Mesopore-Augmented Electrochemical CO Reduction on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon.

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (eCORR) using nitrogen-doped carbon (N-C) materials offers a promising and cost-effective approach to global carbon neutrality. Regulating the porosity of N-C materials can potentially increase the catalytic performance by suppressing the concurrence of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the augmentation of porosity usually alters the active sites or the chemical composition of catalysts, resulting in intertwined influences of various structural factors and catalytic performance.

Shaping of Porous CeO Powders into Highly Active Catalyst Carriers.

CeO is attracting more and more attention because of its outstanding performance in heterogeneous catalysis, as an active support and a reaction promoter in reactions of industrial interest. We herein describe a novel and scalable manufacturing process of mm-sized CeO spheres by a combination of extrusion and spheronization of CeO porous powders. In this study, wet paste formulation and fabrication procedures were optimized, and as a result methylcellulose was identified as the best plasticizer for paste extrusion to provide well-defined spherical shapes and smooth surfaces, as well as reproducible batches.

Improvement of carbon dioxide electroreduction by crystal surface modification of ZIF-8.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) possess high CO adsorption properties and are considered to be a promising candidate for the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (eCORR). However, their insufficient selectivity and current density constrain their further exploration in the eCORR. In this work, by introducing a very small proportion of 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (DOBDC) into ZIF-8, a surface modified ZIF-8-5% catalyst was synthesized by a post-modification method, exhibiting enhanced selectivity (from 56% to 79%) and current density (from -4 mA cm to -10 mA m) compared to ZIF-8.

CuO-Cu@Titanium Surface with Synergistic Performance for Nitrate-to-Ammonia Electrochemical Reduction.

Transition metals, such as titanium (Ti) and copper (Cu) along with their respective metal oxides (TiO, CuO, and CuO), have been widely studied as electrocatalysts for nitrate electrochemical reduction with important outcomes in the fields of denitrification and ammonia generation. Based on this, this work conducted an evaluation of a composite electrode that integrates materials with different intrinsic activities (i.e.

Engineering the Interfacial Microenvironment via Surface Hydroxylation to Realize the Global Optimization of Electrochemical CO Reduction.

The adsorption and activation of CO on the electrode interface is a prerequisite and key step for electrocatalytic CO reduction reaction (eCO RR). Regulating the interfacial microenvironment to promote the adsorption and activation of CO is thus of great significance to optimize overall conversion efficiency. Herein, a CO-philic hydroxyl coordinated ZnO (ZnO-OH) catalyst is fabricated, for the first time, via a facile MOF-assisted method.