Construction of Synergistic Co/CoO Interface to Enhance Hydrogenation Activity of Ethyl Lactate to 1,2-Propanediol.

The development of effective and stable non-precious catalysts for hydrogenation of ester to diols remains a challenge. Herein, the catalytic hydrogenation of ethyl lactate (EL) to 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO) with supported Co catalysts derived from layered double hydroxides (LDHs) is investigated. Catalytic tests reveal that LDH-derived Co catalysts exhibit the best catalytic performance with 98 % of EL conversion and >99 % of 1,2-PDO selectivity at mild conditions, compared with other Co catalysts (supported on AlO, and TiO) and LDH-derived Cu catalysts.

Low-Coordinated Zn-N Sites as Bidirectional Atomic Catalysis for Room-Temperature Na-S Batteries.

The rational design of advanced catalysts for sodium-sulfur (Na-S) batteries is important but remains challenging due to the limited understanding of sulfur catalytic mechanisms. Here, we propose an efficient sulfur host consisting of atomic low-coordinated Zn-N sites dispersed on N-rich microporous graphene (Zn-N@NG), which realizes state-of-the-art sodium-storage performance with a high sulfur content of 66 wt %, high-rate capability (467 mA h g at 5 A g), and long cycling stability for 6500 cycles with an ultralow capacity decay rate of 0.0062% per cycle.

Self-Assembly of Ir-Based Nanosheets with Ordered Interlayer Space for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation.

Iridium (Ir)-based electrocatalysts are widely explored as benchmarks for acidic oxygen evolution reactions (OERs). However, further enhancing their catalytic activity remains challenging due to the difficulty in identifying active species and unfavorable architectures. In this work, we synthesized ultrathin Ir-IrO/C nanosheets with ordered interlayer space for enhanced OER by a nanoconfined self-assembly strategy, employing block copolymer formed stable end-merged lamellar micelles.

Intrinsic ORR Activity Enhancement of Pt Atomic Sites by Engineering the d-Band Center via Local Coordination Tuning.

A considerable amount of platinum (Pt) is required to ensure an adequate rate for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Thus, the implementation of atomic Pt catalysts holds promise for minimizing the Pt content. In this contribution, atomic Pt sites with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) co-coordination on a carbon matrix (PtNPC) are conceptually predicted and experimentally developed to alter the d-band center of Pt, thereby promoting the intrinsic ORR activity.

Highly Efficient Electro-reforming of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural on Vertically Oriented Nickel Nanosheet/Carbon Hybrid Catalysts: Structure-Function Relationships.

Ni-promoted electrocatalytic biomass reforming has shown promising prospect in enabling high value-added product synthesis. Here, we developed a novel hybrid catalyst with Ni nanosheet forests anchored on carbon paper. The hybrid catalyst exhibits high efficiency in electrooxidation of HMF to FDCA coupling with H production in high purity.

MoS on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene for High-Efficiency Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: Unraveling the Mechanisms of Unique Interfacial Bonding for Efficient Charge Transport and Stability.

Functional nanostructures with abundant exposed active sites and facile charge transport through conductive scaffolds to active sites are pivotal for developing an advanced and efficient electrocatalyst for water splitting. In the present study, by coating ∼3 nm MoS on nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) pre-engrafted on a flexible carbon cloth (MNG) as a model system, an extremely low Tafel slope of 39.6 mV dec with cyclic stability up to 5000 cycles is obtained.

High Durability of PtSn/Graphene Electrocatalysts toward the Oxygen Reduction Reaction Studied with In Situ QEXAFS.

To prevent the corrosion of carbon and to enhance corrosion resistance, charge transfer, and mass transfer, graphene, which exhibits a high surface area and good conductivity, was used as an electrocatalyst support for a fuel cell. PtSn/G electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were prepared with alcohol reduction. The characterization of synthesized catalysts was analyzed according to the energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS).

The Electro-Deposition/Dissolution of CuSO Aqueous Electrolyte Investigated by In Situ Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

The electrodeposition nature of copper on a gold electrode in a 4.8 pH CuSO solution was inquired using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, and thermal desorption spectroscopy techniques. Our results point out that the electrodeposition of copper prompts the formation of stable oxi-hydroxide species with a formal oxidation state Cu without the evidence of metallic copper formation (Cu).

Domination of second-sphere shrinkage effect to improve photoluminescence of red nitride phosphors.

Red Ca0.99Al(1-4δ/3-x)Si(1+δ+x)N(3-x)C(x):Eu(2+)0.01 (δ = 0.