| 1. |
- Abdelgaid, Mona, et al.
(författare)
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Multiscale modeling reveals aluminum nitride as an efficient propane dehydrogenation catalyst
- 2023
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Ingår i: Catalysis Science and Technology. - 2044-4753 .- 2044-4761. ; 13:12, s. 3527-3536
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nonoxidative propane dehydrogenation (PDH) is a promising route to meet the steadily increasing demand for propylene, an important building block in the chemical industry. Wurtzite group-IIIA metal nitrides are potential catalysts for PDH with high chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability alongside inherent Lewis acid-base properties that can activate the C-H bond of alkanes. Herein, we investigate the catalytic behavior of pristine (AlN) and gallium-doped (Ga/AlN) aluminum nitride for PDH via concerted and various stepwise mechanisms using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and microkinetic modeling (MKM). The reaction profiles investigated with DFT calculations are used in MKM, which reveals that the stepwise mechanisms produce >99% of propylene on both AlN and Ga/AlN. AlN has approximately one order of magnitude higher activity than Ga/AlN due to lower barriers along the dominant PDH reaction pathway. In summary, we propose the potential application of AlN as an efficient dehydrogenation catalyst for the conversion of light alkanes into valuable olefins. In addition, we show that multiscale simulations are essential to evaluate the catalytic behavior of complex alkane conversion reaction networks and obtain activity trends for dehydrogenation catalysts.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Akola, J., et al.
(författare)
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Thiolate-Protected Au-25 Superatoms as Building Blocks: Dimers and Crystals
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry C. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1932-7447 .- 1932-7455. ; 114:38, s. 15986-15994
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A particularly stable thiolate-protected gold nanocluster, Au-25(SR)(18), was structurally characterized from X-ray crystallography in 2008, and concomitantly its electronic and optical properties were analyzed via density functional theory. The robust geometry and a well-understood electronic structure of this cluster motivate explorations of properties of extended systems made out of Au-25(SR)(18) building blocks. As a first step in this direction, we analyze here structural, vibrational, electronic, and optical properties of the Au-25 cluster anion as it was observed in the crystalline environment and predict properties of cluster dimers, where the Au-25 units are linked together. via an aromatic dithiolate linker. We show that properties of each Au-25 unit of the dimer can be quite independently modified from the other by doping with a nonmagnetic (Pd) or magnetic (Mn) metal atom. We anticipate that material systems with interesting properties could be made from these building blocks, provided that a suitable chemistry for their controlled linking can be found.
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| 4. |
- Arvidsson, Adam, 1990, et al.
(författare)
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Metal dimer sites in ZSM-5 zeolite for methane-to-methanol conversion from first-principles kinetic modelling: is the [Cu-O-Cu]2+ motif relevant for Ni, Co, Fe, Ag, and Au?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Catalysis Science and Technology. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2044-4753 .- 2044-4761. ; 7:7, s. 1470-1477
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Direct methane-to-methanol conversion is a desired process whereby natural gas is transformed into an energy-rich liquid. It has been realised at ambient pressure and temperature in metal ion-exchanged zeolites, where especially copper-exchanged ZSM-5 has shown promising results. The nature of the active sites in these systems is, however, still under debate. The activity has been assigned to a [Cu-O-Cu]2+ motif. One remaining question is whether this motif is general and also active in other metal-exchanged zeolites. Herein, we use first-principles microkinetic modelling to analyse the methane-to-methanol reaction on the [Cu-O-Cu]2+ motif, for Cu and other metals. First, we identify the cluster model size needed to accurately describe the dimer motif. Starting from the [Cu-O-Cu]2+ site, the metal ions are then systematically substituted with Ni, Co, Fe, Ag and Au. The results show that activation of Ag and Au dimer sites with oxygen is endothermic and therefore unlikely, whereas for Cu, Ni, Co and Fe, the activation is possible under realistic conditions. According to the kinetic simulations, however, the dimer motif is a plausible candidate for the active site for Cu only. For Ni, Co and Fe, close-to-infinite reaction times or unreasonably high temperatures are required for sufficient methane conversion. As Ni-, Co- and Fe-exchanged ZSM-5 are known to convert methane to methanol, these results indicate that the Cu-based dimer motif is not an appropriate model system for these metals.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Baran, Jakub, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of Porphyrines as Catalysts for Electrochemical Reduction of O-2 and Oxidation of H2O
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5126 .- 0002-7863. ; 136:4, s. 1320-1326
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bioinspired structures are promising as improved catalysts for various redox reactions. One example is metal hangman-porphyrines (MHP), which recently have been suggested for oxygen reduction/evolution reaction (ORR/OER). The unique properties of the MHPs are attributed to both the hangman scaffold and the C6F5 side groups. Herein, the OER/ORR over various transition metal MHPs is investigated by density functional theory calculations within an electrochemical framework. A comparison of the reaction landscape for MHP, metal porphyrine (MP) and metaltetrafluorophenyloporphyrines (MTFPP), allow for a disentanglement of the different roles of the hangman motif and the side groups. In agreement with experimental studies, it is found that Fe and Co are the best MHP Metal centers to catalyze these reactions. We find that the addition of the three-dimensional moiety in the form of hangman scaffold does not break the apparently universal energy relation between *OH and *OOH intermediates. However, the hangman motif is found to stabilize the oxygen intermediate, whereas addition of C6F5 groups reduces the binding energy of all reaction intermediates. Our results indicate that the combination of these two effects allow new design possibilities for macromolecular systems with enhanced catalytic OER/ORR activity.
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| 7. |
- Baran, J. D., et al.
(författare)
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Mechanism for Limiting Thickness of Thin Oxide Films on Aluminum
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114 .- 0031-9007. ; 112:14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A first-principles account of the observed limiting thickness of oxide films formed on aluminum during oxidizing conditions is presented. The results uncover enhanced bonding of oxygen to thin alumina films in contact with metallic aluminum that stems from charge transfer between a reconstructed oxide-metal interface and the adsorbed molecules. The first-principles results are compared with the traditional Cabrera-Mott (CM) model, which is a classical continuum model. Within the CM model, charged surface oxygen species and metal ions generate a (Mott) potential that drives oxidation. An apparent limiting thickness is observed as the oxidation rate decreases rapidly with film growth. The present results support experimental estimates of the Mott potential and film thicknesses. In contrast to the CM model, however, the calculations reveal a real limiting thickness that originates from a diminishing oxygen adsorption energy beyond a certain oxide film thickness.
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| 8. |
- Baumann, S. O., et al.
(författare)
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Size Effects in MgO Cube Dissolution
- 2015
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Ingår i: Langmuir. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5827 .- 0743-7463. ; 31:9, s. 2770-2776
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stability parameters and dissolution behavior of engineered nanomaterials in aqueous systems are critical to assess their functionality and fate under environmental conditions. Using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction, we investigated the stability of cubic MgO particles in water. MgO dissolution proceeding via water dissociation at the oxide surface, disintegration of Mg2+-O2- surface elements, and their subsequent solvation ultimately leads to precipitation of Mg(OH)(2) nanosheets. At a pH >= 10, MgO nanocubes with a size distribution below 10 nm quantitatively dissolve within few minutes and convert into Mg(OH)(2) nanosheets. This effect is different from MgO cubes originating from magnesium combustion in air. With a size distribution in the range 10 nm
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| 9. |
- Becker, Elin, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Methane oxidation over alumina supported platinum investigated by time-resolved in situ XANES spectroscopy
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Catalysis. - : Elsevier BV. - 0021-9517 .- 1090-2694. ; 252:1, s. 11-17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In situ time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy and mass spectrometry were used to correlate changes in catalyst surface composition with catalytic activity for methane oxidation over alumina supported Pt. Different transient experiments (i.e., pulsing of oxygen or hydrogen to an otherwise constant gas composition) were performed to study the methane oxidation kinetics. Changes in the surface O/Pt ratio were monitored by the introduction of a new analysis method of the white line area corresponding to the Pt L-III-edge XANES spectra. The relevance of the method was confirmed by first-principles calculations demonstrating how hydrogen and oxygen adsorbates modify the electronic structure of Pt. The experimental results show that during the gas-phase transients, the surface O/Pt ratio changes, which in turn affects the methane oxidation rate. Activity maxima are observed for an intermediate surface O/Pt ratio. An oxygen-rich surface seems to hinder the dissociative adsorption of methane, leading to low methane oxidation activity at oxygen excess.
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| 10. |
- Besharat, Zahra, et al.
(författare)
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Se-C Cleavage of Hexane Selenol at Steps on Au(111)
- 2018
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Ingår i: Langmuir. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0743-7463 .- 1520-5827. ; 34:8, s. 2630-2636
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Selenols are considered as an alternative to thiols in self-assembled monolayers, but the Se-C bond is one limiting factor for their usefulness. In this study, we address the stability of the Se-C bond by a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of gas phase-deposited hexane selenol (CH3(CH2)(5)SeH) on Au(111) using photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density functional theory (DFT). Experimentally, we find that initial adsorption leaves atomic Se on the surface without any carbon left on the surface, whereas further adsorption generates a saturated selenolate layer. The Se 3d component from atomic Se appears at 0.85 eV lower binding energy than the selenolate-related component. DFT calculations show that the most stable structure of selenols on Au(111) is in the form of RSe-Au-SeR complexes adsorbed on the unreconstructed Au(111) surface. This is similar to thiols on Au(111). Calculated Se 3d core-level shifts between elemental Se and selenolate in this structure nicely reproduce the experimentally recorded shifts. Dissociation of RSeH and subsequent formation of RH are found to proceed with high barriers on defect-free Au(111) terraces, with the highest barrier for scissoring R-Se. However, at steps, these barriers are considerably lower, allowing for Se-C bond breaking and hexane desorption, leaving elemental Se at the surface. Hexane is the selenol to selenolate formed by replacing the Se-C bond with a H-C bond by using the hydrogen liberated from transformation.
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