• Energy Research

A facile road-map is developed for one-pot synthesis of PtPd nanodendrite ornamented niobium oxynitride nanosheets for efficient solar-driven water splitting.

The tailored design of tri-metallic Pt-based porous nanodendrites (PNDs) is crucial for green energy production technologies, ascribed to their fancy features, great surface areas, accessible active sites, and stability against aggregation. However, their aqueous-phase one-step synthesis at room temperature remains a daunting challenge. Herein, we present a facile, green, and template-free approach for the one-step synthesis of PtPdCu PNDs by ultrasonication of an aqueous solution of metal salts and Pluronic F127 at 25 ℃, based on natural isolation among nucleation and growth step driven by the disparate reduction kinetics of the metals and acoustic cavitation mechanism of ultrasonic waves. The resultant PtPdCu PNDs formed in a spatial nanodendritic shape with a dense array of branches, open corners, interconnected pores, high surface area (46.9 m2/g), and high Cu content (21 %). The methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) mass activity of PtPdCu PNDs (3.66 mA/µgPt) is 1.45, 2.73, and 2.83 times higher than those of PtPd PNDs, PtCu PNDs, and commercial Pt/C, respectively based on equivalent Pt mass, which is superior to previous PtPdCu catalysts reported elsewhere, besides a superior durability and CO-poisoning tolerance. This study may pave the way for the controlled fabrication of ternary Pt-based PNDs for various electrocatalytic applications.

The presented article reports the preparation and characterization of heterogeneous carbon catalyst enriched with carboxylic group denoted as (ECS) from Eucalyptus as an efficient catalyst for the hydrolysis of woody Eucalyptus biomass. The fabrication process is based on the ball milling of Eucalyptus as a carbon source in the presence of dry ice as an oxidizing agent followed by acidification with the assistance of hydrochloric acid. The data are including the schematic for the full synthesis steps and characterization tools in addition to the thermogravimetric analysis and proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis for the ECS catalyst. Meanwhile, the catalytic performance of ECS catalyst towards the hydrolysis of Eucalyptus was measured under different temperatures ranged from 160 to 200 °C. The ECS catalyst allowed the selective hydrolysis of Eucalyptus to glucose and xylose, as proved by high-performance liquid chromatography. The data herein are associated with the article entitled " Unveiling one-pot fabrication of scalable and reusable carboxylated heterogeneous carbon-based catalyst from Eucalyptus plant with the assistance of dry Ice for selective hydrolysis of Eucalyptus Biomass'' [1].

Tailoring the shape of Pd nanocrystals is one of the main ways to enhance catalytic activity; however, the effect of shapes and electrolyte pH on carbon monoxide oxidation (COOxid) is not highlighted enough. This article presents the controlled fabrication of Pd nanocrystals in different morphologies, including Pd nanosponge via the ice-cooling reduction of the Pd precursor using NaBH4 solution and Pd nanocube via ascorbic acid reduction at 25 °C. Both Pd nanosponge and Pd nanocube are self-standing and have a high surface area, uniform distribution, and clean surface. The electrocatalytic CO oxidation activity and durability of the Pd nanocube were significantly superior to those of Pd nanosponge and commercial Pd/C in only acidic (H2SO4) medium and the best among the three media, due to the multiple adsorption active sites, uniform distribution, and high surface area of the nanocube structure. However, Pd nanosponge had enhanced COOxid activity and stability in both alkaline (KOH) and neutral (NaHCO3) electrolytes than Pd nanocube and Pd/C, attributable to its low Pd-Pd interatomic distance and cleaner surface. The self-standing Pd nanosponge and Pd nanocube were more active than Pd/C in all electrolytes. Mainly, the COOxid current density of Pd nanocube in H2SO4 (5.92 mA/cm2) was nearly 3.6 times that in KOH (1.63 mA/cm2) and 10.3 times that in NaHCO3 (0.578 mA/cm2), owing to the greater charge mobility and better electrolyte–electrode interaction, as evidenced by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. Notably, this study confirmed that acidic electrolytes and Pd nanocube are highly preferred for promoting COOxid and may open new avenues for precluding CO poisoning in alcohol-based fuel cells.

Multidimensional bimetallic Pt-based nanoarchitectonics are highly promising in electrochemical energy conversion technologies because of their fancy structural merits and accessible active sites; however, hitherto their precise template-free fabrication remains a great challenge. We report a template-free solvothermal one-pot approach for the rational design of cocentric PtNi multicube nanoarchitectonics via adjusting the oleylamine/oleic acid ratio with curcumin. The obtained multidimensional PtNi multicubes comprise multiple small interlace-stacked nanocube subunits assembled in spatially porous branched nanoarchitectonics and bound by high-index facets. The synthetic mechanism is driven by spontaneous isolation among prompt nucleation and oriented attachment epitaxial growth. These inimitable architectural and compositional merits of PtNi multicubes endowed the ethanol oxidation mass and specific activity by 5.6 and 9.03 times than the Pt/C catalyst, respectively, along with the enhancement of methanol oxidation mass activity by 2.3 times. Moreover, PtNi multicubes showed superior durability and a higher tolerance for CO poisoning than the Pt/C catalyst. This work may pave the way for tailored preparation of Pt-based nanoarchitectonics for myriad catalytic reactions.

Perovskite oxide Pt–NiMnO3nanocrystals synthesized by a modified citrate-gel approach exhibited a superior catalytic activity and durability towards the oxygen evolution reaction over a wide range of pH values relative to available commercial Pt/C and NiMnO3nanocrystals.

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Na-ion batteries (SIBs) are deemed green and efficient electrochemical energy storage and generation devices; meanwhile, acquiring a competent anode remains a serious challenge. Herein, the density-functional theory (DFT) was employed to investigate the performance of V4C3 MXene as an anode for LIBs and SIBs. The results predict the outstanding electrical conductivity when Li/Na is loaded on V4C3. Both Li2xV4C3 and Na2xV4C3 (x = 0.125, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2) showed expected low-average open-circuit voltages of 0.38 V and 0.14 V, respectively, along with a good Li/Na storage capacity of (223 mAhg−1) and a good cycling performance. Furthermore, there was a low diffusion barrier of 0.048 eV for Li0.0625V4C3 and 0.023 eV for Na0.0625V4C3, implying the prompt intercalation/extraction of Li/Na. Based on the findings of the current study, V4C3-based materials may be utilized as an anode for Li/Na-ion batteries in future applications.

Binary PdM-based nanocrystals are efficient electrocatalysts for a wide range of renewable and green fuel cell applications; however, their poisoning by CO is a great barrier for commercialization, so it is pivotal to solve this issue. Herein, we fabricated support-free PdM alloys (M = Fe, Co, and Ni) by a prompt one-step aqueous-solution co-reduction with sodium borohydride driven by the coalescence growth mechanism. This forms support-free PdM porous foam-like nanostructures with well-defined compositions from the ICP-OES analysis and clean surface without any hazardous chemicals or multiple reaction steps. The as-prepared PdM foam-like nanostructures were demonstrated for carbon monoxide oxidation (COOxid) electrocatalysis at varied electrolyte pH compared with commercial Pd/C catalyst. The foam-like PdFe nanocrystals achieved an excellent electrochemical COOxid activity that was at least 2.18-times of PdCo, 4.35-times of PdNi, and 1.56-times of Pd/C in both alkaline (KOH) and acidic (HClO4) electrolytes, but PdCo was the best in neutral (NaHCO3) medium. The superior activity of PdM is due to the strain and alloying effect, which promoted the superb CO oxidation durability for 1000 cycles than Pd/C catalyst. This study demonstrated the superiority of support-free bimetallic PdM alloys than Pd/C catalyst in all electrolytes, which may open new gates for understanding CO-poisoning in alcohol-based fuel cells.