth understanding of the electronic properties of surface alloy structure and underlies the study of the electronic structure-performance relationship in bimetallic catalysts.

Highly Dispersed Vanadia Anchored on Protonated g-C3N4 as an Efficient and Selective Catalyst for the Hydroxylation of Benzene into Phenol

The direct hydroxylation of benzene is a green and economical-efficient alternative to the existing cumene process for phenol production. However, the undesired phenol selectivity at high benzene conversion hinders its wide application. Here, we develop a one-pot synthesis of protonated g-C3N4 supporting vanadia catalysts (V-pg-C3N4) for the efficient and selective hydroxylation of benzene. Characterizations suggest that protonating g-C3N4 in diluted HCl can boost the generation of amino groups (NH/NH2) without changing the bulk structure. The content of surface amino groups, which determines the dispersion of vanadia, can be easily regulated by the amount of HCl added in the preparation. Increasing the content of surface amino groups benefits the dispersion of vanadia, which eventually leads to improved H2O2 activation and benzene hydroxylation. The optimal catalyst, V-pg-C3N4-0.46, achieves 60% benzene conversion and 99.7% phenol selectivity at 60 oC with H2O2 as the oxidant.

Low-Temperature Acetylene Semi-Hydrogenation over the Pd1-Cu1 Dual-Atom Catalyst

The atomically dispersed metal catalyst or single-atom catalyst (SAC) with the utmost metal utilization efficiency shows excellent selectivity toward ethylene compared to the metal nanoparticles catalyst in the acetylene semi-hydrogenation reaction. However, these catalysts normally work at relatively high temperatures. Achieving low-temperature reactivity while preserving high selectivity remains a challenge. To improve the intrinsic reactivity of SACs, rationally tailoring the coordination environments of the first metal atom by coordinating it with a second neighboring metal atom affords an opportunity. Here, we report the fabrication of a dual-atom catalyst (DAC) that features a bonded Pd₁-Cu₁ atomic pair anchoring on nanodiamond graphene (ND@G). Compared to the single-atom Pd or Cu catalyst, it exhibits increased reactivity at a lower temperature, with 100% acetylene conversion and 92% ethylene selectivity at 110 °C. This work provides a strategy for designing DACs for low-temperature hydrogenation by manipulating the coordination environment of catalytic sites at the atomic level.

Design of Pd-Zn Bimetal MOF Nanosheets and MOF-Derived Pd3.9Zn6.1/CNS Catalyst for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene under Simulated Front-End Conditions

Novel zinc-palladium-porphyrin bimetal metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets were directly synthesized by coordination chelation between Zn(II) and Pd(II) tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphin (TCPP(Pd)) using a solvothermal method. Furthermore, a serial of carbon nanosheets supported Pd-Zn intermetallics (Pd-Zn-ins/CNS) with different Pd: Zn atomic ratios were obtained by one-step carbonization under different temperature using the prepared Zn-TCPP(Pd) MOF nanosheets as precursor. In the carbonization process, Pd-Zn-ins went through the transformation from PdZn (650 °C) to Pd3.9Zn6.1 (~950 °C) then to Pd3.9Zn6.1/Pd (1000 °C) with the temperature increasing. The synthesized Pd-Zn-ins/CNS were further employed as catalysts for selective hydrogenation of acetylene. Pd3.9Zn6.1 showed the best catalytic performance compared with other Pd-Zn intermetallic forms.

Alloyed PdCu Nanoparticles within Siliceous Zeolite Crystals for Catalytic Semihydrogenation

Selective hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene is an industrially important process to purify the raw ethylene stream for producing high-grade polyethylene. The supported Pd catalyst exhibits superior activity for acetylene hydrogenation but suffers from poor ethylene selectivity because of the easy overhydrogenation to produce ethane. Here, we report that the PdCu alloy nanoparticles within siliceous zeolite crystals effectively tuned Pd-catalyzed overhydrogenation into semihydrogenation. This catalyst displayed an ethylene selectivity of 92.9% with a full conversion of acetylene. Mechanism studies reveal that the zeolite fixation stabilized the alloyed structure, where the electron-enriched Pd surface benefits the rapid ethylene desorption to hinder the deep hydrogenation. This work provides an efficient strategy for a rational design of bimetallic metal catalysts for selective hydrogenations.