Activating the Basal Planes of TiC MXene for Accelerated Ammonia Electrosynthesis: Role of Surface Terminations.

Altering the edge sites of 2D MXenes for electrochemical dinitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR) is widely reported, whereas activation of its relatively inert basal planes is neglected. Herein, the activation and the optimization of the basal planes of TiCT (T = *F, *O, and *OH) MXenes toward enhanced ENRR to ammonia is reported. The balanced surface functionalization in TiCT regulates the ENRR kinetics by regulating the potential of zero charge (E) and the electrochemical work function ( ).

A changeable critical state for a switchable photocurrent direction the photo-electrochemical photocurrent polarity switching effect in BiFeO nanoparticulate films.

The photoelectrochemical photocurrent switching (PEPS) effect to change the photocurrent direction from cathodic to anodic external bias is an important phenomenon. Specifically, tuning the critical state or the potential corresponding to a switchable photocurrent direction through easily controllable parameters is crucial for developing efficient photo-electrocatalyst systems. Although the PEPS effect has been reported in quite a few recently published studies, the changeable critical state has not yet been demonstrated.

Unraveling the Active Sites on Mesoporous CuFeO@N-Carbon Catalysts with Abundant Oxygen Vacancies and M-N-C Content for Boosted Nitrogen Reduction Toward Electrosynthesis of Ammonia.

Transition metal centers dispersed over nitrogen-doped carbon (M-NC) supports have been widely explored for electrocatalytic reactions; however, sparsely reported for electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR). Particularly, the single-atom catalysts (SACs) have shown reasonable ammonia yield rate and faradaic efficiency (FE), but their complex synthesis and low durability for long-term electrocatalysis runs restrict their use on a larger scale. Importantly, the catalytic active sites in metal nanostructured-based M-NC catalysts toward enhanced N adsorption and activation are still not clear as they are highly challenging to reveal.

Engineered Electron-Deficient Sites at Boron-Doped Strontium Titanate/Electrolyte Interfaces Accelerate the Electrocatalytic Reduction of N to NH: A Combined DFT and Experimental Electrocatalysis Study.

The development of an efficient, selective, and durable catalysis system for the electrocatalytic N reduction reaction (ENRR) is a promising strategy for the sustainable production of ammonia. The high-performance ENRR is limited by two major challenges: poor adsorption of N over the catalyst surface and abysmal N solubility in aqueous electrolytes. Herein, with the help of our combined density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental electrocatalysis study, we demonstrate that concurrently induced electron-deficient Lewis acid sites in an electrocatalyst and in an electrolyte medium can significantly boost the ENRR performance.

Tuning the d-Band Center in Prussian Blue Analogues via Modulated Carbon and Nitrogen Coordinated Metals for Boosted Bi-Functional Oxygen Electrocatalytic Activity.

The d-band center is a promising descriptor to understand trends in electrocatalysis extensively studied in transition metal oxides but largely unexplored in metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Herein, we present our systematic study aimed at developing a mini-volcano plot demonstrating dependence of bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activity of Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) on their d-band center. Our results from ex-situ core level and valence band XPS, Raman, and FTIR spectroscopy suggest that the tuning of the d-band center via modulated N and C-coordinated metal centers dictates their electrocatalytic OER and ORR activities.

Efficient charge separation and improved photocatalytic activity in Type-II & Type-III heterojunction based multiple interfaces in BiOClBr-Q: DFT and Experimental Insight.

The nanostructured, inner-coupled Bismuth oxyhalides (BiOXX'; X, X' = Cl, Br, I; X≠X') heterostructures were prepared using Quercetin (Q) as a sensitizer. The present study revealed the tuning of the band properties of as-prepared catalysts. The catalysts were characterized using various characterization techniques for evaluating the superior photocatalytic efficiency and a better understanding of elemental interactions at interfaces formed in the heterojunction.

Electrochemical reduction of CO to ethylene on Cu/Cu O-GO composites in aqueous solution.

Here, we present fabrication of Graphene oxide (GO) supported Cu/Cu O nano-electrodeposits which can efficiently and selectively electroreduce CO into ethylene with a faradaic efficiency (F.E) of 34% and a conversion rate of 194 mmol g h at -0.985 V RHE.

Oxides in silver-graphene nanocomposites: electrochemical signatures and electrocatalytic implications.

Herein we report an electrochemical approach to establish the presence of silver oxides in silver-reduced graphene oxide (Ag-rGO) nanocomposites synthesised under alkaline conditions. The recorded electrochemical signatures, further supported and validated by UV-Vis spectroscopy, XRD and TEM analysis, clearly establish the presence of an oxide phase of silver in the nanodimensional silver present in Ag-rGO. The Ag-rGO was tested for its electrocatalytic and electrosensing activity for hydroquinone (H2Q) and ascorbic acid (AA).