Elucidating the structure-activity relationship in electrocatalysis is of fundamental interest for electrochemical energy conversion and storage.However,the heterogeneity in the surface structure of electrocatalysts,i...Elucidating the structure-activity relationship in electrocatalysis is of fundamental interest for electrochemical energy conversion and storage.However,the heterogeneity in the surface structure of electrocatalysts,including the presence of various facets,poses an analytical challenge in revealing the true structure-activity relationship because the activity is conventionally measured on ensemble,resulting in an averaged activity that cannot be unequivocally associated with a single structural motif.Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy(SECCM)[1]combined with colocalized electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)offers a direct way to reveal the correlative local electrochemical and structural information.Herein,we measured the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)activity on Ag and its dependence on the crystal orientation.From the combined EBSD and SECCM mapping,it is found that Ag grains closer to{111}show a higher exchange current density,while those closer to{110}show a lower Tafel slope.The Tafel slope is also found to decrease with the step density increase.The ability to measure the electrocatalytic activity under a high mass-transfer rate allows us to reveal the activity difference at a high current density(up to 200 mA/cm^(2)).The approach reported here can be expanded to other systems to reveal the nature of active sites of electrocatalysis.展开更多
Hydrogen evolution in the presence of atmospheric level of oxygen is a significant barrier in the quest for an alternative,sustainable and green source of energy to counter the depleting fossil fuel sources and increa...Hydrogen evolution in the presence of atmospheric level of oxygen is a significant barrier in the quest for an alternative,sustainable and green source of energy to counter the depleting fossil fuel sources and increasing global warming due to fossil fuel burning.Oxygen reduction is thermodynamically more favourable than proton reduction and it often produces reactive oxygenated species upon partial reduction which deactivates the catalyst.Thus,catalyst development is required for efficient proton reduction in the presence of oxygen.Here,we demonstrate an iron porphyrin having triazole containing 2nd sphere hydrogen bonding residues appended with redox active ferrocene moieties(α4-Tetra-2-(3-ferrocenyl-1,2,3-triazolyl)phenylporphyrin(FeFc4))as a bifunctional catalyst for fast and selective oxygen reduction to water and thus,preventing the proton reduction by the same catalyst from oxidative stress.Fe(0)is the active species for proton reduction in these iron porphyrin class of complexes and it is observed that the kinetics of proton reduction at Fe(0)state occurs at much faster rate than O2 reduction and thus,paving the way for selective proton reduction in the presence of oxygen.展开更多
基金sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and the Army Research Office and was accomplished under Grant Number W911NF-20-1-0304
文摘Elucidating the structure-activity relationship in electrocatalysis is of fundamental interest for electrochemical energy conversion and storage.However,the heterogeneity in the surface structure of electrocatalysts,including the presence of various facets,poses an analytical challenge in revealing the true structure-activity relationship because the activity is conventionally measured on ensemble,resulting in an averaged activity that cannot be unequivocally associated with a single structural motif.Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy(SECCM)[1]combined with colocalized electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)offers a direct way to reveal the correlative local electrochemical and structural information.Herein,we measured the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)activity on Ag and its dependence on the crystal orientation.From the combined EBSD and SECCM mapping,it is found that Ag grains closer to{111}show a higher exchange current density,while those closer to{110}show a lower Tafel slope.The Tafel slope is also found to decrease with the step density increase.The ability to measure the electrocatalytic activity under a high mass-transfer rate allows us to reveal the activity difference at a high current density(up to 200 mA/cm^(2)).The approach reported here can be expanded to other systems to reveal the nature of active sites of electrocatalysis.
文摘Hydrogen evolution in the presence of atmospheric level of oxygen is a significant barrier in the quest for an alternative,sustainable and green source of energy to counter the depleting fossil fuel sources and increasing global warming due to fossil fuel burning.Oxygen reduction is thermodynamically more favourable than proton reduction and it often produces reactive oxygenated species upon partial reduction which deactivates the catalyst.Thus,catalyst development is required for efficient proton reduction in the presence of oxygen.Here,we demonstrate an iron porphyrin having triazole containing 2nd sphere hydrogen bonding residues appended with redox active ferrocene moieties(α4-Tetra-2-(3-ferrocenyl-1,2,3-triazolyl)phenylporphyrin(FeFc4))as a bifunctional catalyst for fast and selective oxygen reduction to water and thus,preventing the proton reduction by the same catalyst from oxidative stress.Fe(0)is the active species for proton reduction in these iron porphyrin class of complexes and it is observed that the kinetics of proton reduction at Fe(0)state occurs at much faster rate than O2 reduction and thus,paving the way for selective proton reduction in the presence of oxygen.
