Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Licheng Wei, Yufei Zhang, Yang Yang, Minghui Ye, Cheng Chao Li
Summary: This study develops a cost-effective and highly conductive bifunctional oxygen catalyst for future zinc air batteries. The catalyst exhibits excellent performance in oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions, as well as high energy efficiency and cycling stability. The results also suggest the possibility of using layer electronic structure regulation on graphite intercalation compounds as effective bifunctional catalysts.
Article
Electrochemistry
Qiguan Wang, Pan Liu, Jian Chen, Feifei Wang, Sumin Wang
Summary: The insertion of CoMoS4 nanosheets was used to optimize the structure of Co layered metal oxide, enhancing oxygen defects and exhibiting exceptional bifunctional catalytic performance for oxygen evolution and reduction reactions. This strategy showed a high potential for practical applications in zinc-air batteries, with high peak power density and excellent durability demonstrated.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tianlei Wang, Arunabhiram Chutia, Dan J. L. Brett, Paul R. Shearing, Guanjie He, Guoliang Chai, Ivan P. Parkin
Summary: Palladium-based alloy materials are being considered as potential substitutes for platinum-based catalysts in fuel cells for the reduction of oxygen. Through a scientometric analysis, research fronts and hotspots have been identified, with volcano plots showing general principles for catalyst modifications to enhance the oxygen reduction reaction. Various influencing factors, such as alloying, structure, and particle size, are discussed for their potential in improving the ORR activity.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yanqiang Li, Zehao Yin, Xuan Liu, Ming Cui, Siru Chen, Tingli Ma
Summary: Molybdenum carbide-based catalysts show great potential in electrochemical reactions such as the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction due to their unique electronic structure and physicochemical properties. Research has systematically summarized the synthesis strategies, structure, and catalytic performance of these catalysts, highlighting the relationships between process-structure-property and analyzing catalytic mechanisms. Existing challenges and future perspectives for further development of molybdenum carbide-based catalysts have also been discussed.
MATERIALS TODAY CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Saswati Santra, Verena Streibel, Ian D. Sharp
Summary: The transition from a global economy dependent on fossil fuels to one based on sustainable energy conversion technologies is the primary challenge of the day. Earth-abundant bifunctional transition metal catalysts, especially those based on molybdenum (Mo), show great promise in reducing cost, simplifying systems, and providing prospects for accelerated scaling and sustainable material reuse. This comprehensive review focuses on recent progress in Mo-based multifunctional catalysts, discussing various formations and structures, as well as emerging trends and opportunities in this promising materials space.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
A. Touni, Ch Papoulia, E. Pavlidou, D. Karfaridis, D. Lambropoulou, S. Sotiropoulos
Summary: Mixed Ir-Pt electrocatalytic films were prepared on Ti metal supports via galvanic deposition, and their bifunctional electrocatalytic performance was evaluated. The results demonstrated satisfactory performance of the prepared films towards both oxygen evolution and reduction reactions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yuping Chen, Fang Sun, Qing Tang
Summary: Bimetallic Palladium-based catalysts with transition metal doping have been studied for their oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and stability. The doping of transition metal into the ultrathin Pd nanosheets greatly modifies the reactivity of the Pd site. Several promising alternatives with lower ORR overpotential than pure Pd metallene have been identified. The hetero-metal induced ligand effect plays a key role in improving the activity.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Qizheng An, Jingjing Jiang, Weiren Cheng, Hui Su, Yong Jiang, Qinghua Liu
Summary: This review classifies dual-atom catalysts (DACs) based on their configurations and metal sites and discusses their synthetic strategies, characterization techniques, and applications in various electrocatalytic reactions. DACs, with higher metal loading and more flexible active sites compared to single-atom catalysts, exhibit improved catalytic performance.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yixin Hao, Shuo Sun, Xihua Du, Jiangtao Qu, Lanlan Li, Xiaofei Yu, Xinghua Zhang, Xiaojing Yang, Rongkun Zheng, Julie M. Cairney, Zunming Lu
Summary: In this study, a novel mode of strain introduction was reported, where transition-metal ions with different electronegativities were intercalated into the structure of octahedral molecular sieves, resulting in varying degrees of strain and enhanced oxygen reduction performance. This approach avoided introducing new chemical bonds in the main structure, weakened the impact of electron filling number on performance, and emphasized the pure strain effect, which can be extended to other transition-metal-oxide catalysts.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuemei Liu, Junhong Ma, Tuan K. A. Hoang, Lijing Yang, Zhaohui Chen
Summary: NiFe-based nanoparticles attached to heteroatom-doped carbon demonstrate efficient catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This study presents a two-stage pyrolysis approach to prepare nitrogen-doped carbon encapsulated Ni3Fe nanoparticles (Ni3Fe@NC), which shows uniform distribution and enhanced synergism with NC layers. The Ni3Fe@NC-600 exhibits improved catalytic performance and durability, making it a promising bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Javier Quilez-Bermejo, Emilia Morallon, Diego Cazorla-Amoros
Summary: This study investigates the deactivation mechanism of N-doped carbon materials in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) through experiments and computational modeling. It reveals that in both acidic and alkaline environments, graphitic-type nitrogen species deactivate through oxidation and tautomerization reactions, resulting in the formation of N-C-O-type groups, which affect the catalytic activity.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Manashi Nath, Umanga De Silva, Harish Singh, Matthew Perkins, Wipula P. R. Liyanage, Siddesh Umapathi, Shatadru Chakravarty, Jahangir Masud
Summary: Cobalt telluride has been identified as an efficient multifunctional electrocatalyst for various reactions in alkaline medium. Both CoTe and CoTe2 exhibit high catalytic efficiency, with CoTe showing better performance for OER.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Suxue Lv, Xiangkun Zhang, Yun Li, Xu Hu, Yongmin Huang
Summary: This study introduces a novel Cu and N co-doped carbon foam catalyst prepared by strong electrostatic adsorption method, exhibiting high ORR performance and long-term durability. The outstanding performance of the catalyst is attributed to high specific surface area, porous carbon matrix doped with multiple N atoms, and uniform active sites induced by the SEA method.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Peng Rao, Yalin Liu, Ya-Qiong Su, Mingjun Zhong, Kun Zhang, Junming Luo, Jing Li, Chunman Jia, Yijun Shen, Chong Shen, Xinlong Tian
Summary: This study developed a unique 3D core-shell nanostructure bifunctional oxygen catalyst with excellent electrocatalytic performance and stability, showing promising applications in metal-air batteries.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Simona Somacescu, Petre Osiceanu, Jose Maria Calderon Moreno, Daniela C. Culita, Florentina Neatu, Mihaela M. Trandafir, Stefan Neatu, Andrei Kuncser, Gaobr P. Szijjarto, Emilia Talas, Andras Tompos, Irina Borbath, Mihaela Florea
Summary: A direct synthesis route was developed to prepare mesoporous NiWO4 and NiWO4-graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) composite with crystalline framework. The introduced GNP enhanced the growth of NiWO4 nanocrystallites and induced changes in surface chemistry. The Pt/NiWO4-GNP catalyst showed significantly higher activity in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) compared to other catalysts. This composite material is considered as a viable electrocatalyst for PEMFCs using a broader type of fuels.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jong Geun Seong, Jeremy C. Lewis, John A. Matteson, Erica Craddock, Ulises Martinez, Harshul Thakkar, Angelica D. Benavidez, Kathryn A. Berchtold, Rajinder P. Singh
Summary: Polymer membrane carbonization is a promising strategy for obtaining carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane materials with tailorable cavity size distributions. In this study, highly O-2 permselective CMS hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) derived from rigid PBI materials were fabricated and evaluated for O-2/N-2 separation performance.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Dorottya Hursan, Marietta Abel, Kornelia Baan, Edvin Fako, Gergely F. Samu, Huu Chuong Nguyen, Nuria Lopez, Plamen Atanassov, Zoltan Konya, Andras Sapi, Csaba Janaky
Summary: By synthesizing a set of N-C catalysts with identical morphologies and systematically changing the precursors, the study found that the CO2 reduction activity of these catalysts is correlated with the chemical composition, and the activity trend is similar in different reaction scenarios.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Michele Ferri, Laurent Delafontaine, Shengyuan Guo, Tristan Asset, Pierangela Cristiani, Sebastiano Campisi, Antonella Gervasini, Plamen Atanassov
Summary: Copper has unique capabilities in CO2 reduction reactions, but faces challenges in industrial-scale applications. Modifying copper-based catalysts with acidic/basic functionalities can optimize selectivity and reduce overpotentials in CO2RR.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Carlo Santoro, Paolo Bollella, Benjamin Erable, Plamen Atanassov, Deepak Pant
Summary: The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is critical for energy conversion, corrosion, and chemical technologies. It plays a significant role in biological processes and is widely used in bioelectrochemical devices and systems. Researchers are currently studying the specifics of the ORR in close-to-neutral environments and analyzing catalyst limitations and technological challenges associated with oxygen depolarization.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Arezoo Avid, Jesus Lopez Ochoa, Ying Huang, Yuanchao Liu, Plamen Atanassov, Iryna Zenyuk
Summary: This study investigates the role of ionic liquids in catalyst layers and finds that they can improve transport and increase reactivity, leading to improved durability and power density of polymer electrolyte fuel cells.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Alessio Cosenza, Laurent Delafontaine, Alvin Ly, Hanson Wang, Eamonn Murphy, Yuanchao Liu, Stefania Specchia, Plamen Atanassov
Summary: In this study, a set of PGM-free mono-metallic electrocatalysts were synthesized using multiple silica templates and a modified acid-free sacrificial support method. The iron-based electrocatalysts showed higher activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) compared to other catalysts.
JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Valerio C. A. Ficca, Carlo Santoro, Ernesto Placidi, Fabrizio Arciprete, Alexey Serov, Plamen Atanassov, Barbara Mecheri
Summary: The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for the conversion of energy in fuel cells, and platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) electrocatalysts show promise as alternatives to Pt/C electrocatalysts. However, evaluating the performance of PGM-free catalysts requires specific activity descriptors, and differentiating between the primary and secondary sites of these catalysts can be challenging. In this study, a method for evaluating the interaction between probing molecules and primary and secondary sites of PGM-free electrocatalysts was proposed, with the results suggesting the exchange current density as an effective tool for discriminating poisoning of specific active sites.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shengyuan Guo, Yuanchao Liu, Ying Huang, Hanson Wang, Eamonn Murphy, Laurent Delafontaine, Jiazhe Loki Chen, Iryna V. Zenyuk, Plamen Atanassov
Summary: Acetic acid/acetate is an important precursor for chemical manufacturing and biofuel synthesis. Carbon monoxide electrolysis can enhance the selectivity for multicarbon products, and this research explores practical approaches to improve acetate and 1-propanol selectivity and yield using a copper catalyst. The pH and catalyst loading were found to strongly influence the performance, and in situ Raman and multiphysics modeling provided insights into the mechanism of improvement.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Laurent Delafontaine, Alessio Cosenza, Eamonn Murphy, Yuanchao Liu, Jiazhe Chen, Baiyu Sun, Plamen Atanassov
Summary: The renewable electroreduction of CO2 to CO is crucial for future clean energy scenarios, as it allows for the recycling of carbon emissions into value-added chemicals. Non-PGM and M-N-C catalysts show high selectivity for CO and H2 formation, making them ideal candidates for these applications.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Margaret A. Fitzgerald, Hanson Wang, Alvin Ly, Jayson Foster, Matthew Sorrells, Tristan Asset, Plamen Atanassov, Svitlana Pylypenko
Summary: Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are a promising commercial technology, but there are challenges regarding the utilization and stability of Pt catalysts. This study investigates the effects of nitrogen on the nucleation and stability of Pt catalyst nanoparticles deposited on N-doped carbon supports. Through analysis using XPS and TEM, trends related to nitrogen speciation are identified. The systematic incorporation of high throughput machine-learning-based imaging analysis and identical-location microscopy provides mechanistic insights for catalysis and fuel cells applications.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Kerstin Koeble, Monja Schilling, Laszlo Eifert, Nico Bevilacqua, Kieran F. Fahy, Plamen Atanassov, Aimy Bazylak, Roswitha Zeis
Summary: This study demonstrates the importance of electrode modifications in vanadium redox flow batteries and provides insights into the effects of different modifications on electrochemical performance, wetting behavior, and tendency towards hydrogen evolution side reactions through synchrotron X-ray imaging and traditional characterization approaches.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kaustubh Khedekar, Andrea Zaffora, Monica Santamaria, Matthew Coats, Svitlana Pylypenko, Jonathan Braaten, Plamen Atanassov, Nobumichi Tamura, Lei Cheng, Christina Johnston, Iryna V. Zenyuk
Summary: Fuel cell heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) require more durable oxygen-reduction-reaction electrocatalysts, and understanding the realistic degradation mechanisms is crucial. The study investigated the movement and degradation of electrocatalysts in membrane electrode assemblies using micro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. It was found that the electrocatalyst exhibited heavy in-plane movement and preferential movement away from cracks in the cathode catalyst layer. By performing further experiments, the correlation between the increase in nanoparticle size of the electrocatalyst and loading change was discovered. This research provides insights for developing mitigation strategies and durable electrocatalysts in structured cathode catalyst layers.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Valerio C. A. Ficca, Carlo Santoro, Ernesto Placidi, Fabrizio Arciprete, Alexey Serov, Plamen Atanassov, Barbara Mecheri
Summary: The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for energy conversion in fuel cells, but requires an electrocatalyst. Platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) electrocatalysts are a promising alternative to Pt/C, but their evaluation requires specific activity descriptors. This study proposes a method for evaluating the chemisorption interaction of probing molecules with PGM-free primary and secondary sites to effectively evaluate site density. The results identify the exchange current density as a tool for discriminating specific site poisoning.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
David Sebastian, Stefano Trocino, Carmelo Lo Vecchio, Alexey Serov, Plamen Atanassov, Vincenzo Baglio
Summary: Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) heavily rely on the counter electrode for their performance. Platinum (Pt) has been traditionally used as a counter-electrode material, but its limitations have led to the exploration of alternative materials such as iron-nitrogen-carbon (Fe-N-C) catalysts. This study investigates the performance of Fe-N-C materials as counter electrodes in DSSCs and provides insights for the development of this sustainable technology.
MATERIALS FOR RENEWABLE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Mohsin Muhyuddin, Giorgio Tseberlidis, Maurizio Acciarri, Oran Lori, Massimiliano D'Arienzo, Massimiliano Cavallini, Plamen Atanassov, Lior Elbaz, Alessandro Lavacchi, Carlo Santoro
Summary: Hydrogen production via water electrolysis is a promising energy solution, but the sluggish hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) hampers its progress. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has emerged as a reliable alternative to expensive platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts. This comprehensive review summarizes recent scientific endeavors to enhance the HER activity of MoS2-based electrocatalysts through various fabrication methods and provides insights into the factors influencing their performance.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY CHEMISTRY
(2023)