Direct formation of copper nanoparticles from atoms at graphitic step edges lowers overpotential and improves selectivity of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction.

A key strategy for minimizing our reliance on precious metals is to increase the fraction of surface atoms and improve the metal-support interface. In this work, we employ a solvent/ligand/counterion-free method to deposit copper in the atomic form directly onto a nanotextured surface of graphitized carbon nanofibers (GNFs). Our results demonstrate that under these conditions, copper atoms coalesce into nanoparticles securely anchored to the graphitic step edges, limiting their growth to 2-5 nm. The resultant hybrid Cu/GNF material displays high selectivity in the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) for formate production with a faradaic efficiency of ~94% at -0.38 V vs RHE and a high turnover frequency of 2.78 × 106 h-1. The Cu nanoparticles adhered to the graphitic step edges significantly enhance electron transfer to CO2. Long-term CO2RR tests coupled with atomic-scale elucidation of changes in Cu/GNF reveal nanoparticles coarsening, and a simultaneous increase in the fraction of single Cu atoms. These changes in the catalyst structure make the onset of the CO2 reduction potential more negative, leading to less formate production at -0.38 V vs RHE, correlating with a less efficient competition of CO2 with H2O for adsorption on single Cu atoms on the graphitic surfaces, revealed by density functional theory calculations.

Chemical Kinetics of Metal Single Atom and Nanocluster Formation on Surfaces: An Example of Pt on Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

The production of atomically dispersed metal catalysts remains a significant challenge in the field of heterogeneous catalysis due to coexistence with continuously packed sites such as nanoclusters and nanoparticles. This work presents a comprehensive guidance on how to increase the degree of atomization through a selection of appropriate experimental conditions and supports. It is based on a rigorous macro-kinetic theory that captures relevant competing processes of nucleation and formation of single atoms stabilized by point defects. The effects of metal-support interactions and deposition parameters on the resulting single atom to nanocluster ratio as well as the role of metal centers formed on point defects in the kinetics of nucleation have been established, thus paving the way to guided synthesis of single atom catalysts. The predictions are supported by experimental results on sputter deposition of Pt on exfoliated hexagonal boron nitride, as imaged by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy.

Defect Etching in Carbon Nanotube Walls for Porous Carbon Nanoreactors: Implications for CO2 Sorption and the Hydrosilylation of Phenylacetylene.

A method of pore fabrication in the walls of carbon nanotubes has been developed, leading to porous nanotubes that have been filled with catalysts and utilized in liquid- and gas-phase reactions. Chromium oxide nanoparticles have been utilized as highly effective etchants of carbon nanotube sidewalls. Tuning the thermal profile and loading of this nanoscale oxidant, both of which influence the localized oxidation of the carbon, have allowed the controlled formation of defects and holes with openings of 40-60 nm, penetrating through several layers of the graphitic carbon nanotube sidewall, resulting in templated nanopore propagation. The porous carbon nanotubes have been demonstrated as catalytic nanoreactors, effectively stabilizing catalytic nanoparticles against agglomeration and modulating the reaction environment around active centers. CO2 sorption on ruthenium nanoparticles (RuNPs) inside nanoreactors led to distinctive surface-bound intermediates (such as carbonate species), compared to RuNPs on amorphous carbon. Introducing pores in nanoreactors modulates the strength of absorption of these intermediates, as they bond more strongly on RuNPs in porous nanoreactors as compared to the nanoreactors without pores. In the liquid-phase hydrosilylation of phenylacetylene, the confinement of Rh4(CO)12 catalyst centers within the porous nanoreactors changes the distribution of the products relative to those observed in the absence of the additional pores. These changes have been attributed to the enhanced local concentration of phenylacetylene and the environment in which the catalytic centers reside within the porous carbon host.

WS2 /MoS2 Heterostructures through Thermal Treatment of MoS2 Layers Electrostatically Functionalized with W3 S4 Molecular Clusters.

The preparation of 2D stacked layers combining flakes of different nature gives rise to countless numbers of heterostructures where new band alignments, defined at the interfaces, control the electronic properties of the system. Among the large family of 2D/2D heterostructures, the one formed by the combination of the most common semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides, WS2 /MoS2 , has awakened great interest owing to its photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical properties. Solution as well as dry physical methods have been developed to optimize the synthesis of these heterostructures. Here, a suspension of negatively charged MoS2 flakes is mixed with a methanolic solution of a cationic W3 S4 -core cluster, giving rise to a homogeneous distribution of the clusters over the layers. In a second step, a calcination of this molecular/2D heterostructure under N2 leads to the formation of clean WS2 /MoS2 heterostructures, where the photoluminescence of both counterparts is quenched, proving an efficient interlayer coupling. Thus, this chemical method combines the advantages of a solution approach (simple, scalable, and low-cost) with the good quality interfaces reached by using more complicated traditional physical methods.