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Wei X, Liu Y, Zhu X, Bo S, Xiao L, Chen C, Nga TTT, He Y, Qiu M, Xie C, Wang D, Liu Q, Dong F, Dong CL, Fu XZ, Wang S. Dynamic Reconstitution Between Copper Single Atoms and Clusters for Electrocatalytic Urea Synthesis. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2300020. [PMID: 36744440 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Electrocatalytic CN coupling between carbon dioxide and nitrate has emerged to meet the comprehensive demands of carbon footprint closing, valorization of waste, and sustainable manufacture of urea. However, the identification of catalytic active sites and the design of efficient electrocatalysts remain a challenge. Herein, the synthesis of urea catalyzed by copper single atoms decorated on a CeO2 support (denoted as Cu1 -CeO2 ) is reported. The catalyst exhibits an average urea yield rate of 52.84 mmol h-1 gcat. -1 at -1.6 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Operando X-ray absorption spectra demonstrate the reconstitution of copper single atoms (Cu1 ) to clusters (Cu4 ) during electrolysis. These electrochemically reconstituted Cu4 clusters are real active sites for electrocatalytic urea synthesis. Favorable CN coupling reactions and urea formation on Cu4 are validated using operando synchrotron-radiation Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. Dynamic and reversible transformations of clusters to single-atom configurations occur when the applied potential is switched to an open-circuit potential, endowing the catalyst with superior structural and electrochemical stabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxiao Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, China
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Yingying Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, China
| | - Xiaorong Zhu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, 226007, China
| | - Shuowen Bo
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230052, China
| | - Lei Xiao
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610056, China
| | - Chen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, China
| | - Ta Thi Thuy Nga
- Department of Physics, Tamkang University, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 251301, China
| | - Yuanqing He
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, China
| | - Mengyi Qiu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, China
| | - Chao Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, China
| | - Dongdong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, China
| | - Qinghua Liu
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230052, China
| | - Fan Dong
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610056, China
| | - Chung-Li Dong
- Department of Physics, Tamkang University, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 251301, China
| | - Xian-Zhu Fu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Shuangyin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410012, China
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Osiecki JR, Suto S, Chutia A. Periodic corner holes on the Si(111)-7×7 surface can trap silver atoms. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2973. [PMID: 35624114 PMCID: PMC9142567 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29768-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Advancement in nanotechnology to a large extent depends on the ability to manipulate materials at the atomistic level, including positioning single atoms on the active sites of the surfaces of interest, promoting strong chemical bonding. Here, we report a long-time confinement of a single Ag atom inside a corner hole (CH) of the technologically relevant Si(111)-7×7 surface, which has comparable size as a fullerene C60 molecule with a single dangling bond at the bottom center. Experiments reveal that a set of 17 Ag atoms stays entrapped in the CH for the entire duration of experiment, 4 days and 7 h. Warming up the surface to about 150 °C degrees forces the Ag atoms out of the CH within a few minutes. The processes of entrapment and diffusion are temperature dependent. Theoretical calculations based on density functional theory support the experimental results confirming the highest adsorption energy at the CH for the Ag atom, and suggest that other elements such as Li, Na, Cu, Au, F and I may display similar behavior. The capability of atomic manipulation at room temperature makes this effect particularly attractive for building single atom devices and possibly developing new engineering and nano-manufacturing methods. Positioning and trapping single atoms at specific sites of surfaces is a challenging goal that can advance the development of single atom devices. Here the authors demonstrate that single Ag atoms are trapped inside corner holes of the Si(111)-7×7 surface for more than 4 days at room temperature, and suggest that this behavior may be shared by other elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacek R Osiecki
- MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University, SE22100, Lund, Sweden. .,Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan.
| | - Shozo Suto
- Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan.
| | - Arunabhiram Chutia
- School of Chemistry, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, United Kingdom.
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Chutia A. A study on the stability of gold copper bimetallic clusters on the CeO2(110) surface. CATAL COMMUN 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.catcom.2021.106376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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Zhang R, Chutia A, Sokol AA, Chadwick D, Catlow CRA. A computational investigation of the adsorption of small copper clusters on the CeO 2(110) surface. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:19329-19342. [PMID: 34524332 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp02973h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We report a detailed density functional theory (DFT) study of the geometrical and electronic properties, and the growth mechanism of a Cun (n = 1-4) cluster on a stoichiometric, and especially on a defective CeO2(110) surface with one surface oxygen vacancy, without using pre-assumed gas-phase Cun cluster shapes. This gives new and valuable theoretical insight into experimental work regarding debatable active sites of promising CuOx/CeO2-nanorod catalysts in many reactions. We demonstrate that CeO2(110) is highly reducible upon Cun adsorption, with electron transfer from Cun clusters, and that a Cun cluster grows along the long bridge sites until Cu3, so that each Cu atom can interact strongly with surface oxygen ions at these sites, forming stable structures on both stoichiometric and defective CeO2(110) surface. Cu-Cu interactions are, however, limited, since Cu atoms are distant from each other, inhibiting the formation of Cu-Cu bonds. This monolayer then begins to grow into a bilayer as seen in the Cu3 to Cu4 transition, with long-bridge site Cu as anchoring sites. Our calculations on Cu4 adsorption reveal a Cu bilayer rich in Cu+ species at the Cu-O interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Zhang
- Dept of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | | | - Alexey A Sokol
- Dept of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon St., London WC1H 0AJ, UK
| | - David Chadwick
- Dept of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - C Richard A Catlow
- Dept of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon St., London WC1H 0AJ, UK.,School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 1AT, UK
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Martini A, Guda AA, Guda SA, Bugaev AL, Safonova OV, Soldatov AV. Machine learning powered by principal component descriptors as the key for sorted structural fit of XANES. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:17873-17887. [PMID: 34378592 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp01794b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Modern synchrotron radiation sources and free electron laser made X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) an analytical tool for the structural analysis of materials under in situ or operando conditions. Fourier approach applied to the extended region of the XAS spectrum (EXAFS) allows the estimation of the number of structural and non-structural parameters which can be refined through a fitting procedure. The near edge region of the XAS spectrum (XANES) is also sensitive to the coordinates of all the atoms in the local cluster around the absorbing atom. However, in contrast to EXAFS, the existing approaches of quantitative analysis provide no estimation for the number of structural parameters that can be evaluated for a given XANES spectrum. This problem exists both for the classical gradient descent approaches and for modern machine learning methods based on neural networks. We developed a new approach for rational fit based on principal component descriptors of the spectrum. In this work the principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to a dataset of theoretical spectra calculated a priori on a grid of variable structural parameters of a molecule or cluster. Each principal component of the dataset is related then to a combined variation of several structural parameters, similar to the vibrational normal mode. Orthogonal principal components determine orthogonal deformations that can be extracted independently upon the analysis of the XANES spectrum. Applying statistical criteria, the PCA-based fit of the XANES determines the accessible structural information in the spectrum for a given system.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Martini
- The Smart Materials Research Institute, Southern Federal University, 344090 Sladkova 178/24, Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
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Adsorption and activation of molecular oxygen over atomic copper(I/II) site on ceria. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4008. [PMID: 32782245 PMCID: PMC7419315 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17852-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Supported atomic metal sites have discrete molecular orbitals. Precise control over the energies of these sites is key to achieving novel reaction pathways with superior selectivity. Here, we achieve selective oxygen (O2) activation by utilising a framework of cerium (Ce) cations to reduce the energy of 3d orbitals of isolated copper (Cu) sites. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance and density-functional theory simulations are used to demonstrate that a [Cu(I)O2]3- site selectively adsorbs molecular O2, forming a rarely reported electrophilic η2-O2 species at 298 K. Assisted by neighbouring Ce(III) cations, η2-O2 is finally reduced to two O2-, that create two Cu-O-Ce oxo-bridges at 453 K. The isolated Cu(I)/(II) sites are ten times more active in CO oxidation than CuO clusters, showing a turnover frequency of 0.028 ± 0.003 s-1 at 373 K and 0.01 bar PCO. The unique electronic structure of [Cu(I)O2]3- site suggests its potential in selective oxidation.
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Effect of Cu/CeO2 catalyst preparation methods on their characteristics for low temperature water−gas shift reaction: A detailed study. Catal Today 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2019.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Yu WZ, Wang WW, Li SQ, Fu XP, Wang X, Wu K, Si R, Ma C, Jia CJ, Yan CH. Construction of Active Site in a Sintered Copper–Ceria Nanorod Catalyst. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:17548-17557. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b05419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Zhu Yu
- Key Laboratory for Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Special Aggregated Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
| | - Wei-Wei Wang
- Key Laboratory for Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Special Aggregated Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
| | - Shan-Qing Li
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Chizhou University, Chizhou 247000, China
| | - Xin-Pu Fu
- Key Laboratory for Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Special Aggregated Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
| | - Xu Wang
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, China
| | - Ke Wu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Lab of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, PKU-HKU Joint Lab in Rare Earth Materials and Bioinorganic Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Rui Si
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, China
| | - Chao Ma
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| | - Chun-Jiang Jia
- Key Laboratory for Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Special Aggregated Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
| | - Chun-Hua Yan
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Lab of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, PKU-HKU Joint Lab in Rare Earth Materials and Bioinorganic Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
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Paz-Borbón LO, Buendía F, Garzón IL, Posada-Amarillas A, Illas F, Li J. CeO 2(111) electronic reducibility tuned by ultra-small supported bimetallic Pt-Cu clusters. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:15286-15296. [PMID: 31090767 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp01772k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Controlling Ce4+ to Ce3+ electronic reducibility in a rare-earth binary oxide such as CeO2 has enormous applications in heterogeneous catalysis, where a profound understanding of reactivity and selectivity at the atomic level is yet to be reached. Thus, in this work we report an extensive DFT-based Basin Hopping global optimization study to find the most stable bimetallic Pt-Cu clusters supported on the CeO2(111) oxide surface, involving up to 5 atoms in size for all compositions. Our PBE+U global optimization calculations indicate a preference for Pt-Cu clusters to adopt 2D planar geometries parallel to the oxide surface, due to the formation of strong metal bonds to oxygen surface sites and charge transfer effects. The calculated adsorption energy values (Eads) for both mono- and bimetallic systems are of the order of 1.79 up to 4.07 eV, implying a strong metal cluster interaction with the oxide surface. Our calculations indicate that at such sub-nanometer sizes, the number of Ce4+ surface atoms reduced to Ce3+ cations is mediated by the amount of Cu atoms within the cluster, reaching a maximum of three Ce3+ for a supported Cu5 cluster. Our computational results have critical implications on the continuous understanding of the strong metal-support interactions over reducible oxides such as CeO2, as well as the advancement of frontier research areas such as heterogeneous single-atom catalysts (SAC) and single-cluster catalysts (SCC).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauro Oliver Paz-Borbón
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 20-364, 01000 CDMX, Mexico.
| | - Fernando Buendía
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 20-364, 01000 CDMX, Mexico.
| | - Ignacio L Garzón
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 20-364, 01000 CDMX, Mexico.
| | - Alvaro Posada-Amarillas
- Departamento de Investigación en Física, Universidad de Sonora, Blvd. Luis Encinas & Rosales, 83000 Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
| | - Francesc Illas
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Quιmica Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), de la Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China and Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Chutia A, Willock DJ, Catlow CRA. The electronic properties of Au clusters on CeO2 (110) surface with and without O-defects. Faraday Discuss 2018; 208:123-145. [DOI: 10.1039/c8fd00002f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We use density functional theory with Hubbard corrections (DFT+U) to understand the local electronic properties of Au adatom and Au2 dimer adsorption on the CeO2 (110) surface with and without O-defects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arunabhiram Chutia
- UK Catalysis Hub
- RCaH
- Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
- UK
- Department of Chemistry
| | - David J. Willock
- Cardiff Catalysis Institute
- School of Chemistry
- Cardiff University
- Cardiff
- UK
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