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arXiv · 2308.14439

High-throughput screening of heterogeneous transition metal dual-atom catalysts by synergistic effect for nitrate reduction to ammonia

Zheng Shu·Hongfei Chen·Xing Liu·Huaxian Jia·Hejin Yan·Yongqing Cai
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Abstract

Nitrate reduction to ammonia has attracted much attention for nitrate (NO3-) removal and ammonia (NH3) production. Identifying promising catalyst for active nitrate electroreduction reaction (NO3RR) is critical to realize efficient upscaling synthesis of NH3 under low-temperature condition. For this purpose, by means of spin-polarized first-principles calculations, the NO3RR performance on a series of graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) supported double-atom catalysts (denoted as M1M2@g-CN) are systematically investigated. The synergistic effect of heterogeneous dual-metal sites can bring out tunable activity and selectivity for NO3RR. Amongst 21 candidates examined, FeMo@g-CN and CrMo@g-CN possess a high performance with low limiting potentials of -0.34 and -0.39 V, respectively. The activities can be attributed to a synergistic effect of the M1M2 dimer d orbitals coupling with the anti-bonding orbital of NO3-. The dissociation of deposited FeMo and CrMo dimers into two separated monomers is proved to be difficult, ensuring the kinetic stability of M1M2@g-CN. Furthermore, the dual-metal decorated on g-CN significantly reduces the bandgap of g-CN and broadens the adsorption window of visible light, implying its great promise for photocatalysis. This work opens a new avenue for future theoretical and experimental design related to NO3RR photo-/electrocatalysts.

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Zheng Shu, Hongfei Chen, Xing Liu, Huaxian Jia, Hejin Yan, Yongqing Cai. 2023-08-28. High-throughput screening of heterogeneous transition metal dual-atom catalysts by synergistic effect for nitrate reduction to ammonia. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202301493

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