skip to main content


Title: Atomically Dispersed Dual‐Metal Site Catalysts for Enhanced CO 2 Reduction: Mechanistic Insight into Active Site Structures
Abstract

Carbon‐supported nitrogen‐coordinated single‐metal site catalysts (i.e., M−N−C, M: Fe, Co, or Ni) are active for the electrochemical CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR) to CO. Further improving their intrinsic activity and selectivity by tuning their N−M bond structures and coordination is limited. Herein, we expand the coordination environments of M−N−C catalysts by designing dual‐metal active sites. The Ni‐Fe catalyst exhibited the most efficient CO2RR activity and promising stability compared to other combinations. Advanced structural characterization and theoretical prediction suggest that the most active N‐coordinated dual‐metal site configurations are 2N‐bridged (Fe‐Ni)N6, in which FeN4and NiN4moieties are shared with two N atoms. Two metals (i.e., Fe and Ni) in the dual‐metal site likely generate a synergy to enable more optimal *COOH adsorption and *CO desorption than single‐metal sites (FeN4or NiN4) with improved intrinsic catalytic activity and selectivity.

 
more » « less
Award ID(s):
1804326
NSF-PAR ID:
10368641
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Volume:
61
Issue:
28
ISSN:
1433-7851
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    Carbon‐supported nitrogen‐coordinated single‐metal site catalysts (i.e., M−N−C, M: Fe, Co, or Ni) are active for the electrochemical CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR) to CO. Further improving their intrinsic activity and selectivity by tuning their N−M bond structures and coordination is limited. Herein, we expand the coordination environments of M−N−C catalysts by designing dual‐metal active sites. The Ni‐Fe catalyst exhibited the most efficient CO2RR activity and promising stability compared to other combinations. Advanced structural characterization and theoretical prediction suggest that the most active N‐coordinated dual‐metal site configurations are 2N‐bridged (Fe‐Ni)N6, in which FeN4and NiN4moieties are shared with two N atoms. Two metals (i.e., Fe and Ni) in the dual‐metal site likely generate a synergy to enable more optimal *COOH adsorption and *CO desorption than single‐metal sites (FeN4or NiN4) with improved intrinsic catalytic activity and selectivity.

     
    more » « less
  2. Atomically dispersed and nitrogen-coordinated single Ni sites ( i.e. , NiN x moieties) embedded in partially graphitized carbon have emerged as effective catalysts for CO 2 electroreduction to CO. However, much mystery remains behind the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that govern the overall catalytic CO 2 electrolysis performance. Here, we designed a high-performance single Ni site catalyst through elucidating the structural evolution of NiN x sites during thermal activation and other critical external factors ( e.g. , carbon particle sizes and Ni content) by using Ni–N–C model catalysts derived from nitrogen-doped carbon carbonized from a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-8. The N coordination, metal–N bond length, and thermal wrinkling of carbon planes in Ni–N–C catalysts significantly depend on thermal temperatures. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the shortening Ni–N bonds in compressively strained NiN 4 sites could intrinsically enhance the CO 2 RR activity and selectivity of the Ni–N–C catalyst. Notably, the NiN 3 active sites with optimal local structures formed at higher temperatures ( e.g. , 1200 °C) are intrinsically more active and CO selective than NiN 4 , providing a new opportunity to design a highly active catalyst via populating NiN 3 sites with increased density. We also studied how morphological factors such as the carbon host particle size and Ni loading alter the final catalyst structure and performance. The implementation of this catalyst in an industrial flow-cell electrolyzer demonstrated an impressive performance for CO generation, achieving a current density of CO up to 726 mA cm −2 with faradaic efficiency of CO above 90%, representing one of the best catalysts for CO 2 reduction to CO. 
    more » « less
  3. Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are promising power sources from portable electronic devices to vehicles. The high-cost issue of these low-temperature fuel cells can be primarily addressed by using platinum-group metal (PGM)-free oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts, in particular atomically dispersed metal–nitrogen–carbon (M–N–C, M = Fe, Co, Mn). Furthermore, a significant advantage of M–N–C catalysts is their superior methanol tolerance over Pt, which can mitigate the methanol cross-over effect and offer great potential of using a higher concentration of methanol in DMFCs. Here, we investigated the ORR catalytic properties of M–N–C catalysts in methanol-containing acidic electrolytes via experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. FeN 4 sites demonstrated the highest methanol tolerance ability when compared to metal-free pyridinic N, CoN 4 , and MnN 4 active sites. The methanol adsorption on MN 4 sites is even strengthened when electrode potentials are applied during the ORR. The negative influence of methanol adsorption becomes significant for methanol concentrations higher than 2.0 M. However, the methanol adsorption does not affect the 4e − ORR pathway or chemically destroy the FeN 4 sites. The understanding of the methanol-induced ORR activity loss guides the design of promising M–N–C cathode catalyst in DMFCs. Accordingly, we developed a dual-metal site Fe/Co–N–C catalyst through a combined chemical-doping and adsorption strategy. Instead of generating a possible synergistic effect, the introduced Co atoms in the first doping step act as “scissors” for Zn removal in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), which is crucial for modifying the porosity of the catalyst and providing more defects for stabilizing the active FeN 4 sites generated in the second adsorption step. The Fe/Co–N–C catalyst significantly improved the ORR catalytic activity and delivered remarkably enhanced peak power densities ( i.e. , 502 and 135 mW cm −2 ) under H 2 –air and methanol–air conditions, respectively, representing the best performance for both types of fuel cells. Notably, the fundamental understanding of methanol tolerance, along with the encouraging DMFC performance, will open an avenue for the potential application of atomically dispersed M–N–C catalysts in other direct alcohol or ammonia fuel cells. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract

    Atomically dispersed and nitrogen coordinated single metal site (MNx, M = Fe, Co, or Mn) moieties embedded in partially graphitized carbon (denoted as M–N–C) are recognized as the most promising platinum group metal‐free catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, simply regulating their coordination environments and local structures of single metal sites cannot fundamentally change active site structure, which leads to insufficient activity and stability. A second transition metal can be incorporated to design dual‐metal sites, offering a new opportunity to modulate the electronic and geometric structures of M–N–C catalysts. Therefore, exploring optimal atomically dispersed dual‐metal‐site is essential to designing new active sites with enhanced ORR activity, and stability, especially breaking the activity‐stability trade‐off. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the advances in developing atomically dispersed dual‐metal site catalysts for the ORR, including innovative synthesis methods, primary structural configurations, and the mechanisms to promote catalytic performance. We aim to elucidate the crucial structure–property correlation, emphasizing the inherent electronic and geometric effects of dual metal sites. Finally, we discuss the current challenges of dual‐metal site catalysts concerning rational design, precise synthesis, and high‐fidelity structural characterization.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    Atomically dispersed and nitrogen coordinated single metal sites (M‐N‐C, M=Fe, Co, Ni, Mn) are the popular platinum group‐metal (PGM)‐free catalysts for many electrochemical reactions. Traditional wet‐chemistry catalyst synthesis often requires complex procedures with unsatisfied reproducibility and scalability. Here, we report a facile chemical vapor deposition (CVD) strategy to synthesize the promising M‐N‐C catalysts. The deposition of gaseous 2‐methylimidazole onto M‐doped ZnO substrates, followed by an in situ thermal activation, effectively generated single metal sites well dispersed into porous carbon. In particular, an optimal CVD‐derived Fe‐N‐C catalyst exclusively contains atomically dispersed FeN4sites with increased Fe loading relative to other catalysts from wet‐chemistry synthesis. The catalyst exhibited outstanding oxygen‐reduction activity in acidic electrolytes, which was further studied in proton‐exchange membrane fuel cells with encouraging performance.

     
    more » « less