skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: Underpotential Deposition of 3D Transition Metals: Versatile Electrosynthesis of Single‐Atom Catalysts on Oxidized Carbon Supports
Abstract Use of single‐atom catalysts (SACs) has become a popular strategy for tuning activity and selectivity toward specific pathways. However, conventional SAC synthesis methods require high temperatures and pressures, complicated procedures, and expensive equipment. Recently, underpotential deposition (UPD) has been investigated as a promising alternative, yielding high‐loading SAC electrodes under ambient conditions and within minutes. Yet only few studies have employed UPD to synthesize SACs, and all have been limited to UPD of Cu. In this work, a flexible UPD approach for synthesis of mono‐ and bi‐metallic Cu, Fe, Co, and Ni SACs directly on oxidized, commercially available carbon electrodes is reported. The UPD mechanism is investigated using in situ X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and, finally, the catalytic performance of a UPD‐synthesized Co SAC is assessed for electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia. The findings expand upon the usefulness and versatility of UPD for SAC synthesis, with hopes of enabling future research toward realization of fast, reliable, and fully electrified SAC synthesis processes.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2120418
PAR ID:
10545063
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Advanced Materials
Volume:
36
Issue:
19
ISSN:
0935-9648
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Photoactive single-atom catalysts (SACs) are among the most exciting catalytic materials for solar fuel production. Different SACs, including our own Co SACs, have been prepared on graphitic carbon nitride (C3N4) for use in photocatalysis. Building on our prior success, we report here doped C3N4 using various supplemental carbon dopants as the support for Co SACs. The Co SAC on a dianhydride doped C3N4 showed the highest activity in photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Catalyst characterization was carried out to explore the origin of the enhanced activity of this particular Co SAC. The dianhydride doped C3N4 possesses unique microstructural features, including large inter-layer space and fibrous morphology, that could contribute to the enhanced photocatalytic activity. Our results further indicate that the dianhydride is the most effective dopant to incorporate aromatic moieties in C3N4, which resulted in improved charge separation and enhanced activity in photocatalysis. 
    more » « less
  2. Abstract Single‐atom catalysts (SACs) hold great promise for enhancing the efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by enabling precise control over atomic design and maximizing metal atom utilization. While recent reviews have primarily focused on structural regulation techniques to improve SAC stability, this review emphasizes the less explored but critical aspect of SAC stability. By examining stability and aggregation mechanisms, we complements design‐focused perspectives with insights into stability prediction and experimental interdependencies. We highlight advances in SACs where metal atoms are coordinated through N and O moieties, identifying support interactions, electron number, and the stability number (S‐number) as key stability descriptors. We also propose modified local geometries to mitigate aggregation and enhance stability. A comprehensive discussion of experimental validation, spectroscopy, molecular models, and computational studies provides a deeper understanding of the principles governing SAC stability. Future directions include exploring co‐catalyst metal‐support interactions, defects, and OH‐modified surfaces to further improve stability, paving the way for the next generation of OER electrocatalysts. 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract Electrochemical CO2reduction reaction (CO2‐RR) in non‐aqueous electrolytes offers significant advantages over aqueous systems, as it boosts CO2solubility and limits the formation of HCO3and CO32−anions. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in non‐aqueous CO2‐RR makes an attractive system for CO2capture and conversion. However, the predominantly organic composition of MOFs limits their electrical conductivity and stability in electrocatalysis, where they suffer from electrolytic decomposition. In this work, electrically conductive and stable Zirconium (Zr)‐based porphyrin MOF, specifically PCN‐222, metalated with a single‐atom Cu has been explored, which serves as an efficient single‐atom catalyst (SAC) for CO2‐RR. PCN‐ 222(Cu) demonstrates a substantial enhancement in redox activity due to the synergistic effect of the Zr matrix and the single‐atom Cu site, facilitating complete reduction of C2species under non‐aqueous electrolytic conditions. The current densities achieved (≈100 mA cm2) are 4–5 times higher than previously reported values for MOFs, with a faradaic efficiency of up to 40% for acetate production, along with other multivariate C2products, which have never been achieved previously in non‐aqueous systems. Characterization using X‐ray and various spectroscopic techniques, reveals critical insights into the role of the Zr matrix and Cu sites in CO2reduction, benchmarking PCN‐222(Cu) for MOF‐based SAC electrocatalysis. 
    more » « less
  4. “Single-atom” catalysts (SACs) have demonstrated excellent activity and selectivity in challenging chemical transformations such as photocatalytic CO 2 reduction. For heterogeneous photocatalytic SAC systems, it is essential to obtain sufficient information of their structure at the atomic level in order to understand reaction mechanisms. In this work, a SAC was prepared by grafting a molecular cobalt catalyst on a light-absorbing carbon nitride surface. Due to the sensitivity of the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra to subtle variances in the Co SAC structure in reaction conditions, different machine learning (ML) methods, including principal component analysis, K-means clustering, and neural network (NN), were utilized for in situ Co XANES data analysis. As a result, we obtained quantitative structural information of the SAC nearest atomic environment, thereby extending the NN-XANES approach previously demonstrated for nanoparticles and size-selective clusters. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract Electrochemical reduction reaction of CO2(CO2RR) is a promising technology for alleviating the global warming caused by the emission of CO2. This technology, however, is still in the stage of finding efficient catalysts. The catalysts must be able to convert CO2to other carbon‐based products with high activity and selectivity to valuable chemicals. In this review, previous development of heteroatom‐doped metal‐free carbon materials (H‐CMs) is briefly summarized. Recent progress of CO2RR promoted by metal single‐atom catalysts (M‐SACs) is then discussed with emphasis on the synthesis of M‐SACs, the catalytic performance, and reaction mechanisms. The high temperature pyrolysis method and electrodeposition are attracting attentions recently to prepare M‐SACs with high metal loading on N‐doped carbon materials, a very active M‐SACs system for the CO2RR. Theoretical calculations of free energy change on active sites, the Operando X‐ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), and Bader charge analysis reveal a significant role of metal oxidation state and charge transfer between metal atoms and absorbed CO. The challenges and perspectives for the extensive applications of M‐SACs in CO2RR are also discussed in this review. 
    more » « less