Density functional theory-based screening of Ti4C3O2-loaded single atoms for efficient selective catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde

Abstract

Indoor formaldehyde (HCHO) pollution poses a major risk to human health. Low-temperature catalytic oxidation is an effective method for HCHO removal. The high activity and selectivity of single atomic catalysts provide a possibility for the development of efficient non-precious metal catalysts. In this study, the most stable single-atom catalyst Ti–Ti4C3O2 was screened by density functional theory among many single atomic catalysts with two-dimensional (2D) monolayer Ti4C3O2 as the support. The computational results show that Ti–Ti4C3O2 is highly selective to HCHO and O2 in complex environments. The HCHO oxidation reaction pathways are proposed based on the Eley-Rideal (E-R) and Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanisms. According to the reaction energy and energy span models, the E-R mechanism has a lower maximum energy barrier and higher catalytic efficiency than the L-H mechanism. In addition, the stability of the Ti–Ti4C3O2 structure and active center was verified by diffusion energy barrier and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The above results indicate that Ti–Ti4C3O2 is a promising non-precious metal catalyst. The present study provides detailed theoretical insights into the catalytic oxidation of HCHO by Ti–Ti4C3O2, as well as an idea for the development of efficient non-precious metal catalysts based on 2D materials.