Samira Siahrostami

Enabling direct H2O2 production through rational electrocatalyst design.

Future generations require more efficient and localized processes for energy conversion and chemical synthesis. The continuous on-site production of hydrogen peroxide would provide an attractive alternative to the present state-of-the-art, which is based on the complex anthraquinone process. The electrochemical reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide is a particularly promising means of achieving this aim. However, it would require active, selective and stable materials to catalyse the reaction. Although progress has been made in this respect, further improvements through the development of new electrocatalysts are needed. Using density functional theory calculations, we identify Pt-Hg as a promising candidate. Electrochemical measurements on Pt-Hg nanoparticles show more than an order of magnitude improvement in mass activity, that is, A g(-1) precious metal, for H2O2 production, over the best performing catalysts in the literature.

Trends in the electrochemical synthesis of H2O2: enhancing activity and selectivity by electrocatalytic site engineering.

The direct electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide is a promising alternative to currently used batch synthesis methods. Its industrial viability is dependent on the effective catalysis of the reduction of oxygen at the cathode. Herein, we study the factors controlling activity and selectivity for H2O2 production on metal surfaces. Using this approach, we discover two new catalysts for the reaction, Ag-Hg and Pd-Hg, with unique electrocatalytic properties both of which exhibit performance that far exceeds the current state-of-the art.

High-performance oxygen reduction and evolution carbon catalysis: From mechanistic studies to device integration

The development of high-performance and low-cost oxygen reduction and evolution catalysts that can be easily integrated into existing devices is crucial for the wide deployment of energy storage systems that utilize O2-H2O chemistries, such as regenerative fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Herein, we report an NH3-activated N-doped hierarchical carbon (NHC) catalyst synthesized via a scalable route, and demonstrate its device integration. The NHC catalyst exhibited good performance for both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as demonstrated by means of electrochemical studies and evaluation when integrated into the oxygen electrode of a regenerative fuel cell. The activities observed for both the ORR and the OER were comparable to those achieved by state-of-the-art Pt and Ir catalysts in alkaline environments. We have further identified the critical role of carbon defects as active sites for electrochemical activity through density functional theory calculations and high-resolution TEM visualization. This work highlights the potential of NHC to replace commercial precious metals in regenerative fuel cells and possibly metal-air batteries for cost-effective storage of intermittent renewable energy.

Understanding Catalytic Activity Trends in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Despite the dedicated search for novel catalysts for fuel cell applications, the intrinsic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of materials has not improved significantly over the past decade. Here, we review the role of theory in understanding the ORR mechanism and highlight the descriptor-based approaches that have been used to identify catalysts with increased activity. Specifically, by showing that the performance of the commonly studied materials (e.g., metals, alloys, carbons, etc.) is limited by unfavorable scaling relationships (for binding energies of reaction intermediates), we present a number of alternative strategies that may lead to the design and discovery of more promising materials for ORR.

One- or Two-Electron Water Oxidation, Hydroxyl Radical, or H2O2 Evolution

Electrochemical or photoelectrochemcial oxidation of water to form hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or hydroxyl radicals (•OH) offers a very attractive route to water disinfection, and the first process could be the basis for a clean way to produce hydrogen peroxide. A major obstacle in the development of effective catalysts for these reactions is that the electrocatalyst must suppress the thermodynamically favored four-electron pathway leading to O2 evolution. We develop a thermochemical picture of the catalyst properties that determine selectivity toward the one, two, and four electron processes leading to •OH, H2O2, and O2.

Isolated Ni single atoms in graphene nanosheets for high-performance CO2 reduction

Single-atom catalysts have emerged as an exciting paradigm with intriguing properties different from their nanocrystal counterparts. Here we report Ni single atoms dispersed into graphene nanosheets, without Ni nanoparticles involved, as active sites for the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to CO. While Ni metal catalyzes the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) exclusively under CO2RR conditions, Ni single atomic sites present a high CO selectivity of 95% under an overpotential of 550 mV in water, and an excellent stability over 20 hours’ continuous electrolysis. The current density can be scaled up to more than 50 mA cm−2 with a CO evolution turnover frequency of 2.1 × 105 h−1 while maintaining 97% CO selectivity using an anion membrane electrode assembly. Different Ni sites in graphene vacancies, with or without neighboring N coordination, were identified by in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. Theoretical analysis of Ni and Co sites suggests completely different reaction pathways towards the CO2RR or HER, in agreement with experimental observations.

High-efficiency oxygen reduction to hydrogen peroxide catalysed by oxidized carbon materials

AbstractHydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a valuable chemical with a wide range of applications, but the current industrial synthesis of H2O2 involves an energy-intensive anthraquinone process. The electrochemical synthesis of H2O2 from oxygen reduction offers an alternative route for on-site applications; the efficiency of this process depends greatly on identifying cost-effective catalysts with high activity and selectivity. Here, we demonstrate a facile and general approach to catalyst development via the surface oxidation of abundant carbon materials to significantly enhance both the activity and selectivity (~90%) for H2O2 production by electrochemical oxygen reduction. We find that both the activity and selectivity are positively correlated with the oxygen content of the catalysts. The density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the carbon atoms adjacent to several oxygen functional groups (–COOH and C–O–C) are the active sites for oxygen reduction reaction via the two-electron pathway, which are further supported by a series of control experiments.The direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide via oxygen reduction is an attractive alternative to the anthraquinone process. Here, a general trend linking oxygenation of carbon surfaces with electrocatalytic performance in peroxide synthesis is demonstrated, and computational studies provide further insight into the nature of the active sites.

Development of a reactor with carbon catalysts for modular-scale, low-cost electrochemical generation of H2O2

The development of small-scale, decentralized reactors for H2O2 production that can couple to renewable energy sources would be of great benefit, particularly for water purification in the developing world. Herein, we describe our efforts to develop electrochemical reactors for H2O2 generation with high Faradaic efficiencies of >90%, requiring cell voltages of only ∼1.6 V. The reactor employs a carbon-based catalyst that demonstrates excellent performance for H2O2 production under alkaline conditions, as demonstrated by fundamental studies involving rotating-ring disk electrode methods. The low-cost, membrane-free reactor design represents a step towards a continuous, modular-scale, de-centralized production of H2O2.

Understanding activity trends in electrochemical water oxidation to form hydrogen peroxide

Electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from water oxidation could provide a very attractive route to locally produce a chemically valuable product from an abundant resource. Herein using density functional theory calculations, we predict trends in activity for water oxidation towards H2O2 evolution on four different metal oxides, i.e., WO3, SnO2, TiO2 and BiVO4. The density functional theory predicted trend for H2O2 evolution is further confirmed by our experimental measurements. Moreover, we identify that BiVO4 has the best H2O2 generation amount of those oxides and can achieve a Faraday efficiency of about 98% for H2O2 production.Producing hydrogen peroxide via electrochemical oxidation of water is an attractive route to this valuable product. Here the authors theoretically and experimentally investigate hydrogen peroxide production activity trends for a range of metal oxides and identify the optimal bias ranges for high Faraday efficiencies.

Exploring scaling relations for chemisorption energies on transition-metal-exchanged zeolites ZSM-22 and ZSM-5

Copper exchange on all the different T sites of ZSM‐22 and ZSM‐5 is considered and the chemisorption energies of dioxygen, OH, and O species are studied. We show that for different T sites the adsorption energies vary significantly. The oxygen adsorption energy on copper‐exchanged zeolites is quite similar to those of the most selective catalysts for oxidation reactions, that is, Ag and Au surfaces. The chemisorption energies of oxygen, carbon‐, and nitrogen‐containing species on different transition metals exchanged in ZSM‐22 are also investigated. The study covers three different oxidation states, that is, 1+, 2+, and 3+ for the transition‐metal exchanges. Scaling relations are presented for the corresponding species. Chemisorption of O scales with chemisorption of OH for all three considered exchanges, whereas there are essentially rough correlations for NH2 and N as well as CH3 and C.