Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
- 2025 (4)
Dokumenttyp
- Zeitschriftenartikel (3)
- Sonstiges (1)
Sprache
- Englisch (4)
Schlagworte
- In situ (2)
- Nitrate reduction (2)
- Single atom (2)
- Structure-activity-selectivity (2)
- Heterocyclic amine (1)
- Oxygen reduction (1)
- Porous Organic Polymers (1)
- Single Atom (1)
- Triaminopyrimidine (1)
- Zeolitic imidazole framework (1)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
The decoupled synthesis of Fe-NC single-site electrocatalysts mediated by Lewis acids enables high active site density and utilization. However, current approaches often rely on small organic molecules and suffer from low synthesis yields due to the high Lewis acid-to-precursor ratios required to achieve highly porous carbons. Here, a porous organic polymer (POP) based on 2,4,6-Triaminopyrimidine (TAP) is utilized as a carbon-nitrogen-based scaffold for the synthesis of Fe─NC electrocatalysts. By tuning the amounts of MgCl2 ·6H2O used both as porogen and active site templating agent, synthetic yields exceeding 45% are achieved, a significant improvement compared to the 6% yield from the molecular analogue and the highest reported forMg2+ templated systems. Subsequent low-temperature exchange with Fe leads to atomically dispersed FeNx, minimizing Fe aggregation. The resulting materials exhibit high specific surface areas (>1000 m2 g−1) with micro-, meso-, and macropores, which promote mass transport and active site accessibility. Compared to Fe─NC synthesized via direct pyrolysis of Fe-coordinated POP, the decoupled method enables significantly higher catalytic activity in both alkaline and acidic media, and delivers 1 A cm−2 at 0.687 ± 0.004 VRHE in an alkaline gas diffusion electrode, highlighting its potential for practical oxygen reduction devices.
This cover illustrates the electrosynthesis of ammonia through the reduction of nitrate ions on metallic clusters formed from single atom catalysts. The artwork highlights the catalytic interface where molecular transformations occur, linking nanoscale reactions to sustainable fertilizer production. By converting pollutants into value-added products, this work envisions a green pathway toward circular nitrogen management and enhanced agricultural sustainability. More details can be found in the Research Article (DOI: 10.1002/advs.202510282) by Maria-Magdalena Titirici, Raphael Nagao, and co-workers.
The zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) is a crystalline porous material that has been widely employed as template to fabricate porous nitrogen-doped carbons with high microporosity via thermal treatment at high temperatures. The properties of the carbon scaffold are influenced by the pore structure and chemical composition of the parent ZIF. However, the narrow pore size distribution and microporous nature from ZIF-8 often results in low mesopore volume, which is crucial for applications such as energy storage and conversion. Here we show that insertion of N-heterocyclic amines can disrupt the structure of ZIF-8 and dramatically impact the chemical composition and pore structure of the nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks obtained after high-temperature pyrolysis. Melamine and 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine were chosen to modify the ZIF-8 structure owing to their capability to both coordinate metal ions and establish supramolecular interactions. Employing a wide variety of physical characterization techniques we observed that melamine results in the formation of a mixed-phase material comprising ZIF-8, Zn(Ac)6(Mel)2 and crystallized melamine, while 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine induces the formation of defects, altering the pore structure. Furthermore, the absence of heterocyclic amine in the ZIF-8 synthesis leads to a new crystalline phase, unreported to date. The thermal conversion of the modified ZIFs at 1000 °C leads to nitrogen-doped carbons bearing Zn moieties with increased surface area, mesopore volume and varying degree of defects compared to ZIF-8 derived carbon. This work therefore highlights both the versatility of heterocyclic amines to modify the structure of framework materials as well as their role in tuning pore structure in nitrogen-doped carbons, paving the way to targeted design of high-performance electrodes for energy storage and conversion.
Single‐Atom Catalysts (SAC) have emerged as a promising class of materials for various catalytic applications, including the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (eNO3RR) and consequently ammonia production. While the efficiency and selectivity of these materials have been extensively highlighted for the eNO3RR, the in situ evolution to their structure and composition during electrocatalysis is largely unexplored and lacks catalyst design principles. To solve this, we investigated a series of high utilization metal‐nitrogen‐carbon (MNC) SACs (M = Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) for eNO3RR. Except for CuNC, which selectively produced nitrite, all catalysts exhibited Faradaic efficiencies (FE) for ammonia exceeding 50%. NiNC demonstrated the highest performance (FE of 78.0 ± 2.9% at −0.4 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) at pH 13 and maximum ammonia production rate of 615.7 ± 176.5 µmol·h−1·, corresponding to an energy efficiency of 15.1 ± 1.4% at −0.6 VRHE), followed by CoNC. In situ Synchrotron X‐ray fluorescence (SXRF) mapping at various cathodic potentials (from open circuit potential to 0.0 VRHE and then −0.6 VRHE at 100 mV steps) revealed significant mobility of Ni within the carbon matrix, leading to the formation of metallic clusters from 0.0 VRHE. Similar in situ metal clustering is observed for CoNC. Structure‐activity plots are generated from both MNC literature and results obtained here, finding a clear trend between OH binding energy and turnover frequency, with the high activity of NiNC and CoNC in this work explained by their stronger OH binding in the metallic structure compared to their SAC coordination. This work therefore, reveals the structure‐activity‐stability of MNCs for eNO3RR and provides a simple descriptor for identifying highly active eNO3RR catalysts and their in situ structural evolution.