CO oxidation over defective and nonmetal doped MoS2monolayers

Thickness-dependent catalytic activity of hydrogen evolution based on single atomic catalyst of Pt above MXene

Hydrogen as the cleanest energy carrier is a promising alternative renewable resource to fossil fuels. There is an ever-increasing interest in exploring efficient and cost-effective approaches of hydrogen production. Recent experiments have shown that single platinum atom immobilized on the metal vacancies of MXenes allows a high-efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here usingab initiocalculations, we design a series of substitutional Pt-doped Ti_{n+ 1}C_nT_x(Ti_{n+ 1}C_nT_x-Pt_SA) with different thicknesses and terminations (n= 1, 2 and 3, T_x= O, F and OH), and investigate the quantum-confinement effect on the HER catalytic performance. Surprisingly, we reveal a strong thickness effect of the MXene layer on the HER performance. Among the various surface-terminated derivatives, Ti₂CF₂-Pt_SAand Ti₂CH₂O₂-Pt_SAare found to be the best HER catalysts with the change of Gibbs free energy ΔG_H*∼ 0 eV, complying with the thermoneutral condition. Theab initiomolecular dynamics simulations reveal that Ti₂CF₂-Pt_SAand Ti₂CH₂O₂-Pt_SApossess a good thermodynamic stability. The present work shows that the HER catalytic activity of the MXene is not solely governed by the local environment of the surface such as Pt single atom. We point out the critical role of thickness control and surface decoration of substrate in achieving a high-performance HER catalytical activity.

Efficient electrocatalytic reduction of NO to ammonia on BC3 nanosheets

Searching for an economical and highly efficient electrocatalytic reduction catalyst for ammonia synthesis under controllable conditions is a very attractive and challenging subject in chemistry. In this study, we systematically studied the electrocatalytic performance of BC₃ nanosheets as potential NO reduction reaction (NORR) electrocatalysts using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It was found that BC₃ two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit excellent catalytic activity with a very low limiting potential of -0.29/-0.11 V along three reaction paths. The total reaction is NO (g)+5H⁺+5e^-→NH₃(g)+ H₂O. The density of states of adsorbed NO, NH_3, and the corresponding crystal orbital hamiltonian population (COHP) analysis revealed the mechanism of NO being activated and the reasons for NH₃ adsorption/desorption on the surface of BC₃. The reaction path, limiting potential, and Gibbs free energy calculations of BC₃ catalyzed NO to ammonia synthesis revealed that for path 1, the potential-determining step is *NO+H⁺+e^-→*NOH, and for path 2/3 the potential-determining step is *NO+(H⁺+e^-)→*HNO. Calculation of the thermodynamic energy barriers for NO dissociation at the BC₃ surface and NO hydrogenation reveals that NO is more likely to be hydrogenated rather than dissociated. The influences of the proton-electron hydrogenation site on the process of ammonia synthesis in the key reduction step were analyzed by Bader charge analysis and charge density, it is pointed out that the electronic structure and affects the reaction process can be controlled by hydrogenation at different sites of intermediates. These results pave the way for using nitrogen oxides not just nitrogen as raw materials for ammonia synthesis with 2D materials.