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Cobalt( ii ) ions were adsorbed to the surface of rod-shape anatase TiO 2 nanocrystals and subsequently heated to promote ion diffusion into the nanocrystal.
Understanding ion transport in porous carbons is critical for a wide range of technologies, including supercapacitors and capacitive deionization for water desalination, yet many details remain poorly understood. For instance, an atomistic understanding of how ion selectivity is influenced by the molecular shape of ions, morphology of the micropores and applied voltages is largely lacking. In this work, we combined molecular dynamics simulations with enhanced sampling methods to elucidate the mechanism of nitrate and chloride selectivity in subnanometer graphene slit-pores. We demonstrate that nitrate is preferentially adsorbed over chloride in the slit-like micropores. This preferential adsorption was found to stem from the weaker hydration energy and unique anisotropy of the ion solvation of nitrate. Beside the effects of ion dehydration, we found that applied potential plays an important role in determining the ion selectivity, leading to a lower selectivity of nitrate over chloride at a high applied potential. We conclude that the measured ion selectivity results from a complex interplay between voltage, confinement, and specific ion effects-including ion shape and local hydration structure.
In spite of their high surface charge (zeta potential ζ = +34 mV), aqueous suspensions of portlandite (calcium hydroxide: Ca(OH) 2 ) exhibit a strong tendency to aggregate, and thereby present unstable suspensions. While a variety of commercial dispersants seek to modify the suspension stability and rheology (e.g., yield stress, viscosity), it remains unclear how the performance of electrostatically and/or electrosterically based additives is affected in aqueous environments having either a high ionic strength and/or a pH close to the particle's isoelectric point (IEP). We show that the high native ionic strength (pH ≈ 12.6, IEP: pH ≈ 13) of saturated portlandite suspensions strongly screens electrostatic forces (Debye length: κ -1 = 1.2 nm). As a result, coulombic repulsion alone is insufficient to mitigate particle aggregation and affect rheology. However, a longer-range geometrical particle–particle exclusion that arises from electrosteric hindrance caused by the introduction of comb polyelectrolyte dispersants is very effective at altering the rheological properties and fractal structuring of suspensions. As a result, comb-like dispersants that stretch into the solvent reduce the suspension's yield stress by 5× at similar levels of adsorption as compared to linear dispersants, thus enhancing the critical solid loading (i.e., at which jamming occurs) by 1.4×. Significantly, the behavior of diverse dispersants is found to be inherently related to the thickness of the adsorbed polymer layer on particle surfaces. These outcomes inform the design of dispersants for concentrated suspensions that present strong charge screening behavior.
UO 2 2+ binds to the surface of a tripolyphosphate modified mesoporous indium tin-doped oxide electrode (nanoITO|P 3 ). Electrochemical studies reveal that nITO|P 3 electrodes catalyze the 2-electron interconversion between UO 2 2+ and U 4+ with the P 3 -ligand assisting in the rate-limiting proton-coupled reduction of U(V) to U(IV), based on the kinetic isotope effect (1.8). Product composition between nITO|P 3 (U 4+ ) and surface adsorbed UO 2 can be controlled by adjusting the proton concentration and/or scan rate in voltammograms. Furthermore these studies with uranium suggest that nITO|P 3 electrodes are good candidates for redox transformations with other actinides including neptunium, plutonium, and americium.
Lanthanide elements have well-documented similarities in their chemical behavior, which make the valuable trivalent lanthanide cations (Ln 3+ ) particularly difficult to separate from each other in water. Here, we apply ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to compare the free energies (Δ G ads ) associated with the adsorption of lanthanide cations to silica surfaces at a pH condition where SiO – groups are present. The predicted Δ G ads for lutetium (Lu 3+ ) and europium (Eu 3+ ) are similar within statistical uncertainties; this is in qualitative agreement with our batch adsorption measurements on silica. This finding is remarkable because the two cations exhibit hydration free energies (Δ G hyd ) that differ by >2 eV, different hydration numbers, and different hydrolysis behavior far from silica surfaces. We observe that the similarity in Lu 3+ and Eu 3+ Δ G ads is the result of a delicate cancellation between the difference in Eu 3+ and Lu 3+ hydration (Δ G hyd ), and their difference in binding energies to silica. We propose that disrupting this cancellation at the two end points, either for adsorbed or completely desorbed lanthanides ( e.g. , via nanoconfinment or mixed solvents), will lead to effective Ln 3+ separation.
Diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) calculations have been performed to study the adsorption of a single Pt atom on pristine graphene. In this work, we obtain the adsorption energy curves of a single Pt atom adsorbed at three different adsorption sites (bridge, on-top, hollow) as functions of the vertical distance from a graphene surface for both spin singlet and triplet states. The bridge-site adsorption in a singlet spin state is found to be energetically most stable, which is consistent with previous theoretical predictions. As the Pt atom moves away from a graphene surface, spin triplet states are favored over spin singlet states for all three adsorption sites, reflecting that the ground state of an isolated Pt atom is in a spin triplet state. Furthermore, our DMC calculations reveal local-minimum features in the triplet region which is understood to be due to van der Waals interaction between the Pt atom and graphene. This provides a comprehensive understanding for a spin crossing from a physisorbed triplet state to a chemisorbed singlet state in the adsorption process of a single Pt atom on graphene.
To activate methane at low or medium temperatures is a difficult task and a pre-requisite for the conversion of this light alkane into high value chemicals. In this work, we report the preparation and characterizations of novel SnO x /Cu 2 O/Cu(111) interfaces that enable low-temperature methane activation. Scanning tunneling microscopy identified small, well-dispersed SnO x nanoclusters on the Cu 2 O/Cu(111) substrate with an average size of 8 Å, and such morphology was sustained up to 450 K in UHV annealing. Ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that hydrocarbon species (CH x groups), the product of methane activation, were formed on SnO x /Cu 2 O/Cu(111) at a temperature as low as 300 K. An essential role of the SnO x –Cu 2 O interface was evinced by the SnO x coverage dependence. Systems with a small amount of tin oxide, 0.1–0.2 ML coverage, produced the highest concentration of adsorbed CH x groups. Calculations based on density functional theory showed a drastic reduction in the activation barrier for C–H bond cleavage when going from Cu 2 O/Cu(111) to SnO x /Cu 2 O/Cu(111). On the supported SnO x , the dissociation of methane was highly exothermic (ΔE ~ –35 kcal mol –1 ) and the calculated barrier for activation (~20 kcal mol –1 ) could be overcome at 300–500 K, target temperatures for the conversion of methane to high value chemicals.
The influence of elastic strains on the adsorption of H, O, and OH on the (111) surfaces of 8 fcc (Ni, Cu, Pd, Ag, Pt, Au, Rh, Ir) and on the (0001) surfaces of 3 hcp (Co, Zn, Cd) transition metals was analyzed by means of density functional theory calculations. To this end, surface slabs were subjected to different strain states (uniaxial, biaxial, shear, and a combination of them) up to strains dictated by the mechanical stability limits indicated by phonon calculations. It was found that the adsorption energy followed the predictions of the d-band theory but – surprisingly – the variations in the adsorption energy only depended on the area of the adsorption hole and not on the particular elastic strain tensor applied to achieve this area. The analysis of the electronic structure showed that the applied strains did not modify the shape of the Projected Density of States (PDOS) of the d-orbitals of the transition metals but only led to a shift in the energy levels. Moreover, the presence of the adsorbates on the surfaces led to negligible changes in the PDOS. Thus, the adsorption energies were a function of the Fermi energy which in turn was associated with the change of the area of the adsorption through a general linear law that was valid for all metals. Furthermore, the information in this paper allows the immediate and accurate estimation of the effect of any elastic strain on the adsorption energies of H, O, and OH in 11 transition metals with more than half-filled d-orbitals.
A fundamental understanding of acidity at an interface, as mediated by structure and molecule–surface interactions, is essential to elucidate the mechanisms of a range of chemical transformations. While the strength of an acid in homogeneous gas and solution phases is conceptually well understood, acid–base chemistry at heterogeneous interfaces is notoriously more complicated. Using density functional theory and nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy, we present a method to determine the interfacial Brønsted–Lowry acidity of aliphatic alcohols adsorbed on the (100) surface of the model perovskite, strontium titanate. Here, while shorter and less branched alkanols are known to be less acidic in the gas phase and more acidic in solution, here we show that shorter alcohols are less acidic whereas less substituted alkanols are more acidic at the gas–oxide interface. Hydrogen bonding plays a critical role in defining acidity, whereas structure–acidity relationships are dominated by van der Waals interactions between the alcohol and the surface.
Perovskite oxyhydrides such as BaTiO 2.5 H 0.5 have been found to be able to catalyze NH3 synthesis, but the mechanism and the role of the catalyst's lattice hydrides in the catalytic reaction remain unknown. Here we employ first principles density functional theory to investigate the mechanism of ammonia synthesis and the role of lattice hydrides on a prototypical perovskite oxyhydride, BaTiO 2.5 H 0.5 (BTOH). Two mechanistic hypotheses, the distal and alternating pathways, have been tested on the Ti2O 2 termination of the BTOH (210) surface, previously determined to be the most stable surface termination under the reaction conditions considered. In the distal pathway, H atoms hydrogenate N 2 to form the *N–NH x key intermediates, followed by N–N bond breaking. In the alternating pathway, H atoms hydrogenate N 2 in an alternating fashion to form the *NH x –NH y intermediates before N–N bond breaking and formation of co-adsorbed *NH x /*NH y on the surface. We find that the subsurface hydride vacancy formed after reaction of *N 2 with the lattice hydride is key to the distal pathway, leading to surface nitride formation after breaking the *N–NH 3 bond, while the neighboring surface Ti sites are key to bridging and stabilizing the *NNH intermediate in the alternating pathway. In both pathways, desorption of NH 3 is the most uphill in energy. Our results provide important insights into the role of hydrides and surface vacancies in hydrogenation reactions over BTOH, which will be useful to guide future spectroscopic experiments such as operando IR and inelastic neutron scattering to verify the key intermediates.
The effects of an aqueous phase on ethanol decomposition for hydrogen production over a Ru(0001) catalyst surface model have been investigated from first principles. Solvent effects on the reaction mechanism and kinetic parameters have been quantified with the help of a microkinetic reactor model, density functional theory, and an implicit solvation scheme (iSMS). Our calculations indicate that in both vapor- and aqueous-phase reaction environments, the ethanol decomposition starts with acetaldehyde formation on the surface, some of which further dehydrogenates to ketenyl species (CHCO), where the C–C bond cleaves to form methylidyne (CH) and CO. In the vapor phase, adsorbed CH gets hydrogenated to methane, and CO desorbs or undergoes methanation reducing the amount of hydrogen produced. In contrast, under aqueous phase reaction conditions, the methanation is inhibited, and the water–gas shift (WGS) reaction is accelerated, leading to complete conversion of CO to CO 2 and H 2 . Furthermore, calculations indicate that the observed reaction behavior under aqueous phase reforming conditions originates primarily from the higher water chemical potential, and implicit solvent models predict only a small solvation effect.
Chloride poisoning is a serious problem for the electrocatalytic reduction of aqueous nitrate (NO 3 – ) and improved electrocatalysts are needed. Here we study the electrocatalytic activity of rhodium sulfide supported on carbon (Rh x S y /C) for the reduction of nitrate and compare it against Pt/C and Rh/C in the presence of chloride. Between 0.05–0.15 V vs. RHE, Rh x S y /C has a steady-state nitrate reduction current density in 1 M H 2 SO 4 + 1 M NaNO 3 that is 1.6–5.6 times greater than Rh/C (the most active metal electrocatalyst) and 10–24 times greater than Pt/C. Current densities are decreased by 37% for Rh x S y /C, 62% for Rh/C, and 40% for Pt/C at 0.1 V vs. RHE in the presence of 1 mM chloride. The decrease in nitrate reduction activity for Pt, Rh, and Rh x S y is due to the competitive adsorption of chloride and nitrate on the surface. Density functional theory (DFT) modeling predicts that chloride poisoning will persistently inhibit nitrate reduction on metals due to linear adsorbate scaling relations between nitrate and chloride. DFT calculations and microkinetic modeling of our experimental measurements predict that nitrate converts to nitrite via an H-assisted dissociation mechanism on Pt and direct nitrate dissociation on Rh and Rh x S y . Pristine Rh x S y (i.e., Rh 3 S 4 , Rh 2 S 3 , and Rh 17 S 15 ) terraces are predicted to be inactive toward nitrate reduction. In contrast, sulfur vacancies in Rh 3 S 4 terraces are predicted to be active for nitrate reduction, but also bind chloride strongly. Furthermore, sulfur-defected Rh 3 S 4 rationalize the experimentally observed high activity but moderate chloride poison-resistance of Rh x S y /C for nitrate reduction.
Efficient and long-term stable electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) via water splitting are urgently desired to ease the energy crisis and develop the sustainability of human society. However, the HER performance of state-of-the-art Pt in non-acidic solutions is unsatisfactory due to the severely sluggish kinetics. In this work, DFT theoretical calculations reveal that the Ru/RuO 2 composites enable high HER activity to be pursued under non-acidic conditions because of the distinctive Ru and RuO 2 interface, which possess not only a strong capability to adsorb and dissociate water but also appropriate binding energies of H and OH. Therefore, we employ a simple strategy, including heating under an oxygen-poor environment and/or in situ electrochemical reduction, to partially reduce RuO 2 . The formed Ru/RuO 2 interfaces demonstrate superior HER activities (e.g. η 10 = 17 mV, 35 mV dec –1 in 1 M KOH) than Pt/C (e.g. η 10 = 27 mV, 58 mV dec –1 in 1 M KOH) at both small (10–100 mA cm –2 ) and large (1 A cm –2 ) current densities in alkaline solution and even real seawater. Comprehensive experiments were conducted to investigate the structure-HER performance relationships. Moreover, benefiting from the bifunctional character of RuO2, a two-electrode system based on Ru/RuO 2 composites and RuO 2 exhibits the lowest cell voltage for water splitting in both 1 M KOH and 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 , respectively. A 300 h-stability test at 10 mA cm –2 without an obvious decay demonstrates the industrial prospects of the Ru/RuO 2 composites to generate green energy.
Understanding how natural nanoaggregates of iron (Fe) and organic matter (OM), currently identified in organic rich soil or peat, interact with metals and metalloids is environmentally significant. Here, coal is also organic-rich and exemplifies anoxic sedimentary environments with Fe usually as pyrite and not oxides. Here, we analyze the local structure of Fe (6880–21 700 mg kg –1 ) and As (45–5680 mg kg –1 ) in representative Guizhou coal samples using X-ray absorption near-edge structure and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (XANES and EXAFS) to illustrate how Fe(III) and As(V) are preserved in coal formed from reduced, organic-rich precursors. Arsenic XANES indicates that >80% of As exists as As(V) with <14% of As associated with sulfides in 5 Guizhou coal samples, confirming published but unexplained results. An As–Fe shell at 3.25–3.29 Å in the As EXAFS suggests that this As(V) is adsorbed on Fe(III) oxyhydroxides as evidenced by Fe EXAFS in these coal samples. Significantly, lower Fe–Fe coordination numbers (CN) of 0.6–1.1 relative to those in 2-line ferrihydrite (CN = 1.6) and goethite (CN = 2.1) suggest that these Fe(III) oxyhydroxides are likely Fe–OM nanoaggregates protected by OM encapsulation and adsorption of arsenate. Such structurally stabilized composites of As(V)–Fe(III)–OM may be more widely distributed and allow oxidized As and Fe to persist in other organic-rich, reducing environments.
Interactions between a transition metal (oxide) catalyst and a support can tailor the number and nature of active sites, for instance in the methanol oxidation reaction.In this report we use ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) to identify and compare the surface adsorbates that form on amorphous metal oxide films that maximize such interactions. Considering Al (1−x) M x O y (M = Fe or Mn) films at a range of methanol : oxygen gas ratios and temperatures, we find that the redox-active transition metal site (characterized by methoxy formation) dominates dissociative methanol adsorption, while basic oxygen sites (characterized by carbonate formation) play a lesser role. Product detection, however, indicates complete oxidation to carbon dioxide and water with partial oxidation products (dimethyl ether) comprising a minor species. Comparing the intensity of methoxy and hydroxyl features at a fixed XPS chemical shift suggests methanol deprotonation during adsorption in oxygen rich conditions for high transition metal content. However, increasing methanol partial pressure and lower metal site density may promote oxygen vacancy formation and the dehydroxylation pathway, supported by a nominal reduction in the oxidation state of iron sites. These findings illustrate that AP-XPS and mass spectrometry together are powerful tools in understanding metal–support interactions, quantifying and probing the nature of catalytic active sites, and considering the link between electronic structure of materials and their catalytic activity.
Food waste (FW) remains a global challenge due to the increasing demand for food production to support a growing global population and the lack of effective waste management technologies for recycling and upcycling. Unique compounds in FW – such as carbohydrates, proteins, lignin, fats, and extractives – can be repurposed to produce important biobased fuels, bulk chemicals, dietary supplements, adsorbents, and antibacterial products, among many others. We review the thermal and thermocatalytic FW valorization strategies and the fundamental pathways. We discuss the potential integration of various valorization processes, their economic viability, the technical and marketing challenges, and the need for further developments. By overcoming several technical hurdles, repurposing FW into modular plants can create exciting economic and environmental prospects.
Periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations are employed to understand the origin of structure sensitivity in hydrodechlorination (HDC) of trichloroethylene (TCE) over different facets of a palladium catalyst. The HDC reaction is simulated on the terrace (Pd (111) and Pd (100)) and undercoordinated (Pd (211) and Pd (110)) sites of the Pd catalyst. The most stable binding configuration of TCE on the Pd surfaces is observed to be through the di-σ mode of binding, wherein each carbon atom of the TCE molecule is adsorbed atop of the Pd atom. On comparing TCE adsorption over different facets of Pd, a maximum binding energy of –178 kJ mol –1 is calculated over the Pd (110) surface. TCE, upon adsorption on Pd catalyst, undergoes dechlorination followed by hydrogenation of the hydrocarbon intermediates. The activation energies for C–Cl bond dissociation steps are significantly low when compared to the hydrogenation steps. The chlorine released from dechlorination tends to block the active sites, thereby poisoning the surface with high binding energies (B.E > –160 kJ mol –1 ) on all the surfaces. The trend in chlorine binding energies on Pd facets follows: Pd (110) > Pd (211) > Pd (100) > Pd (111). The removal of surface chlorine is facilitated by its reaction with surface hydrogen to form hydrogen chloride. The activation energy for hydrogen chloride formation is calculated to be 90 kJ mol –1 and 88 kJ mol –1 on Pd (111) and Pd (100) terrace sites, respectively and 109 kJ mol –1 and 118 kJ mol –1 on the step Pd (211) and corrugated Pd (110) facets, respectively. This suggests the ease of removal of Cl as HCl from the terrace sites as compared to the step and corrugated sites. The structure sensitivity in the TCE HDC reaction could possibly arise due to the differences in the energetics of Cl removal on different Pd facets. As a result, this mechanistic understanding could provide a rationale for designing suitable catalysts for the HDC of TCE.
Natural porous materials such as nanoporous clays are used as green and low-cost adsorbents and catalysts. The key factors determining their performance in these applications are the pore morphology and surface activity, which are typically represented by properties such as specific surface area, pore volume, micropore content and pH. The latter may be modified and tuned to specific applications through material processing and/or chemical treatment. Characterization of the material, raw or processed, is typically performed experimentally, which can become costly especially in the context of tuning of the properties towards specific application requirements and needing numerous experiments. In this work, we present an application of tree-based machine learning methods trained on experimental datasets to accelerate the characterization of natural porous materials. The resulting models allow reliable prediction of the outcomes of experimental characterization of processed materials (R2 from 0.78 to 0.99) as well as identification of key factors contributing to those properties through feature importance analysis. Furthermore, the high throughput of the models enables exploration of processing parameter–property correlations and multiobjective optimization of prototype materials towards specific applications. We have applied these methodologies to pinpoint and rationalize optimal processing conditions for clays exploitable in acid catalysis. One of such identified materials was synthesized and tested revealing appreciable acid character improvement with respect to the pristine material. Specifically, it achieved 79% removal of chlorophyll-a in acid catalyzed degradation.