1
|
Abdellah AM, Ismail F, Siig OW, Yang J, Andrei CM, DiCecco LA, Rakhsha A, Salem KE, Grandfield K, Bassim N, Black R, Kastlunger G, Soleymani L, Higgins D. Impact of palladium/palladium hydride conversion on electrochemical CO 2 reduction via in-situ transmission electron microscopy and diffraction. Nat Commun 2024; 15:938. [PMID: 38296966 PMCID: PMC10831057 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45096-3] [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: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Electrochemical conversion of CO2 offers a sustainable route for producing fuels and chemicals. Pd-based catalysts are effective for converting CO2 into formate at low overpotentials and CO/H2 at high overpotentials, while undergoing poorly understood morphology and phase structure transformations under reaction conditions that impact performance. Herein, in-situ liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy and select area diffraction measurements are applied to track the morphology and Pd/PdHx phase interconversion under reaction conditions as a function of electrode potential. These studies identify the degradation mechanisms, including poisoning and physical structure changes, occurring in PdHx/Pd electrodes. Constant potential density functional theory calculations are used to probe the reaction mechanisms occurring on the PdHx structures observed under reaction conditions. Microkinetic modeling reveals that the intercalation of *H into Pd is essential for formate production. However, the change in electrochemical CO2 conversion selectivity away from formate and towards CO/H2 at increasing overpotentials is due to electrode potential dependent changes in the reaction energetics and not a consequence of morphology or phase structure changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M Abdellah
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Fatma Ismail
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Oliver W Siig
- CatTheory, Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jie Yang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Carmen M Andrei
- Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | | | - Amirhossein Rakhsha
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kholoud E Salem
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kathryn Grandfield
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Nabil Bassim
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Robert Black
- National Research Council of Canada, Energy, Mining, and Environment Research Centre, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Georg Kastlunger
- CatTheory, Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Leyla Soleymani
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Drew Higgins
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
- Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Tan SF, Reidy K, Klein J, Pinkowitz A, Wang B, Ross FM. Real-time imaging of nanoscale electrochemical Ni etching under thermal conditions. Chem Sci 2021; 12:5259-5268. [PMID: 34163761 PMCID: PMC8179569 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc06057g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to vary the temperature of an electrochemical cell provides opportunities to control reaction rates and pathways and to drive processes that are inaccessible at ambient temperature. Here, we explore the effect of temperature on electrochemical etching of Ni–Pt bimetallic nanoparticles. To observe the process at nanoscale resolution we use liquid cell transmission electron microscopy with a modified liquid cell that enables simultaneous heating and biasing. By controlling the cell temperature, we demonstrate that the reaction rate and dissolution potential of the electrochemical Ni etching process can be changed. The in situ measurements suggest that the destabilization of the native nickel oxide layer is the slow step prior to subsequent fast Ni removal in the electrochemical Ni dissolution process. These experiments highlight the importance of in situ structural characterization under electrochemical and thermal conditions as a strategy to provide deeper insights into nanomaterial transformations as a function of temperature and potential. The combination of electrochemical analysis, temperature control and in situ TEM imaging directly probes the etching of Ni from bimetallic Ni–Pt nanoparticles.![]()
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shu Fen Tan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA 02139 Cambridge USA
| | - Kate Reidy
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA 02139 Cambridge USA
| | - Julian Klein
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA 02139 Cambridge USA
| | - Ainsley Pinkowitz
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA 02139 Cambridge USA
| | - Baoming Wang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA 02139 Cambridge USA
| | - Frances M Ross
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA 02139 Cambridge USA
| |
Collapse
|