Anchoring Ultrafine β‐Mo 2 C Clusters Inside Porous Co‐NC Using MOFs for Electric‐Powered Coproduction of Valuable Chemicals
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Electroredox of organics provides a promising and green approach to producing value‐added chemicals. However, it remains a grand challenge to achieve high selectivity of desired products simultaneously at two electrodes, especially for non‐isoelectronic transfer reactions. Here a porous heterostructure of Mo 2 C@Co‐NC is successfully fabricated, where subnanometre β‐Mo 2 C clusters (<1 nm, ≈10 wt%) are confined inside porous Co, N‐doped carbon using metalorganic frameworks. It is found that Co species not only promote the formation of β‐Mo 2 C but also can prevent it from oxidation by constructing the heterojunctions. As noted, the heterostructure achieves >96% yield and 92% Faradaic efficiency (FE) for aldehydes in anodic alcohol oxidation, as well as >99.9% yield and 96% FE for amines in cathodal nitrocompounds reduction in 1.0 M KOH. Precise control of the reaction kinetics of two half‐reactions by the electronic interaction between β‐Mo 2 C and Co is a crucial adjective. Density functional theory (DFT) gives in‐depth mechanistic insight into the high aldehyde selectivity. The work guides authors to reveal the electrooxidation nature of Mo 2 C at a subnanometer level. It is anticipated that the strategy will provide new insights into the design of highly effective bifunctional electrocatalysts for the coproduction of more complex fine chemicals.
Source: Small
Authors: Yu‐Zhen Chen, Yi‐Wen Fan, Yang Wang, Zhibo Li
Institution: Qingdao University of Science and Technology
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: G3040721593, G7422473493
OpenAlex ID: W4393044686