Hydrogen Spillover Accelerates Electrocatalytic Semi-hydrogenation of Acetylene in Membrane Electrode Assembly Reactor.

Electrocatalytic acetylene semi-hydrogenation (EASH) offers a promising and environmentally friendly pathway for the production of CH, a widely used petrochemical feedstock. While the economic feasibility of this route has been demonstrated in three-electrode systems, its viability in practical device remains unverified. In this study, we designed a highly efficient electrocatalyst based on a PdCu alloy system utilizing the hydrogen spillover mechanism.

The Lifetime of Hydroxyl Radical in Realistic Fuel Cell Catalyst Layer.

The lifetime of hydroxyl radicals (⋅OH) in the fuel cell catalyst layer remains uncertain, which hampers the comprehension of radical-induced degradation mechanisms and the development of longevity strategies for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this study, we have precisely determined that the lifetime of ⋅OH radicals can extend up to several seconds in realistic fuel cell catalyst layers. This finding reveals that ⋅OH radicals are capable of carrying out long-range attacks spanning at least a few centimeters during PEMFCs operation.

A Top-Down Templating Strategy toward Functional Porous Carbons.

Nanostructured carbon materials with high porosity and desired chemical functionalities are of immense interest because of their wide application potentials in catalysis, environment, and energy storage. Herein, a top-down templating strategy is presented for the facile synthesis of functional porous carbons, based on the direct carbonization of diverse organic precursors with commercially available metal oxide powders. During the carbonization, the metal oxide powders can evolve into nanoparticles that serve as in situ templates to introduce nanopores in carbons.

Impact of Pore Structure on Two-Electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Materials: Rotating Ring-Disk Electrode vs. Flow Cell.

The impact of pore structure on the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in nitrogen-doped carbon materials is currently under debate, and previous studies are mainly limited to the rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) rather than the practical flow cell (FC) system. In this study, assisted by a group of reliable pore models, the impact of two pore structure parameters, that is, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area (S ) and micropore surface fraction (f ), on ORR activity and selectivity are investigated in both RRDE and FC. The ORR mass activity correlates positively to the S in the RRDE and FC because a higher S can host more active sites.