Effect of Iron Doping in Ordered Nickel Oxide Thin Film Catalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Water splitting has emerged as a promising route for generating hydrogen as an alternative to conventional production methods. Finding affordable and scalable catalysts for the anodic half-reaction, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), could help with its industrial widespread implementation. Iron-containing Ni-based catalysts have a competitive performance for the use in commercial alkaline electrolyzers.

Enhanced Methanol Synthesis from CO Hydrogenation Achieved by Tuning the Cu-ZnO Interaction in ZnO/CuO Nanocube Catalysts Supported on ZrO and SiO.

The nature of the Cu-Zn interaction and especially the role of Zn in Cu/ZnO catalysts used for methanol synthesis from CO hydrogenation are still debated. Migration of Zn onto the Cu surface during reaction results in a Cu-ZnO interface, which is crucial for the catalytic activity. However, whether a Cu-Zn alloy or a Cu-ZnO structure is formed and the transformation of this interface under working conditions demand further investigation.

insights into correlating CO coverage and Cu-Au alloying with the selectivity of Au NP-decorated CuO nanocubes during the electrocatalytic CO reduction.

Electrochemical reduction of CO (CORR) is an attractive technology to reintegrate the anthropogenic CO back into the carbon cycle driven by a suitable catalyst. This study employs highly efficient multi-carbon (C) producing CuO nanocubes (NCs) decorated with CO-selective Au nanoparticles (NPs) to investigate the correlation between a high CO surface concentration microenvironment and the catalytic performance. Structure, morphology and near-surface composition are studied X-ray absorption spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, high-energy X-ray diffraction as well as quasi X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Shape-Dependent CO Hydrogenation to Methanol over CuO Nanocubes Supported on ZnO.

The hydrogenation of CO to methanol over Cu/ZnO-based catalysts is highly sensitive to the surface composition and catalyst structure. Thus, its optimization requires a deep understanding of the influence of the pre-catalyst structure on its evolution under realistic reaction conditions, including the formation and stabilization of the most active sites. Here, the role of the pre-catalyst shape (cubic vs spherical) in the activity and selectivity of ZnO-supported Cu nanoparticles was investigated during methanol synthesis.

Operando high-pressure investigation of size-controlled CuZn catalysts for the methanol synthesis reaction.

Although Cu/ZnO-based catalysts have been long used for the hydrogenation of CO to methanol, open questions still remain regarding the role and the dynamic nature of the active sites formed at the metal-oxide interface. Here, we apply high-pressure operando spectroscopy methods to well-defined Cu and CuZn nanoparticles supported on ZnO/AlO, γ-AlO and SiO to correlate their structure, composition and catalytic performance. We obtain similar activity and methanol selectivity for Cu/ZnO/AlO and CuZn/SiO, but the methanol yield decreases with time on stream for the latter sample.

Surface Segregation in CuNi Nanoparticle Catalysts During CO Hydrogenation: The Role of CO in the Reactant Mixture.

Surface segregation and restructuring in size-selected CuNi nanoparticles were investigated via near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) at various temperatures in different gas environments. Particularly in focus were structural and morphological changes occurring under CO hydrogenation conditions in the presence of carbon monoxide (CO) in the reactant gas mixture. Nickel surface segregation was observed when only CO was present as adsorbate.