| 1. |
- Armillotta, Francesco, et al.
(författare)
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Single Metal Atom Catalysts and ORR : H-Bonding, Solvation, and the Elusive Hydroperoxyl Intermediate
- 2022
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Ingår i: ACS Catalysis. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2155-5435. ; 12:13, s. 7950-7959
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The widely investigated oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is well-known to proceed via two competing routes, involving two or four electrons, and yielding different reaction products, respectively. Both pathways are believed to share a common, elusive intermediate, namely, the hydroperoxyl radical. By exploiting a cobalt single-atom biomimetic model catalyst, based on a self-assembled monolayer of Co-porphyrins grown on an almost free-standing graphene sheet, we identify, in situ at room temperature in O2+H2O atmosphere, a hydroperoxyl-water cluster that is stabilized at the Co single-metal atom catalytic site. We show that the interplay between charge transfer, dipole and H-bonding, and water solvation behavior actually determines the hydroperoxyl-water complex stability, the Co-OOH bonding geometry, and, prospectively, opens to the engineered control of the selectivity of ORR pathways.
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| 2. |
- Boix, Virginia, et al.
(författare)
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Following the Kinetics of Undercover Catalysis with APXPS and the Role of Hydrogen as an Intercalation Promoter
- 2022
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Ingår i: ACS Catalysis. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2155-5435. ; 12:16, s. 9897-9907
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While improved catalytic properties of many surfaces covered by two-dimensional materials have been demonstrated, a detailed in situ picture of gas delivery, undercover reaction, and product removal from the confined space is lacking. Here, we demonstrate how a combination of gas pulses with varying compositions and time-resolved ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy can be used to obtain such knowledge. This approach allows us to sequentially form and remove undercover reaction products, in contrast to previous work, where co-dosing of reactant gases was used. In more detail, we study CO and H2 oxidation below oxygen-intercalated graphene flakes partially covering an Ir(111) surface. We show that hydrogen rapidly mixes into a p(2 × 1)-O structure below the graphene flakes and converts it into a dense OH-H2O phase. In contrast, CO exposure only leads to oxygen removal from the confined space and little CO intercalation. Finally, our study shows that H2 mixed into CO pulses can be used as a promoter to change the undercover chemistry. Their combined exposure leads to the formation of OH-H2O below the flakes, which, in turn, unbinds the flakes for enough time for CO to intercalate, resulting in a CO structure stable only in coexistence with the OH-H2O phase. Altogether, our study proves that promoter chemistry in the form of adding trace gases to the gas feed is essential to consider for undercover reactions.
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| 3. |
- Boix, Virginia, et al.
(författare)
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Graphene as an Adsorption Template for Studying Double Bond Activation in Catalysis
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry C. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1932-7447 .- 1932-7455. ; 126:33, s. 14116-14124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hydrogenated graphene (H-Gr) is an extensively studied system not only because of its capabilities as a simplified model system for hydrocarbon chemistry but also because hydrogenation is a compelling method for Gr functionalization. However, knowledge of how H-Gr interacts with molecules at higher pressures and ambient conditions is lacking. Here we present experimental and theoretical evidence that room temperature O2exposure at millibar pressures leads to preferential removal of H dimers on H-functionalized graphene, leaving H clusters on the surface. Our density functional theory (DFT) analysis shows that the removal of H dimers is the result of water or hydrogen peroxide formation. For water formation, we show that the two H atoms in the dimer motif attack one end of the physisorbed O2molecule. Moreover, by comparing the reaction pathways in a vacuum with the ones on free-standing graphene and on the graphene/Ir(111) system, we find that the main role of graphene is to arrange the H atoms in geometrical positions, which facilitates the activation of the O═O double bond.
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| 4. |
- Gericke, Sabrina Maria, et al.
(författare)
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In Situ H2 Reduction of Al2O3-Supported Ni- and Mo-Based Catalysts
- 2022
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Ingår i: Catalysts. - : MDPI. - 2073-4344. ; 12:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nickel (Ni)-promoted Molybdenum (Mo)-based catalysts are used for hydrotreatment processes in the chemical industry where the catalysts are exposed to high-pressure H2 at elevated temperature. In this environment, the catalyst transforms into the active phase, which involves the reduction of the oxide. Here, we report on the first in situ study on the reduction of alumina supported Ni- and Mo-based catalysts in 1 mbar H2 using ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS). The study confirms that mixing Ni and Mo lowers the reduction temperature of both Ni- and Mo-oxide as compared to the monometallic catalysts and shows that the MoO3 reduction starts at a lower temperature than the reduction of NiO in NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts. Additionally, the reduction of Ni and Mo foil was directly compared to the reduction of the Al2O3-supported catalysts and it was observed that the reduction of the supported catalysts is more gradual than the reduction of the foils, indicating a strong interaction between the Ni/Mo and the alumina support. © 2022 by the authors.
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| 5. |
- Kaiser, Sebastian, et al.
(författare)
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Does Cluster Encapsulation Inhibit Sintering? Stabilization of Size-Selected Pt Clusters on Fe3O4(001) by SMSI
- 2023
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Ingår i: ACS Catalysis. - 2155-5435. ; 13:9, s. 6203-6213
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The metastability of supported metal nanoparticles limits their application in heterogeneous catalysis at elevated temperatures due to their tendency to sinter. One strategy to overcome these thermodynamic limits on reducible oxide supports is encapsulation via strong metal-support interaction (SMSI). While annealing-induced encapsulation is a well-explored phenomenon for extended nanoparticles, it is as yet unknown whether the same mechanisms hold for subnanometer clusters, where concomitant sintering and alloying might play a significant role. In this article, we explore the encapsulation and stability of size-selected Pt5, Pt10, and Pt19 clusters deposited on Fe3O4(001). In a multimodal approach using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we demonstrate that SMSI indeed leads to the formation of a defective, FeO-like conglomerate encapsulating the clusters. By stepwise annealing up to 1023 K, we observe the succession of encapsulation, cluster coalescence, and Ostwald ripening, resulting in square-shaped crystalline Pt particles, independent of the initial cluster size. The respective sintering onset temperatures scale with the cluster footprint and thus size. Remarkably, while small encapsulated clusters can still diffuse as a whole, atom detachment and thus Ostwald ripening are successfully suppressed up to 823 K, i.e., 200 K above the Hüttig temperature that indicates the thermodynamic stability limit.
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| 6. |
- Knudsen, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Stroboscopic operando spectroscopy of the dynamics in heterogeneous catalysis by event-averaging
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Heterogeneous catalyst surfaces are dynamic entities that respond rapidly to changes in their local gas environment, and the dynamics of the response is a decisive factor for the catalysts’ action and activity. Few probes are able to map catalyst structure and local gas environment simultaneously under reaction conditions at the timescales of the dynamic changes. Here we use the CO oxidation reaction and a Pd(100) model catalyst to demonstrate how such studies can be performed by time-resolved ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy. Central elements of the method are cyclic gas pulsing and software-based event-averaging by image recognition of spectral features. A key finding is that at 3.2 mbar total pressure a metallic, predominantly CO-covered metallic surface turns highly active for a few seconds once the O2:CO ratio becomes high enough to lift the CO poisoning effect before mass transport limitations triggers formation of a √5 oxide.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Kong, Xiangrui, et al.
(författare)
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Surface solvation of Martian salt analogues at low relative humidities
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Science: Atmospheres. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2634-3606. ; 2:2, s. 137-145
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Salt aerosols play important roles in many processes related to atmospheric chemistry and the climate systems on both Earth and Mars. Complicated and still poorly understood processes occur on the salt surfaces when interacting with water vapor. In this study, ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) is used to characterize the surface chemical environment of Martian salt analogues originating from saline lakes and playas, as well as their responses to varying relative humidities. Generally, APXPS shows similar ionic compositions to those observed by ion chromatography (IC). However, XPS is a surface-sensitive method while IC is bulk-sensitive and differences are observed for species that preferentially partition to the surface or the bulk. Element-selective surface enhancement of Cl− is observed, likely caused by the presence of SO42−. In addition, Mg2+ is concentrated on the surface while Na+ is relatively depleted in the surface layer. Hence, the cations (Na+ and Mg2+) and the anions (Cl− and SO42−) show competitive correlations. At elevated relative humidity (RH), no major spectral changes were observed in the XPS results, except for the growth of an oxygen component originating from condensed H2O. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) measurements show that the magnesium and sodium spectra are sensitive to the presence of water, and the results imply that the surface is fully solvated already at RH = 5%. The surface solvation is also fully reversible as the RH is reduced. No major differences are observed between sample types and sample locations, indicating that the salts originated from saline lakes commonly have solvated surfaces under the environmental conditions on Earth.
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| 9. |
- Lin, Huijuan, et al.
(författare)
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Organic Molecule-Driven Polymeric Actuators
- 2019
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Ingår i: Macromolecular rapid communications. - : Wiley. - 1022-1336 .- 1521-3927. ; 40:7
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Inspired by the motions of plant tissues in response to external stimuli, significant attention has been devoted to the development of actuating polymeric materials. In particular, polymeric actuators driven by organic molecules have been designed due to their combined superiorities of tunable functional monomers, designable chemical structures, and variable structural anisotropy. Here, the recent progress is summarized in terms of material synthesis, structure design, polymer-solvent interaction, and actuating performance. In addition, various possibilities for practical applications, including the ability to sense chemical vapors and solvent isomers, and future directions to satisfy the requirement of sensing and smart systems are also highlighted.
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| 10. |
- Shavorskiy, Andrey, et al.
(författare)
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Gas Pulse-X-Ray Probe Ambient Pressure Photoelectron Spectroscopy with Submillisecond Time Resolution
- 2021
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Ingår i: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 13:40, s. 47629-47641
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A setup capable of conducting gas pulse-X-ray probe ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy with high time resolution is presented. The setup makes use of a fast valve that creates gas pulses with an internal pressure in the mbar range and a rising edge of few hundreds of microseconds. A gated detector based on a fast camera is synchronized with the valve operation to measure X-ray photoemission spectra with up to 20 μs time resolution. The setup is characterized in several experiments in which the N2 gas is pulsed either into vacuum or a constant flow of another gas. The observed width of the pulse rising edge is 80 μs, and the maximum internal pulse pressure is ∼1 mbar. The CO oxidation reaction over Pt (111) was used to demonstrate the capability of the setup to correlate the gas phase composition with that of the surface during transient supply of CO gas into an O2 stream. Thus, formation of both chemisorbed and oxide oxygen species was observed prior to CO gas perturbation. Also, the data indicated that both the Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Mars-van-Krevelen mechanisms play an important role in the oxidation of carbon monoxide under ambient conditions.
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