Support Surface Research Articles

EFFECTS OF A NORDIC WALKING INTERVENTION ON WALKING IN NORMAL ADULTS

The purpose of this study was to compare and examine gait parameters, hip joint angle, and lower extremity muscle activity during normal walking before and after Nordic walking (NW) intervention. Nineteen healthy male participants (age 26.3 ± 2.4 years) were included in the study. During walking, we measured gait parameters using the footprint-measuring gait analysis system. Аngular changes of the hip joint were measured with an IMU-type portable three-dimensional motion analyzer and the EMG activity of each muscle. The measurements above were performed before and after a one-hour NW training course. The hip joint angle, muscle activity, and gait parameters were compared before and after the intervention with the same participants. In gait parameters, the stride length and walking speed were significantly greater after the intervention, while the cadence decreased significantly. Both hip flexion and extension angles were significantly greater after the intervention. In terms of muscle activity, the rectus abdominis, the tibialis anterior, and the gastrocnemius were very different after the intervention. According to previous reports, employing a large stride length during NW would affect the normal gait after the training. The use of the Nordic pole may have stimulated a substantial forward movement in the lower extremities using the large range of motion of the hip joints. The benefits of NW include enhanced forward propulsion during gait and additional stability during the stance phase due to the greater support surface provided by the poles.

MOF-Derived Co Nanoparticles Catalyst Assisted by F- and N-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots for Oxygen Reduction.

The oxygen reduction reaction is crucial in the cathode of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Consequently, designing robust and durable ORR catalysts is vital to developing metal-air batteries and fuel cells. Metal-organic frameworks feature an adjustable structure, a periodic porosity, and a large specific surface area, endowing their derivative materials with a unique structure. In this study, F and N co-doped on the carbon support surface (Co/FN-C) via the pyrolysis of ZIF-67 as a sacrificial template while using Co/FN-C as the non-noble metal catalysts. The Co/FN-C displays excellent long-term durability and electrochemical catalytic performance in acidic solutions. These performance improvements are achieved because the CQDs alleviate the structural collapse during the pyrolysis of ZIF-67, which increases the active sites in the Co nanoparticles. Moreover, F- and N-doping improves the catalytic activity of the carbon support by providing additional electrons and active sites. Furthermore, F anions are redox-stable ligands that exhibit long-term operational stability. Therefore, the well-dispersed Co NPs on the surface of the Co/FN-C are promising as the non-noble metal catalysts for ORR.

Non-thermal plasma assisted catalytic nitrogen fixation with methane at ambient conditions

Sustainable and economical nitrogen (N2) fixation could offset the significant environmental and societal costs associated with the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. Yet, limited progress from these routes has been made to-date given unresolved low ammonia yield and complicated reaction pathways. The threshold efficiency required for a non-thermal plasma (NTP) process to become competitive is established for various scenarios of hydrogen sources with CO2-free renewable energy. Herein, we report a novel non-thermal plasma driven N2 fixation pathway with methane (CH4) over a low-cost Cu/SiO2 catalyst to form a high ammonia yield of almost 7% as well as value-added hydrogen, gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons as byproducts. The presence of CH4 promoted the N2 fixation degree by up to 17%. Both experimental and computational work performed in this study reveals that plasma driven CH4 and N2 activation induced the formation of highly energetic electrons in the plasma regime and the thereafter produced active species reacted on the copper nanoparticle surface dispersed on the outer surface of the silica support, securing good catalytic activity and stability. A coincidence between theoretical simulation and experimental data provides significant insights into rational design of charged catalyst for facilitating non-thermal plasma assisted N2 fixation with natural gas directly and unfold novel avenues for sustainable technology development through potential renewability and zero-carbon emission approach.

Smooth, Chemically Altered Nucleating Platform for Abrupt Performance Enhancement of Ultrathin Cu-Layer-Based Transparent Electrodes.

Rapid advances in flexible optoelectronic devices necessitate the concomitant development of high-performance, cost-efficient, and flexible transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs). This Letter reports an abrupt enhancement in the optoelectronic characteristics of ultrathin Cu-layer-based TCEs via Ar+-mediated modulation of the chemical and physical states of a ZnO support surface. This approach strongly regulates the growth mode for the subsequently deposited Cu layer, in addition to marked alteration to the ZnO/Cu interface states, resulting in exceptional TCE performance in the form of ZnO/Cu/ZnO TCEs. The resultant Haacke figure of merit (T10/Rs) of 0.063 Ω-1, 53% greater than that of the unaltered, otherwise identical structure, corresponds to a record-high value for Cu-layer-based TCEs. Moreover, the enhanced TCE performance in this approach is shown to be highly sustainable under severe simultaneous loadings of electrical, thermal, and mechanical stresses.

Novel interface enhancement strategy enables SiC fiber membrane for high-temperature gas/solid filtration

The high gas permeance of ceramic membranes is the most important indicator of hot-gas filtration. Ceramic membranes made of fibers show significant potential for filtering dust-laden gases owing to their high porosity and high gas permeance. A novel method is proposed for preparing a SiC fiber separation layer on a rigid ceramic support that endows the membrane with a high porosity. However, the interfacial adhesion between the support and separation layers was low as there were insufficient connection points. Therefore, a solvothermal method was proposed for the in-situ vertical growth of TiO2 nanocords on the surface of a SiC support (SiC–TiO2). Next, a SiC fiber separation layer was deposited on the SiC–TiO2 support to improve the interfacial adherence. The fabrication parameters of the SiC fiber layer, such as the solid content of the coating slurry and sintering procedure of the separating layer, were investigated in detail. At a SiC fiber content of 6 wt%, spray-coating times of 2, and sintering temperature of 1150 °C, a complete fiber layer was successfully deposited on the rigid ceramic support. The resulting membrane had a thickness of 100 μm, porosity of 91%, average pore diameter of 6.8 μm, and gas permeance of 440 m3·m−2·h−1·kPa−1. In the filtration of dust-laden gas containing SiO2 as simulated dust (average particle size, 0.3 μm), the rejection rate was >99.9%; further, after four cycles of filtration–backwashing, the pressure drop was <0.82 kPa. The outlet dust content was less than 0.1 mg m−3. Moreover, this membrane exhibited superior filtration ability at 500 °C. The findings of this study can aid the fabrication of ceramic fiber membranes with a high gas permeance and high interfacial adherence for industrial applications.

PTESO based robust stabilization control and its application to 3-DOF ship-borne parallel platform

In this paper, a prescribed-time extended state observer (PTESO) is constructed for a three degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) parallel ship-borne platform to estimate the platform’s total disturbances, including dynamic uncertainties, unknown time-varying external disturbances and coupling between the platform motion state variables. The constructed PTESO offers the advantages of converging within a prescribed time, suppressing initial peaking phenomenon and easy implementation. Furthermore, a PTESO based PD-like robust stabilization control law is designed, which maintains the support surface of the platform at a given horizontal position and orientation in the inertial space. Theoretical analyses show that the resulting closed-loop stabilization control system is stable. Simulation results with comparisons are presented to verify the effectiveness of our proposed robust stabilization control strategy.

Synthesis and Properties of a Carbon Monoxide Oxidation Catalyst Based on Titanium Dioxide and Platinum Nanoparticles

Carbon monoxide oxidation catalysts comprising Pt clusters on titanium dioxide with an oxide particle size of 6 and 20 nm have been synthesized. The catalysts have been studied using TEM, XRD, and XPS techniques, and it has been found that platinum clusters coated with a mixture of platinum oxides are formed on the support surface. The coherent scattering region of the Pt cluster is close to 5–6 nm for the studied oxide supports. The catalytic properties in the CO oxidation reaction at 295 K and low CO concentrations(less than 100 mg/m3) have been examined. The catalyst based on titania with a particle size of 20 nm and a platinum loading of 10 wt % has been found to have the CO oxidation rate 100 times higher than that on platinum black with a specific surface area of 30 m2/g. The catalysts are promising for use in catalytic air purification systems.

Necessary Products for the Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Injuries: Lessons Learned That Translate Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To identify the challenges encountered in obtaining the required support surfaces and products to meet pressure injury (PrI) prevention and treatment needs during COVID-19. The authors used SurveyMonkey to gather data on healthcare perceptions and the challenges experienced regarding specific product categories deemed necessary for PrI prevention and treatment in US acute care settings during the pandemic. They created three anonymous surveys for the target populations of supply chain personnel and healthcare workers. The surveys addressed healthcare workers' perceptions, product requests, and the ability to fulfill product requests and meet facility protocols without substitution in the categories of support surfaces and skin and wound care supplies. Respondents answered one of the three surveys for a total sample of 174 respondents. Despite specific instructions, nurses responded to the surveys designed for supply chain personnel. Their responses and comments were interesting and capture their perspectives and insights. Three themes emerged from the responses and general comments: (1) expectations differed between supply chain staff and nurses for what was required for PrI prevention and treatment; (2) inappropriate substitution with or without proper staff education occurred; and (3) preparedness. It is important to identify experiences and challenges in the acquisition and availability of appropriate equipment and products for PrI prevention and treatment. To foster ideal PrI prevention and treatment outcomes, a proactive approach is required to face daily issues or the next crisis.

Room temperature catalytic synthesis of biaryl and benzimidazole derivatives – Triggered by nano-sized Pd-loaded-modified chitosan polyurethane foams

Though Pd-based catalysts have been the most efficient in catalytic C-C coupling reactions, but the leaching of Pd is one of the serious limitations. To shed more light on the Pd-based catalysts to overcome the existing disadvantages, four different new functionalized polyurethane foams, namely, PUCS-Pd, PUCS-CA-Pd, PUCS-TA-Pd and PUCS-GA-Pd (where PU = polyurethane; CS = chitosan, CA = citric acid, TA = tartaric acid and GA = gallic acid) were prepared. Further, these materials were employed as an effective catalytic system in C-C coupling reactions yielding a series of biaryl products (80–98%) and benzimidazole derivatives (80–98%) at room temperature. The structures and compositions of these catalysts were well characterized to understand the morphology and physicochemical properties. The BET surface area of all these chitosan-based PU foams can be altered and was achieved as high as 12.156 m2g−1. The TEM data demonstrate the presence of 3 to 10 nm sized nano-Pd species grafted on the surface of polymer support. The catalyst, PUCS-CA-Pd facilitated the cross-coupling reactions even at a low Pd-loading of 0.624 mg in methanol-water. Because of the pore structure toward the captured Pd species, PUCS-CA-Pd displayed exceptional stability, recyclability and reusability at least 8 times without loss of activity.

Practical Application of Body Mechanics Principles in the Process of Health Workers Doffing Personal Protective Equipment

To examine the application effect of body mechanics principles in the process of health workers doffing personal protective equipment (PPE). A total of 360 health workers from a Fangcang shelter hospital, also known as alternate care site, in Shanghai were involved in a centralized 1-day training concerning essential skills for taking off PPE. The training was focused on integrating body mechanics principles, including expanding the support surface, lowering the center of gravity, reducing the shift in the the center of gravity, using the principle of leverage, and creating the appropriate operating space, in the PPE doffing process. Through remote video monitoring and recording, observations were made of the physical stability, pollution risks, and operational smoothness of the health workers when they applied body mechanics principles in their actions. The results of binary logistic regression showed that, compared with the actions taken without applying body mechanics principles, performing the operation of the body leaning forward and then slightly leaning backward was positively correlated with stability in the doffing process (odds ratio [O R]=3.291, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.627-6.656), negatively correlated with pollution risks ( OR=0.203, 95% CI: 0.100-0.412), and positively correlated with operational smoothness ( OR=20.847, 95% CI: 8.061-53.916); performing the operation of taking off the boot sleeve in a horse-riding stance, with one foot standing ahead of the other, was positively correlated with stability ( OR=5.299, 95% CI: 1.041-26.957), negatively correlated with pollution risks ( OR=0.079, 95% CI: 0.009-0.692), and positive correlated with operational smoothness ( OR=16.729, 95% CI: 1.238-226.077); performing the operation of taking off the boot sleeve by lifting the heel and then the toes was positively correlated with stability ( OR=19.361, 95% CI: 8.391-44.671), negatively correlated with pollution risks ( OR=0.181, 95% CI: 0.084-0.393), and positively correlated with operational smoothness ( OR=10.977, 95% CI: 3.764-32.008); performing the operation of the leaning forward and keeping the face looking forward when taking off the mask was positively correlated with stability ( OR=2.935, 95% CI: 1.412-6.101), negatively correlated with pollution risks ( OR=0.123, 95% CI: 0.059-0.258), and positively correlated with operational smoothness ( OR=18.126, 95% CI: 6.665-49.297). In the process of medical staffs doffing PPE, correct and proper mechanical postures and actions can effectively assist medical staffs to maintain balance and stability and reduce the risks of infection, which has major significance and should be widely incorporated in personal protection skills training and applied in clinical practice.

An Anode-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Half-Cell Fabricated by Hybrid 3D Inkjet Printing and Laser Treatment

A NiO-10YSZ/10YSZ half-cell for anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) was fabricated using 3D inkjet printing and layer-by-layer laser treatment of printing compositions followed by thermal sintering by a co-firing method. The optimal granulometric composition and rheological characteristics of the printing compositions to fabricate the NiO-10YSZ (60:40 wt.%) anode support, NiO-10YSZ (40:60 wt.%) anode functional layer (AFL), and 10YSZ electrolyte were determined. Effects of the pore former and laser post-treatment on the morphology of the as-prepared anodes for the manufacture of SOFC anode supports were studied, and the optimum laser exposure for hybrid 3D printing was determined. A mechanism of influence of the exposure of laser post-treatment on the morphology of the NiO-10YSZ anode supports has been proposed. The mass content of 10YSZ and the number of layers were shown to affect the surface microstructure and the thickness of the thin-film electrolytes deposited on the surface of the anode supports. The hybrid inkjet 3D printing offers great opportunities as it allows a one-pot procedure to fabricate a NiO-10YSZ/10YSZ SOFC half-cell for SOFC anode supports.

The method of ensuring the road-holding ability of the motor grader during the performance of technological operations

Problem. The article proposes a method of ensuring course stability of a motor grader during technological operations. As a system for adapting the motor grader to changing operating conditions, it is proposed to simultaneously use the mechanism for turning the front wheels in the horizontal plane and the mechanism for tilting the front wheels in the vertical plane. Goal. Development of a method of adapting a motor grader to changing external load conditions during technological operations. Methodology. As a criterion for adaptation, the index of permissible deviation of the motor grader from the planned trajectory of movement at the distance of the given length was used. Originality. The proposed criterion depends on the type of technological operation performed and the type of parameters of the developed environment. Results. The method of ensuring road-holding ability of the motor grader involves the analysis of the movement of the machine on the work site and the development of recommendations for the effective use of the adaptation system. Practical value. On the basis of the obtained results of experimental studies, a graphical and analytical analysis was performed, which made it possible to provide recommendations on the choice of turning angles and inclination of the wheels as a function of the angle of the transverse inclination of the support surface and the coefficient of adhesion.

Utilization of agricultural waste (rice husk) in synthesis of TS-1 zeolite as a support for NiMo nanocatalyst employed in hydrodesulfurization of heavy oil

Agricultural waste, rice husk (RH) was treated to obtain rice husk ash (RHA) and utilized as silica precursor in hydrothermal synthesis of TS-1 zeolite. Results of characterization analyses, XRD, FTIR, FESEM and N2 adsorption-desorption, confirmed that TS-1 zeolite was properly synthesized from RHA. Synthesis of TS-1 was also carried out with TEOS for comparison of textural properties. Prepared TS-1 zeolite with RHA was used as support for HDS catalyst preparation. Molybdenum active phase and nickel promoter were loaded via three different methods, impregnation, precipitation and solution combustion, to obtain NiMo/TS-1 hydrodesulfurization catalyst. EDX dot-mapping and H2-TPR analyses indicated on better preparation of NiMo/TS-1 catalyst by solution combustion method, in terms of distribution and amount of successfully loaded metal over the support surface. Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activity of synthesized samples was examined in hydrodesulfurization of heavy oil feed, carried out in a continuous fixed bed reactor apparatus. Performance test revealed that NiMo/TS-1 catalyst synthesized by solution combustion method eliminated 63.5 % of the feed sulfur content (4000 ppm); a superior hydrodesulfurziation activity, compared to the samples prepared via impregnation and precipitation methods with 40.8 % and 50.2 % sulfur removal, respectively. Amount of sulfur present in the feed and treated product was determined with GC-MS analysis.

Neutral buoyancy and the static perception of upright

The perceptual upright results from the multisensory integration of the directions indicated by vision and gravity as well as a prior assumption that upright is towards the head. The direction of gravity is signalled by multiple cues, the predominant of which are the otoliths of the vestibular system and somatosensory information from contact with the support surface. Here, we used neutral buoyancy to remove somatosensory information while retaining vestibular cues, thus “splitting the gravity vector” leaving only the vestibular component. In this way, neutral buoyancy can be used as a microgravity analogue. We assessed spatial orientation using the oriented character recognition test (OChaRT, which yields the perceptual upright, PU) under both neutrally buoyant and terrestrial conditions. The effect of visual cues to upright (the visual effect) was reduced under neutral buoyancy compared to on land but the influence of gravity was unaffected. We found no significant change in the relative weighting of vision, gravity, or body cues, in contrast to results found both in long-duration microgravity and during head-down bed rest. These results indicate a relatively minor role for somatosensation in determining the perceptual upright in the presence of vestibular cues. Short-duration neutral buoyancy is a weak analogue for microgravity exposure in terms of its perceptual consequences compared to long-duration head-down bed rest.

A modeling study of transport through composite membrane with support pore location distributing randomly based on 2D Voronoi tessellations

Composite membrane consisting of selective layer and support is the mainstream membrane configuration. Support has drawn increasing attention in recent years. In this work, transport through composite membrane with support pore location distributing randomly was studied based on 2D Voronoi tessellations and the corresponding membrane performance calculation method was developed. For the calculation, firstly, irregular Voronoi regions are transformed into regular polygons with fixed number of edges meanwhile maintaining the region area. Then, the membrane performance can be obtained by combining the computation results of regular support surface pore spatial distribution and random support surface pore spatial distribution formulas. Poisson Voronoi diagrams, one of the most representative Voronoi diagrams, were mainly used to describe the support surface pore spatial distribution. The results indicate the importance of the number of support surface pores, which determines the average area of Voronoi regions. Support surface pores should be as many as possible. Another important conclusion is that a certain randomness of support surface pore structure (size and location) may not exert an influence on the composite membrane performance. That is, when calculating the composite membrane performance, the support surface pore spatial distribution and surface pore size distribution can be considered as being regular.

The 'Postural Rhythm' of the Ground Reaction Force during Upright Stance and Its Conversion to Body Sway-The Effect of Vision, Support Surface and Adaptation to Repeated Trials.

The ground reaction force (GRF) recorded by a platform when a person stands upright lies at the interface between the neural networks controlling stance and the body sway deduced from centre of pressure (CoP) displacement. It can be decomposed into vertical (VGRF) and horizontal (HGRF) vectors. Few studies have addressed the modulation of the GRFs by the sensory conditions and their relationship with body sway. We reconsidered the features of the GRFs oscillations in healthy young subjects (n = 24) standing for 90 s, with the aim of characterising the possible effects of vision, support surface and adaptation to repeated trials, and the correspondence between HGRF and CoP time-series. We compared the frequency spectra of these variables with eyes open or closed on solid support surface (EOS, ECS) and on foam (EOF, ECF). All stance trials were repeated in a sequence of eight. Conditions were randomised across different days. The oscillations of the VGRF, HGRF and CoP differed between each other, as per the dominant frequency of their spectra (around 4 Hz, 0.8 Hz and <0.4 Hz, respectively) featuring a low-pass filter effect from VGRF to HGRF to CoP. GRF frequencies hardly changed as a function of the experimental conditions, including adaptation. CoP frequencies diminished to <0.2 Hz when vision was available on hard support surface. Amplitudes of both GRFs and CoP oscillations decreased in the order ECF > EOF > ECS ≈ EOS. Adaptation had no effect except in ECF condition. Specific rhythms of the GRFs do not transfer to the CoP frequency, whereas the magnitude of the forces acting on the ground ultimately determines body sway. The discrepancies in the time-series of the HGRF and CoP oscillations confirm that the body's oscillation mode cannot be dictated by the inverted pendulum model in any experimental conditions. The findings emphasise the robustness of the VGRF "postural rhythm" and its correspondence with the cortical theta rhythm, shed new insight on current principles of balance control and on understanding of upright stance in healthy and elderly people as well as on injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Dual role of Au-NPs for Schottky effect and SPR electron injection over CdS surfaces for photocatalytic applications

In this work, CdS and Au-loaded CdS photocatalysts were successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The gold nanoparticles were in-situ developed over the surfaces of CdS support via chemical reduction method. To find the surface morphology and optical properties, the as-synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using XRD analysis, Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis-DRS, PL, AFM, SEM and EDX techniques. To evaluate the charge separation efficiency of materials photochemical experiment (i.e. Photocurrent response and EIS) were conducted. The surface area and oxidation state were studies via XPS, BET techniques. UV–Vis spectrophotometer was used to examine the photocatalytic degradation activities. Results of this work depict that existence of Au nanoparticles over the surface of CdS boosts the photocatalytic performance. The higher activities were accredited due to hot electron injection of Au-NPs (SPR effect) to the conduction band. Higher charge separation is inevitable due to intimate effect of Schottky junctions and new Fermi levels generation during the photoreactions. It has been found that radical like •O2− and h+ are the main active species for the degradation reactions. To evaluate the ideal conditions, various factors have been investigated for the methyl orange (MO) degradation. On the basis of encouraging results, we can recommend this work for other potential applications.

CO Removal from Hydrogen Stream through Methanation on Ru/C Catalysts Doped with Lanthanum and Barium

The influence of the lanthanum and barium addition on the physicochemical properties and catalytic behavior of the Ru/C catalyst for CO methanation was investigated. The catalyst was doped with La or with La plus Ba. It was found out that there are various ways the additives were applied in the study, thus changing the catalytic performance of the basic material and influencing the susceptibility of the carbon support in relation to undesired methanation. The highest catalytic activity, 23.46 (mmol CO/gC+Ru × h), was achieved for the LaRu/C system, with methane selectivity exceeding 80% over the whole temperature range. Ba addition caused a significant decrease in activity. TG-MS studies revealed that both La and Ba improved the resistance of the carbon support to undesired methanation. Detailed characterization methods, employing XRPD, Raman spectroscopy, CO chemisorption, and SEM-EDX, showed that the catalytic behavior of the studied catalysts was attributed to lanthanum distribution over the Ru/C materials surface and structural changes in the carbon support affecting electron supply to the metallic active phase.

Boosting the selectivity of Pt catalysts for cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation to cinnamylalcohol by surface oxidation of SiC support

The selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde (CAL) is very important, but still remains challenging due to the coexistence of easily hydrogenated CC and CO bonds in CAL molecule. In this work, we report that employing partially oxidized SiC (SiC–O) as the support of Pt can evidently enhance the catalytic selectivity for the selective hydrogenation of CO in CAL. Further investigations show that the partially oxidized SiC surface can change the adsorption mode of CAL and facilitate the selective adsorption of CO in CAL. During the catalytic process, H2 was dissociated on Pt particles while CAL was mainly adsorbed and activated on the surface of support. The active H species generated on the Pt surface then spilled over to the support surface and reacted with the CO bond activated by the support surface to selectively form cinnamylalcohol. The present work revealed an important cooperative catalysis of metal and SiC, which would be helpful to design and application of more SiC-based catalysts.

Alkali-promoted copper catalyst catalyze low-temperature water-gas shift reaction

The addition of alkali metal promoter is significant to improve the performance of copper catalyst in water–gas shift reaction (WGSR), but the previous theoretical work mainly focuses on the single crystal metal model like Cu(111), rather than the real supported copper clusters. In this paper, Cu4/TiO2(sub-nanometer), Cun/TiO2 (copper nanorod) were chosen to explore the effect of K on WGSR where K is located on TiO2 support, Cu/TiO2 interface, and copper clusters surface. Density functional theory calculation results show that only when K is on Cun/TiO2 and Cu(111) surfaces, can K promote water–gas shift reaction. Microkinetic modeling analysis shows that K mainly promotes the water–gas shift reaction by promoting the decomposition of H2O, and has little influence on the C-O bond formation like carboxyl and CO2. Combined with energetic, electronic and geometric analysis, on the surfaces of Cun/TiO2 and Cu(111), K mainly enhances the adsorption strength of H2O and reduces the barrier of H2O dissociation through direct bonding with oxygenate species, thereby improving the performance of WGSR. The copper clusters with sub-nanometer size cannot reveal the promotion effect of K, and the microkinetic modeling results of Cu(111) surface do not conform to the real situation, but the copper nanorod model can appropriately reflect the promotion effect of K. The structure unit of the active center is [TiO2−Cu−K]. The promotion of other alkali metals was explored, and the microkinetic modeling results show that the order of alkali metal promotion is as follows: Li < Na < K < Rb < Cs. The electronic structure analysis shows that the smaller the electronegativity of alkali metal, the lower the surface work function, the higher the surface dipole moment, and the stronger the promoting effect of alkali metal. This work not only reveals the origin of the K effect on WGSR, but also provides the accurate placement of K promoter.