ABSTRACT
The energetic convenience of electrolytic water splitting is limited by thermodynamics. Consequently, significant levels of hydrogen production can only be obtained with an electrical energy consumption exceeding 45 kWh kg(-1)H2. Electrochemical reforming allows the overcoming of such thermodynamic limitations by replacing oxygen evolution with the oxidation of biomass-derived alcohols. Here we show that the use of an original anode material consisting of palladium nanoparticles deposited on to a three-dimensional architecture of titania nanotubes allows electrical energy savings up to 26.5 kWh kg(-1)H2 as compared with proton electrolyte membrane water electrolysis. A net energy analysis shows that for bio-ethanol with energy return of the invested energy larger than 5.1 (for example, cellulose), the electrochemical reforming energy balance is advantageous over proton electrolyte membrane water electrolysis.
ABSTRACT
Confined electrodeposition can be achieved through the use of suitable templates, by which the electrodeposition occurs in natural or artificial holes of an insulating layer on a conducting substrate. Here, we present the electrodeposition of CdS on the holes left by the selective desorption of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) from a binary self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formed on Ag(111) with 1-octanethiol (OT). The electrodeposition of a compound is quite demanding, since it requires the right stoichiometry. In addition, the surface underpotential deposition phenomena exploited by electrochemical atomic layer epitaxy (ECALE) technique ensures that the surface available for electrodeposition after the selective desorption is still Ag(111). Parallel electrochemical experiments show that the amount of compound electrodeposited is consistent with this free Ag(111) surface, and the morphological analysis performed both by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and by lateral force microscopy (LFM) confirm the electrochemical data.
ABSTRACT
Protonation of the classical trihydride [(triphos)RhH3] (2) at 210 K in either THF or CH2Cl2 by either HBF4.OMe2 or CF3SO2OH gives the nonclassical eta 2-H2 complex [(triphos)Rh(eta 2-H2)H2]+ (1) [triphos = MeC(CH2PPh2)3]. Complex 1 is thermally unstable and highly fluxional in solution. In THF above 230 K, 1 transforms into the solvento dihydride complex [(triphos)Rh(eta 1-THF-d8)H2]+ (5) that, at room temperature, quickly converts to the stable dimer trans-[[(triphos)RhH]2(mu-H)2]2+ (trans-6). In CH2Cl2, 1 is stable up to 240 K. Above this temperature, the eta 2-H2 complex begins to convert into a mixture of trans- and cis-6, which, in turn, transform into the bridging-chloride dimers trans- and cis-[[(triphos)RhH]2(mu-Cl)2]2+ at room temperature. Complex 1 contains a fast-spinning H2 ligand with a T1min of 38.9 ms in CD2Cl2 (220 K, 400 MHz). An NMR analysis of the bis-deuterated isotopomer [(triphos)RhH2D2]+ (1-d2) did not provide a J(HD) value. At 190 K, the perdeuterated isotopomers [(triphos)RhD3] (2-d3) and 1-d4 show T1min values of 16.5 and 32.6 ms (76.753 MHz), respectively, for the rapidly exchanging deuterides. An analogous 2-fold elongation of T1min is also observed on going from [(triphos)IrD3] to [(triphos)Ir(eta 2-D2)D2]+. A rationale for the elongation of T1min in nonclassical polyhydrides is proposed on the basis of both the results obtained and recent literature reports.
