Bimetallic Catalysts Research Articles

Synergistic Tuning of Heterovalent States and Oxygen-Vacancy Defect Engineering in Hydrophilic W-Doped Sb2OS2 for Enhanced Nitrogen Photoreduction to Ammonia.

Nitrogen fixation reaction via photocatalysis offers a green and promising strategy for renewable NH3 synthesis, and catalysts with high-efficiency photocatalytic properties are essential to the process. Herein, we demonstrate a W-doped Sb2OS2 bimetal oxysulfide catalyst (labeled as SbWOS) with abundant oxygen vacancies, heterovalent metal states, and hydrophilic surfaces for nitrogen photoreduction to ammonia. The SbWOS-3 with suitable W-doping exhibited excellent nitrogen fixation activity of 408.08 μmol·g-1·h-1 and an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 1.88% at 420 nm and a solar-to-ammonia (STA) conversion efficiency of 0.082% in pure water under AM1.5G light irradiation. The W-doping not only transforms hydrophobic Sb2OS2 into a hydrophilic catalyst, making it easier for H2O molecules adsorbed on the SbWOS surface and catalyzed into protons, but also endows the SbWOS catalyst with rich oxygen vacancies, acting as the active sites for trapping and activating the N2 molecule, and for trapping and activating H2O to produce the protons for the N2 photocatalytic reduction reaction. The hydrazine drives the SbWOS catalyst with the heterovalent metal states, which acts as the photogenerate electrons quickly hopping between W5+ and W6+ to transfer for the N2 reduction reaction. This study provides a feasible scheme for applying oxygen vacancy defects, heterovalent metal states, and surface hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic wetting engineering in bimetal oxysulfide for N2 photoreduction to ammonia.

Reversibility in Structural Dynamics on Pt−Ni Bimetallic Nanocrystals under Redox Conditions

AbstractThe reversibility of structural change in a bimetallic catalyst during the chemical reaction is an essential factor to determine the catalytic stability. Herein, we investigate the surface modulation of three Pt−Ni bimetallic alloy nanoparticle compositions (Pt3Ni1, Pt1Ni1, and Pt1Ni3) under alternating redox cycles. We validate trends in the structural change of the three compositions of Pt−Ni nanoparticles via spectroscopic/microscopic investigations at bulk and atomic levels. Pt‐rich Pt−Ni nanoparticles exhibited higher reversibility in structural change during the repeated redox cycles. On the contrary, Ni‐rich Pt−Ni nanoparticles showed irreversible structural changes, leading to the segregation and separation of Ni species from the alloy, which could deactivate the catalysts. This work demonstrates the reversibility of structural dynamics in alloy catalysts depending on their composition, providing fundamental insights for developing ideal bimetallic catalysts.

Nanoporous Carbon-Supported Bimetallic (Ni, Cu, and Fe)-Mo Catalysts for Partial Hydrogenation of Biodiesel.

Upgrading biodiesel or hydrogenated fatty acid methyl esters (H-FAMEs) by partial hydrogenation is a second-generation biofuel with high specific fuel characteristics, such as superior cold flow properties, higher oxidative stability, and lower hazardous gas emissions, allowing this biofuel to provide excellent fuel properties, over conventional biodiesel. This study assessed the potential of using nanoporous carbon produced from cattail leaves (CL) as an alternative catalyst support. We synthesized various catalysts including monometallic Mo/NPC, Ni/NPC, Ce/NPC, and Fe/NPC catalysts, as well as bimetallic molybdenum-based catalysts doped with nickel, copper, or iron for the partial hydrogenation of soybean biodiesel. The NPC support demonstrated a surface area (S BET) of approximately 1,323 m2g-1, which greatly increases the catalytic activity through the efficient dispersion of catalyst active sites. The partial hydrogenation reaction of soybean FAME over the MoNi/NPC catalyst obtained the highest catalytic activity with enhanced oxidation stability from 3 to 14 h, and the cloud point and pour point increased from 2 to 13 °C and -1 to 10 °C, respectively. Hence, the selection of catalysts is crucial due to their impact on the feasibility of the process and its economic viability. This article focuses on highlighting the effectiveness of a highly promising catalyst for partial hydrogenation as well as examining the variables that influence the primary reaction pathway.

Power‐to‐Ethanol Using Bimetallic Catalysts: Reaction Paths, Transfer to Gas Diffusion Electrode, and Future Perspectives

ABSTRACTEthanol is a promising product for the carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), as ethanol as a value‐added product can help to enable the near‐term feasibility of this technique, thus Power‐to‐ethanol can act as a pioneering process for the CO2RR. Furthermore, CO2RR offers a green production process for ethanol in addition to biomass fermentation. However, the formation of ethanol via electrolysis often competes with ethylene production, which makes the selective formation of ethanol more difficult. We show that this problem can be circumvented by using a bimetallic catalyst that provides abundant *CO and thus activates an alternative and selective reaction path for ethanol. However, this study was carried out in an aqueous‐fed H‐type electrolyzer, which has mass transport limitations and thus insufficient current densities. To solve this issue, the studied catalyst is transferred to a gas diffusion electrode. Here we emphasize that, in addition to other relevant parameters, the choice of the binder also can have a high impact on the performance of the electrode. As an outlook, various enhanced reactor designs and their influence on ethanol formation are presented.

Co-M (M = Ru, Pd, Pt) Bimetallic Catalysts on the CeO2 Nanofiber Prepared Using the Electrospinning Method for Dry Reforming of Methane

Co-M (M = Ru, Pd, Pt) Bimetallic Catalysts on the CeO₂ Nanofiber Prepared Using the Electrospinning Method for Dry Reforming of Methane

Graphene Chainmail-Enabled Moderate Precatalyst Phase Evolution for Sustainable Polysulfide Electrocatalysis in Li─S Batteries.

The rational design of polysulfide electrocatalysts is of vital importance to achieve longevous Li─S batteries. Notwithstanding fruitful advances made in elevating electrocatalytic activity, efforts to regulate precatalyst phase evolution and protect active sites are still lacking. Herein, an in situ graphene-encapsulated bimetallic model catalyst (CoNi@G) is developed for striking a balance between electrocatalytic activity and stability for sulfur electrochemistry. The layer numbers of directly grown graphene can be dictated by tuning the synthetic duration. Exhaustive experimental and theoretical analysis comprehensively reveals that the tailored graphene chainmail boosts catalytic durability while guaranteeing moderate phase evolution, accordingly attaining a decorated surface sulfidation with advanced catalytic essence. Benefiting from the sustainable polysulfide electrocatalysis, CoNi@G enabled sulfur electrodes to harvest a capacity output of 1276.2mAhg-1 at 0.2 C and a negligible capacity decay of 0.055% per cycle after 1000 cycles at 1.0 C. Such a maneuver can be readily extended to other metallic catalysts including NiFe, CoFe, or Co. The work elucidates the precatalyst phase evolution mechanism through a controllable graphene-armored strategy, offering meaningful guidance to realize durable electrocatalysts in Li─S batteries.

Cu−based bimetallic sites' p-d orbital hybridization promotes CO asymmetric coupling conversion to C2 products

Hampered by sluggish C−C coupling kinetics, the low selectivity and efficiency have limited industrial applications of CO2 reduction into valuable multi-carbon products. A direct coupling of CO molecules or their coupling after hydrogenation, followed by the final synthesis of C2 products, can help to overcome these limitations potentially. In this study, a detailed high-throughput screening of bimetallic site catalysts comprising copper (Cu) and 28 other metal (M) atoms was conducted. The metal atoms Cu and M were anchored on a carbon nanotube (CNT) with six nitrogen (N6) defects (CuMN6@CNT), which possesses effective dual active sites for C−C coupling. The calculated results demonstrate that the CuGaN6@CNT catalyst exhibited favorable selectivity, with low theoretical overpotentials of −0.23 and −0.34 eV for ethanol and ethylene, respectively, surpassing most reported catalysts. The synergistic effect of Ga and Cu sites, along with their p-d states hybridization, results in an enhancement of Cu's d state dispersion and energy barriers reduction for C−C coupling. Additionally, the strain effect of the substrate CNT exhibits a direct correlation with the catalytic performance of CuGaN6@CNT by adjusting the d-band center of the Cu site and p-band center of the Ga site. These findings provide a novel insights into the electrocatalytic reduction of CO into valuable C2 products using bimetallic single atom catalyst, offering significant guidance for future research endeavors in this field.

Boron-Doping Engineering in AgCd Bimetallic Catalyst Enabling Efficient CO2 Electroreduction to CO and Aqueous Zn-CO2 Batteries.

The limited adsorption and activation of CO2 on catalyst and the high energy barrier for intermediate formation hinder the development of electrochemical CO2 reduction reactions (CO2RR). Herein, this work reports a boron (B) doping engineering in AgCd bimetals to alleviate the above limitations for efficient CO2 electroreduction to CO and aqueous Zn-CO2 batteries. Specifically, the B-doped AgCd bimetallic catalyst (AgCd-B) is prepared via a simple reduction reaction at room temperature. A combination of in situ experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrates that B-doping simultaneously enhances the adsorption and activation of CO2 and reduces the binding energy of the intermediates by moderating the electronic structure of bimetals. As a result, the AgCd-B catalyst exhibits a high CO Faraday efficiency (FECO) of 99% at -0.8V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Additionally, it maintains a FECO over 92% at a wide potential window of 600mV (-0.6 to -1.1V versus RHE). Furthermore, the AgCd-B catalyst coupled with the Zn anode to assemble aqueous Zn-CO2 batteries shows a power density of 20.18mW cm-2 and a recharge time of 33h.

Synergistic Nanoscale Mn3O4-CoO-Co Heterojunctions for Boosting the Selectivity in Hydrogenation of Nitrostyrenes and Nitroarenes.

Metal-metal oxide interface catalysts are in high demand for advanced catalytic applications due to their multi-component active sites, which facilitate synergistic cooperation where a single component alone cannot effectively promote the desired reaction. Demonstrated herein graphene oxide-supported nanoscale Mn3O4-CoO-Co as highly efficient catalysts for hydrogenation of nitro styrenes/nitro arenes to amino styrenes/arenes under mild reaction conditions (0.5 MPa and 100 °C in 1:1 THF/water). Charge relocalization at the Co-CoO-Mn3O4 heterojunction interfaces, primarily driven by Mn3O4, significantly improves reaction selectivity. Replacing Mn3O4 with MnO or using other supported bimetallic CoMnOx catalysts decreases selectivity, leading to the formation of a mixture of products. The catalyst demonstrated remarkable selectivity in converting nitro groups to amines, even in the presence of highly reactive functional groups such as C=C, O-C=O, C=O, C≡N, chalcones, and halides. It also exhibited high yields, multiple reusability, and a broad substrate scope. This study demonstrates how Mn3O4, in synergy with CoO-Co, fine-tunes selectivity, paving the way for the development of advanced metal-metal oxide interface catalysts to enhance both selectivity and efficiency in organic transformations.

Integration of Facet‐Dependent, Adsorbate‐Driven Surface Reconstruction into Multiscale Models for the Design of Ni‐Based Bimetallic Catalysts for Hydrogen Oxidation

AbstractNi‐based bimetallic catalysts (NiM) show promise to replace expensive Pt‐based catalysts for hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). However, the effect of dopant and reaction conditions on the adsorbate‐driven surface reconstruction of NiM nanoparticles remains largely unexplored. Here, we use a multiscale modeling approach – integrating density functional theory, kubic harmonics interpolation, and microkinetic modeling – to investigate the interplay between dopant, reaction conditions, facet, adsorbate type, adsorbate coverage, in situ surface structure, and performance for NiM nanoparticles during HOR. Clear periodic trends appear in dopant effects on key adsorption energies, with dopants showing 7‐fold greater effects when located in the surface as compared to subsurface. Multi‐faceted nanoparticle models showed a non‐uniform correlation between O* coverage and surface reconstruction. HOR performance was facet‐dependent, with the highest performance occurring at reactive fronts formed between regions of high O* and OH* coverage. The nanoparticle averaged performance showed promotional effects for nearly all dopants compared to pure Ni, with the best‐performing dopants located preferentially in the surface layer (e. g. Au, Pd, Ag). Taken together, this work emphasizes the importance of understanding the interplay between reaction conditions, surface reconstruction, and HOR performance for NiM nanoparticles, enabling researchers to both predict and control the working nanoscale catalyst structure.

Development of Robust CuNi Bimetallic Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation of Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol under Mild Conditions

Furfuryl alcohol represents a pivotal intermediate in the high-value utilization of renewable furfural, derived from agricultural residues. The industrial-scale hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol typically employs Cu-based catalysts, but their limited catalytic activity necessitates high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. Here, we develop robust CuNi bimetallic catalysts through direct calcination of dried sol–gel precursors under H2 atmosphere, enabling the complete conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol under mild conditions. By adjusting the calcination atmosphere and introducing small amounts of Ni, we achieve the formation of highly dispersed, ultrasmall Cu nanoparticles, resulting in a significant enhancement of the catalytic activity. The optimized 0.5%Ni-10%Cu/SiO2-CA(H2) catalyst demonstrates superior catalytic performance, achieving 99.4% of furfural conversion and 99.9% of furfuryl alcohol selectivity, respectively, at 55 °C under 2 MPa H2, outperforming previously reported Cu-based catalysts. The excellent performance of CuNi bimetallic catalysts can be attributed to the highly dispersed Cu nanoparticles and the synergistic effect between Cu and Ni for H2 activation. This research contributes to the rational design of Cu-based catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of furfural.

Excellent antibiotic degradation through PMS activation via bio derived Fe-Mn oxides with tunable defect concentration: Synergy between singlet oxygen oxidation and electron transfer

Regulating the defect sites and structural composition of metal-based metal catalysts is an effective strategy to improve the activity of activating PMS to degrade pollutants. Herein, bio derived Fe/Mn composite oxides (BFMO) rich in oxygen vacancy composed of crystalline manganese oxide coated with amorphous iron oxide was prepared through microbial mediation, and used for PMS activation in the degradation of tetracycline (TC). After 60 minutes reaction, the removal rate of TC achieved 92.4 %−98.8 % within wide pH range of 3–12. Besides, this system has outstanding anti-interference ability to common ions and humic acid (HA). The outstanding catalytic performance stemmed from the non-radical pathway for producing singlet oxygen (1O2) and electron transfer, facilitated by defect-rich polyvalent Mn and amorphous Fe species. Polyvalent Mn species accelerate the electron transfer process, and its surface defect structure further promotes the adsorption of pollutants on the surface of the materials. The redox cycle of Fe3+/Fe2+ was accelerate via electron-rich groups. This study explored the synergy triggered by microbe-mediated defect sites and structure-dependent, providing a design strategy for environmental remediation of PMS activated by Fe/Mn based bimetallic catalysts with strong resistance to environmental interference.

The role of TiO2 and gC3N4 bimetallic catalysts in boosting antibiotic resistance gene removal through photocatalyst assisted peroxone process

Antibiotics are extensively used in human medicine, aquaculture, and animal husbandry, leading to the release of antimicrobial resistance into the environment. This contributes to the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), posing a significant threat to human health and aquatic ecosystems. Conventional wastewater treatment methods often fail to eliminate ARGs, prompting the adoption of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to address this growing risk. The study investigates the efficacy of visible light-driven photocatalytic systems utilizing two catalyst types (TiO2-Pd/Cu and g-C3N4-Pd/Cu), with a particular emphasis on their effectiveness in eliminating blaTEM, ermB, qnrS, tetM. intl1, 16 S rDNA and 23 S rDNA through photocatalytic ozonation and peroxone processes. Incorporating O3 into photocatalytic processes significantly enhances target removal efficiency, with the photocatalyst-assisted peroxone process emerging as the most effective AOP. The reemergence of targeted contaminants following treatment highlights the pivotal importance of AOPs and the meticulous selection of catalysts in ensuring sustained treatment efficacy. Furthermore, Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis reveals challenges in eradicating GC-rich bacteria with TiO2 and g-C3N4 processes, while slight differences in Cu/Pd loadings suggest g-C3N4-based ozonation improved antibacterial effectiveness. Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis highlights the efficacy of the photocatalyst-assisted peroxone process in treating diverse samples.

Mechanisms and degradation pathways of tetracycline by Co7Fe3 nanoparticles anchored porous carbon activated peroxymonosulfate

In recent years, catalysts based on transition metals have been extensively employed for the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) in the removal of tetracycline (TC) from aquatic environments. However, the efficiency of single transition metals and heterogeneous transition metals as catalysts has been somewhat limited. In this study, different bimetallic Co-Fe catalysts embedded in a porous carbon (Co7Fe3-500/600/700/800) were synthesized using a straightforward single-step calcination process at varying temperatures, addressing the issues of poor activation performance of single transition metals and low dispersion of active components in heterogeneous transition metals. The Co7Fe3-500/600/700/800 enhanced the electronic configuration, establishing electron-rich and highly active zones that promoted electron transfer between the Co and Fe transition metals. The results showed that Co7Fe3-600, exhibited excellent PMS activation performance, removing 95.1 % of TC from the solution within 10 min. Additionally, Co7Fe3-600 showed strong adaptability and resistance to interference under various environmental conditions. DFT calculations, HPLC-MS analysis and T.E.S.T analysis were used to predict potential degradation intermediates during TC degradation and assess their biological toxicity. This research introduces an innovative strategy for formulating sophisticated bimetallic alloy catalysts and contributes fresh perspectives on the mechanisms involved in the PMS activation process by bimetallic catalysts.

Influence of the synthesis route on Au-Ir/Al2O3 catalysts performing the total propane oxidation reaction at low temperature

The current study highlights synthesis as a key parameter for obtaining Au-Ir/Al2O3 bimetallic catalysts using the deposition-precipitation with urea (DPU) method. Both co-deposition and sequential deposition (first by adding Au and then Ir and vice versa) were employed. These approaches were compared with the sol-gel and impregnation methods, revealing notable differences in the catalytic oxidation of C3H8 at low temperatures. The Au-Ir/Al2O3 catalysts prepared via co-deposition and sequential deposition demonstrated outstanding results, producing nanoparticles as small as 1 nm when thermally reduced in hydrogen at 400 °C; also, these catalysts exhibited greater capacity for oxidizing C3H8 below 280°C than the Ir/Al2O3 and Au/Al2O3-based catalysts. Characterization of the catalysts was conducted by employing various techniques, including in-situ DRIFTS, UV-Vis, H2-TPR, HAADF-STEM-EDS, XPS and surface acidity determinations by pyridine thermo-desorption. This last technique showed differences in total acidity (Brönsted and Lewis) provoked by the Au-Ir interaction in the different catalysts, which significantly influenced their ability to oxidize C3H8 towards CO2. The results emphasize the effectiveness of the co-deposition and sequential deposition methods using the DPU approach compared to the sol-gel and impregnation methods.

Iron–molybdenum bimetals incorporated montmorillonite-based catalytic ceramic membrane for heterogenous Fenton reaction towards the degradation of micropollutants in water

This study developed an innovative material approach that integrated Fenton catalysis with membrane filtration in a single system using iron–molybdenum bimetal oxides (FeMoO) incorporated montmorillonite (MMT)-based ceramic membrane (FeMoMMTCM) to achieve continuous Fenton reaction for water purification. The embedded bimetallic FeMoO catalyst created abundant active Fe(II) sites on the external and internal surfaces of the ceramic membrane (CM) for H2O2 activation. Using naproxen (NPX) as a model micropollutant in water, the FeMoMMTCM/H2O2 system achieved a 98.6 % removal of NPX (10 mg/L) within a filtration period of 3.4 min through the membrane, in comparison to a 17.5 % removal by FeMoMMTCM filtration with no H2O2 dosing and a 21.1 % removal by the FeMoO-less MMTCM/H2O2 system. The catalytic membrane demonstrated its high NPX removal efficiency over multiple cycles, retaining its effectiveness even in the presence of co-existing ions and organic matter in the water matrix. Furthermore, the FeMoMMTCM/H2O2 system was able to remove nearly 70 % of residual organic pollutants from the actual secondary wastewater effluent. The quenching tests and electro-paramagnetic resonance (EPR) detection confirmed the generation of hydroxyl (OH) and superoxide (O2−) radicals from H2O2. The excellent catalytic performance can be attributed to the Fe-Mo bimetallic catalyst, in which the active Mo(VI)/Mo(IV) cycle can facilitate the Fe(II)/Fe(III) cycle for continuous Fenton reaction. The cost analysis indicates that the low-cost MMT and its low sintering temperature for ceramics would greatly decrease the cost of MMTCM (243.1 US$/m2 vs. 541.5 US$/m2 of alumina-based CM). Overall, the research presents a technical strategy for the fabrication of highly cost-effective catalytic membranes with Fenton reaction for removing micropollutants from water.

Highly efficient selective hydrogenation of furfural to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol over MOF-derived Co-Ni bimetallic catalysts: The effects of Co-Ni alloy and adsorption configuration

The targeted conversion of furfural (FA) over inexpensive catalyst is a critical and challenging project. Herein, CoNi alloy catalysts (xCoyNi/C) were prepared through one-step pyrolysis of metal–organic frameworks and used in furfural (FA) hydrogenation to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (TFOL). The formation of CoNi alloy leads to a reconfiguration of the electronic structure on the metal surface, which affects the adsorption of functional groups on FA and furfuryl alcohol (FOL). In situ FT-IR analysis and DFT calculations verify that bimetallic CoNi alloy catalyst exhibits more suitable reactants adsorption and hydrogenation rate in comparison with the monometallic Co and monometallic Ni catalysts. Meanwhile, CoNi alloy significantly reduces the activation barrier from FOL to TFOL. Hence, the 1Co1Ni/C catalyst gives the highest TFOL yield of > 99 %. This study provides a simple strategy for the preparation of alloy catalysts for tuning product selectivity and presents practical potential for upgrading biomass-derived platform molecules.

Efficient corn stover-derived metal-supported biochar catalyst for hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol

Xylitol, one of the top twelve chemical building blocks, is commercially synthesized through the xylose hydrogenation reaction using a metal catalyst. Biochar has emerged as an eco-efficient catalyst support material. In this study, biochar derived from corn stover (BCS) was first used as a metal catalyst support material for xylose hydrogenation into xylitol. The catalyst was prepared by carbonizing corn stover (CS), impregnating the resulting biochar with metal, and reducing the metal-impregnated BCS. The catalyst characteristics were comprehensively explored. The Ru/BCS catalyst was employed in xylose conversion to xylitol at different process temperatures (100 – 160 °C), retention times (3 – 12 h), H2 pressures (2 – 5 MPa), and Ru contents (1 – 5 %). The highest xylitol yield (87.0 wt.%) and selectivity (91.6 %) were derived at 120 °C for 6 h under 4 MPa H2 using 5 % Ru. Interestingly, the Ru/BCS catalyst showed high stability under the promising process condition. Additionally, xylitol production from hydrolysates enriched with CS xylose was subsequently explored. On the other hand, the catalyst characterization results revealed that the superior catalytic efficiency of 5Ru/BCS was mainly due to the metal nanoparticles embedded in the biochar. Additionally, BCS proved to be an outstanding support material for a bimetallic hydrogenation catalyst (Ru-Ni/BCS). Therefore, these results indicate that BCS can be a competitive support material for metal hydrogenation catalysts, enhancing environmental friendliness and potentially being employed in industrial-scale xylitol production.

Efficient polycarbonate plastic upcycling into jet fuel cycloalkanes over a bifunctional MoCo/NiC hetero-catalyst

While there are significant economic benefits associated with plastic recycling, the practical options for treating plastic waste remain relatively limited. This study introduces a novel bimetallic MOF-derived catalyst designed specifically for upcycling polycarbonate plastic into cycloalkanes within jet fuel range. By incorporating dual metals (MoCo) onto the MOF framework, the catalyst creates single metal sites and constructs heterojunctions. Characterizations revealed that the bifunctional catalyst can chemically adsorb phenolic compounds on a highly synergistic heterogeneous surface and lower the energy barrier of hydrodeoxygenation. Integrating the catalyst into a tandem reactor facilitates the conversion of PC plastics into jet-fuels. Achieving an average cycloalkane yield of 84.5% underscores the catalyst’s potential for deep hydrodeoxygenation of actual plastic waste. Furthermore, using waste CDs as feedstock, the cycloalkanes yield remains consistent even after three regeneration cycles, demonstrating the catalyst’s stability. In the low-carbon future, this high hydrodeoxygenation performance catalyst can be applied in chemical upcycling for pursuing a circular plastic economy.

Revolutionizing Nitrogen Electrocatalysis: Atomically Dispersed Ruthenium Catalyzed by Manganese for Unmatched Performance

Seeking sustainable ammonia, the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) via electrocatalysis is crucial but challenged by catalyst efficiency and stability needs. This study presents RuMn-NC@NF, a novel bimetallic ruthenium-manganese catalyst synthesized via chemical vapor deposition (CVD), featuring atomically dispersed active sites on porous carbon. The strategic incorporation of manganese into the ruthenium lattice modulates the electronic structure, optimizing nitrogen adsorption and accelerating reaction kinetics. Our results demonstrate that RuMn-NC@NF achieves a remarkable Faradaic efficiency of 33.37% and an ammonia yield rate of 187.06μgh-1 mgcat.-1. XRD, SEM, HAADF-STEM, and XPS characterizations affirm the atomic distribution and elemental makeup of the catalyst. Meanwhile, DEMS and DFT calculations reveal the intrinsic mechanisms driving the reaction. The RuMn-NC@NF catalyst exhibits excellent stability over multiple cycles, underscoring its potential for practical and sustainable ammonia production. This research advances electrocatalysis with an innovative NRR catalyst for sustainable applications.