Atomically Dispersed Cobalt/Copper Dual-Metal Catalysts for Synergistically Boosting Hydrogen Generation from Formic Acid.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023;
62:e202313099. [PMID:
37694769 DOI:
10.1002/anie.202313099]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
The development of practical materials for (de)hydrogenation reactions is a prerequisite for the launch of a sustainable hydrogen economy. Herein, we present the design and construction of an atomically dispersed dual-metal site Co/Cu-N-C catalyst allowing significantly improved dehydrogenation of formic acid, which is available from carbon dioxide and green hydrogen. The active catalyst centers consist of specific CoCuN6 moieties with double-N-bridged adjacent metal-N4 clusters decorated on a nitrogen-doped carbon support. At optimal conditions the dehydrogenation performance of the nanostructured material (mass activity 77.7 L ⋅ gmetal -1 ⋅ h-1 ) is up to 40 times higher compared to commercial 5 % Pd/C. In situ spectroscopic and kinetic isotope effect experiments indicate that Co/Cu-N-C promoted formic acid dehydrogenation follows the so-called formate pathway with the C-H dissociation of HCOO* as the rate-determining step. Theoretical calculations reveal that Cu in the CoCuN6 moiety synergistically contributes to the adsorption of intermediate HCOO* and raises the d-band center of Co to favor HCOO* activation and thereby lower the reaction energy barrier.
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