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Ahmed M, Wang C, Zhao Y, Sathish CI, Lei Z, Qiao L, Sun C, Wang S, Kennedy JV, Vinu A, Yi J. Bridging Together Theoretical and Experimental Perspectives in Single-Atom Alloys for Electrochemical Ammonia Production. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024:e2308084. [PMID: 38243883 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202308084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Ammonia is an essential commodity in the food and chemical industry. Despite the energy-intensive nature, the Haber-Bosch process is the only player in ammonia production at large scales. Developing other strategies is highly desirable, as sustainable and decentralized ammonia production is crucial. Electrochemical ammonia production by directly reducing nitrogen and nitrogen-based moieties powered by renewable energy sources holds great potential. However, low ammonia production and selectivity rates hamper its utilization as a large-scale ammonia production process. Creating effective and selective catalysts for the electrochemical generation of ammonia is critical for long-term nitrogen fixation. Single-atom alloys (SAAs) have become a new class of materials with distinctive features that may be able to solve some of the problems with conventional heterogeneous catalysts. The design and optimization of SAAs for electrochemical ammonia generation have recently been significantly advanced. This comprehensive review discusses these advancements from theoretical and experimental research perspectives, offering a fundamental understanding of the development of SAAs for ammonia production.
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Affiliation(s)
- MuhammadIbrar Ahmed
- Global Innovative Center of Advanced Nanomaterials, School of Engineering, College of Engineering, Science, and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Cheng Wang
- CSIRO Energy Centre, 10 Murray Dwyer Circuit, Mayfield West, NSW, 2304, Australia
| | - Yong Zhao
- CSIRO Energy Centre, 10 Murray Dwyer Circuit, Mayfield West, NSW, 2304, Australia
| | - C I Sathish
- Global Innovative Center of Advanced Nanomaterials, School of Engineering, College of Engineering, Science, and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Zhihao Lei
- Global Innovative Center of Advanced Nanomaterials, School of Engineering, College of Engineering, Science, and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Liang Qiao
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
| | - Chenghua Sun
- Centre for Translational Atomaterials, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122, Australia
| | - Shaobin Wang
- School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
| | - John V Kennedy
- National Isotope Centre, GNS Science, P.O. Box 31312, Lower Hutt, 5010, New Zealand
| | - Ajayan Vinu
- Global Innovative Center of Advanced Nanomaterials, School of Engineering, College of Engineering, Science, and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Jiabao Yi
- Global Innovative Center of Advanced Nanomaterials, School of Engineering, College of Engineering, Science, and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
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Wu Y, Lv J, Xie F, An R, Zhang J, Huang H, Shen Z, Jiang L, Xu M, Yao Q, Cao Y. Single and double transition metal atoms doped graphdiyne for highly efficient electrocatalytic reduction of nitric oxide to ammonia. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 656:155-167. [PMID: 37989049 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
The electrocatalytic conversion of nitric oxide (NORR) to ammonia (NH3) represents a pivotal approach for sustainable energy transformation and efficient waste utilization. Designing highly effective catalysts to facilitate the conversion of NO into NH3 remains a formidable challenge. In this work, the density functional theory (DFT) is used to design NORR catalysts based on single and double transition metal (TM:Fe, Co, Ni and Cu) atoms supported by graphdiyne (TM@GDY). Among eight catalysts, the Cu2@GDY is selected as a the most stable NORR catalyst with high NH3 activity and selectivity. A pivotal discovery underscores that the NORR mechanism is thermodynamically constrained on single atom catalysts (SACs), while being governed by electrochemical processes on double atom catalysts (DACs), a distinction arising from the different d-band centers of these catalysts. Therefore, this work not only introduces an efficient NORR catalyst but also provides crucial insights into the fundamental parameters influencing NORR performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Wu
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Jiarui Lv
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Fengjing Xie
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - RunZhi An
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Jiaojiao Zhang
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Hong Huang
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Zhangfeng Shen
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Lingchang Jiang
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China
| | - Minhong Xu
- Department of Materials Engineering, Huzhou University, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang, PR China.
| | - Qiufang Yao
- College of Advanced Materials Engineering, Jiaxing Nanhu University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China.
| | - Yongyong Cao
- College of Biological, Chemical Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, PR China.
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Wu J, Wu D, Li H, Song Y, Lv W, Yu X, Ma D. Tailoring the coordination environment of double-atom catalysts to boost electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction: a first-principles study. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:16056-16067. [PMID: 37728053 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr03310d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Tailoring the coordination environment is an effective strategy to modulate the electronic structure and catalytic activity of atomically dispersed transition-metal (TM) catalysts, which has been widely investigated for single-atom catalysts but received less attention for emerging double-atom catalysts (DACs). Herein, based on first-principles calculations, taking the commonly studied N-coordinated graphene-based DACs as references, we explored the effect of coordination engineering on the catalytic behaviors of DACs towards the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), which is realized through replacing one N atom by the B or O atom to form B, N or O, N co-coordinated DACs. We found that B, N or O, N co-coordination could significantly strengthen N2 adsorption and alter the N2 adsorption pattern of the TM dimer active center, which greatly facilitates N2 activation. Moreover, on the studied DACs, the linear scaling relationship between the binding strengths of key intermediates can be attenuated. Consequently, the O, N co-coordinated Mn2 DACs, exhibiting an ultralow limiting potential of -0.27 V, climb to the peak of the activity volcano. In addition, the experimental feasibility of this DAC system was also identified. Overall, benefiting from the coordination engineering effect, the chemical activity and catalytic performance of the DACs for NRR can be significantly boosted. This phenomena can be understood from the adjusted electronic structure of the TM dimer active center due to the changes of its coordination microenvironment, which significantly affects the binding strength (pattern) of key intermediates and changes the reaction pathways, leading to enhanced NRR activity and selectivity. This work highlights the importance of coordination engineering in developing DACs for the electrocatalytic NRR and other important reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiarui Wu
- Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
| | - Donghai Wu
- Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
- Henan Key Laboratory of Nanocomposites and Applications, Institute of Nanostructured Functional Materials, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450006, China
| | - Haobo Li
- Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
| | - Yanhao Song
- Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
| | - Wenjing Lv
- Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
| | - Xiaohu Yu
- Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Catalysis, School of Chemical & Environment Sciences, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China.
| | - Dongwei Ma
- Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
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