Syntheses and applications of single-atom catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion reactions

Nanoalloy catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion and storage reactions

A key challenge to the exploration of electrochemical energy conversion and storage is the ability to engineer the catalyst with low cost, high activity and high stability. Existing catalysts often contain a high percentage of noble metals such as Pt and Pd. One important approach to this challenge involves alloying noble metals with other transition metals in the form of a nanoalloy, which pro...

Synthesis of Single Atom Based Heterogeneous Platinum Catalysts: High Selectivity and Activity for Hydrosilylation Reactions

Catalytic hydrosilylation represents a straightforward and atom-efficient methodology for the creation of C-Si bonds. In general, the application of homogeneous platinum complexes prevails in industry and academia. Herein, we describe the first heterogeneous single atom catalysts (SACs), which are conveniently prepared by decorating alumina nanorods with platinum atoms. The resulting stable mat...

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 on graphene supported transition metals - towards single atom catalysts.

In this study, we have investigated the use of single metal atoms supported on defective graphene as catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 using the first-principles approach and the computational hydrogen electrode model. Reaction pathways to produce a variety of C1 products CO, HCOOH, HCHO, CH3OH and CH4 have been studied in detail for five representative transition metals Ag, Cu...

Design, Syntheses and Applications of Chiral Ammonium Salt Catalysts

Fuel cells for electrochemical energy conversion

A fuel cell is essentially a compact electrochemical “factory” that takes fuel as input and produces electricity as output (see fig. 1). Like a factory, a fuel cell will continue to churn out product (electricity) as long as raw material (fuel) is supplied. This is the key difference between a fuel cell and a battery. While both rely on electrochemistry to work their magic, a fuel cell is not c...