Coordination Symmetry Breaking of Single-Atom Catalysts for Robust and Efficient Nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonia

© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.). - 1998. - 34(2022), 36 vom: 15. Sept., Seite e2205767
1. Verfasser: Cheng, Xue-Feng (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: He, Jing-Hui, Ji, Hao-Qing, Zhang, Hao-Yu, Cao, Qiang, Sun, Wu-Ji, Yan, Cheng-Lin, Lu, Jian-Mei
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2022
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Schlagworte:Journal Article Cu-N2O2 coordination symmetry electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia long-term stability single-atom catalysts
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
Nitrate electrocatalytic reduction (NO3 RR) for ammonia production is a promising strategy to close the N-cycle from nitration contamination, as well as an alternative to the Haber-Bosch process with less energy consumption and carbon dioxide release. However, current long-term stability of NO3 RR catalysts is usually tens of hours, far from the requirements for industrialization. Here, symmetry-broken Cusingle-atom catalysts are designed, and the catalytic activity is retained after operation for more than 2000 h, while an average ammonia production rate of 27.84 mg h-1 cm-2 at an industrial level current density of 366 mA cm-2 is achieved, obtaining a good balance between catalytic activity and long-term stability. Coordination symmetry breaking is achieved by embedding one Cu atom in graphene nanosheets with two N and two O atoms in the cis-configuration, effectively lowering the coordination symmetry, rendering the active site more polar, and accumulating more NO3 - near the electrocatalyst surface. Additionally, the cis-coordination splits the Cu 3d orbitals, which generates an orbital-symmetry-matched π-complex of the key intermediate *ONH and reduces the energy barrier, compared with the σ-complex generated with other catalysts. These results reveal the critical role of coordination symmetry in single-atom catalysts, prompting the design of more coordination-symmetry-broken electrocatalysts toward possible industrialization
Beschreibung:Date Revised 08.09.2022
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:1521-4095
DOI:10.1002/adma.202205767