Chinese researchers have made new breakthroughs in the field of carbon dioxide reduction.
CTOnews.com January 3 news, according to the Science and Technology Daily reported that from the Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Department learned that the Inner Mongolia University research team in the exploration of new electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction materials in the field of important breakthroughs. This achievement was recently published online by the international energy journal Advanced Energy Materials.
Under the international background of "carbon neutralization," it is of great practical significance and application prospect to design highly active and selective carbon dioxide electroreduction catalysts. At present, noble metals such as Au, Ag, Cu, Pd and their related materials are still hot spots for people to explore electrocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction. However, noble metal catalysts have problems such as low catalytic activity, poor product selectivity, and high hydrogen evolution efficiency.
CTOnews.com learned that Zhao Zhonglong, associate professor of School of Physical Science and Technology of Inner Mongolia University, led a team to propose a "two-site functional" mechanism on the surface of bimetallic monolayer electrocatalyst for the first time by using first-principles calculation simulation, which can effectively inhibit hydrogen evolution side reaction and improve the activity and selectivity of carbon dioxide electroreduction to formic acid product. However, experimental synthesis of bimetallic electrodes with ultra-thin shells remains a challenge. In view of this, this study proposed for the first time that transition metal carbides and nitrides can be used as substrates of noble metal monolayers by using first-principles calculation simulation method, which can significantly improve the electrochemical stability of catalysts on the basis of retaining "two-site functional."
Phase diagram of free energy of higher order products of carbon dioxide reduction| Source: The website of Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Department can break the energy linear relationship between adsorbed hydrogen and carbon dioxide reduction intermediates by studying the hydrogen-substrate anti-bond interaction in carbide and nitride supported noble metal monolayers and monolayer cluster catalysts. In addition, a series of novel electrocatalysts with high selectivity for hydrocarbons such as formic acid, methanol and ethylene were predicted by theoretical simulation, which provided a new idea for improving electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction performance.
