2022/10/25 by Wei Xun, Xun, Wei, Yang, Xiao +7 · 1 citation
Chemical Engineering · Energy · #Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques #Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction #CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts #FOS: Physical sciences #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2210.14211
openalex publication_date 2022/10/25 · openalex created_date 2022/11/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Efficient and selective CO2 electroreduction into value-added chemicals and fuels emerged as a significant approach for CO2 conversion, however, it relies on catalysts with controllable product selectivity and reaction paths. In this work, by means of first-principles calculations, we identify five catalysts (TM@MoSi2N4, TM = Sc, Ti, Fe, Co and Ni) comprising transition-metal atoms anchored on a MoSi2N4 monolayer, whose catalytic performance can be controlled by adjusting the d-band center and occupation of supported metal atoms. During CO2 reduction, the single metal atoms function as the active sites activates the MoSi2N4 inert basal-plane, and as-designed electrocatalysts exhibit excellent activity in CO2 reduction. Interestingly, HCOOH is the preferred product of CO2 reduction on the Co@MoSi2N4 catalyst with a rate-determining barrier of 0.89 eV, while the other four catalysts prefer to reduce CO2 to CH4 with a rate-determining barrier of 0.81-1.24 eV. Moreover, MoSi2N4 is an extremely-air-stable material, which will facilitate its application in various environments. Our findings provide a promising candidate with high activity, catalysts for renewable energy technologies, and selectivity for experimental work.