Amorphous polymer-derived silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) is an attractive candidate for Li-ion battery anodes, as an alternative to graphite, which is limited to a theoretical capacity of 372 mAh/g. However, SiOC tends to exhibit poor transport properties and cycling performance as the result of sparsely distributed carbon clusters and inefficient active sites. To overcome these limitations, we designed and fabricated a layered graphene/SiOC heterostructure by solvent assisted infiltration of a polymeric precursor into a modified 3D graphene aerogel skeleton. The use of a high-melting-point solvent facilitated the precursor's freeze-drying, which following pyrolysis yielded SiOC as a layer supported on the surface of nitrogen doped reduced graphene oxide aerogels. The fabrication method employed here modifies the composition and microstructure of the SiOC phase. Among the studied materials, highest levels of performance were obtained for a sample of moderate SiOC content, in which the graphene network constituted 19.8wt% of the system. In these materials a stable reversible charge capacity of 751 mAh/g was achieved at low charge rates. At high charge rates of 1480 mA/g the capacity retention was ~95% (352 mAh/g) after 1000 consecutive cycles. At all rates, Colombic efficiencies >99% were maintained following the first cycle. Performance across all indicators was majorly improved in the graphene aerogel/SiOC nanocomposites, compared with unsupported SiOC. Performance was attributed to mechanisms across multiple lengthscales. The presence of oxygen rich SiO4−xCx tetrahedra units and a continuous free-carbon network within the SiOC provide sites for reversible lithiation, while high ionic and electronic transport is provided by the layered graphene/SiOC heterostructure.

C‐saturated Pd0 nanoparticles with an extended phase boundary to ZrO2 evolve from a Pd0Zr0 precatalyst under CH4 dry reforming conditions. This highly active catalyst state fosters bifunctional action: CO2 is efficiently activated at oxidic phase boundary sites and PdxC provides fast supply of C‐atoms toward the latter.

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The mechanism of multiwalled carbon nanotube synthesis from methane chemical vapor deposition on a 5% Ni/MnO catalyst is studied at 873 and 1073 K by in situ transmission XRD using synchrotron radiation supported by Rietveld refinement and density functional theory calculations. Upon methane dissociative adsorption at the reaction temperature, the fcc nickel lattice initially expands above the temperature calibration experiment, as carbon dissolves interstitially and subsequently contracts upon graphite precipitation. At 1073 K, carbon dissolution in the fcc lattice of the MnO-supported nickel nanoparticles results in three cubic nickel carbides that occur prior to graphite precipitation. At the two reaction temperatures, the atomic concentration of dissolved carbon exceeds the limit of solubility in nickel films due to the nanoparticle effect. Nudged elastic band calculations display predominant surface diffusion and secondary subsurface bulk diffusion of carbon. Once catalysts are exposed to carbon dioxide, surface and subsurface carbon in nickel is easily oxidized by carbon dioxide and the nickel lattice returns to its original size. The mechanism described above explains the reaction pathway of the dry reforming of methane, confirming that the diffusing carbon species can act as reaction intermediates toward the generation of carbon monoxide, instead of deactivating the catalyst.

Starting from subsurface Zr0-doped “inverse” Pd and bulk-intermetallic Pd0Zr0 model catalyst precursors, we investigated the dry reforming reaction of methane (DRM) using synchrotron-based near ambient pressure in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS), in-situ X-ray diffraction and catalytic testing in an ultrahigh-vacuum-compatible recirculating batch reactor cell. Both intermetallic precursors develop a Pd0–ZrO2 phase boundary under realistic DRM conditions, whereby the oxidative segregation of ZrO2 from bulk intermetallic PdxZry leads to a highly active composite layer of carbide-modified Pd0 metal nanoparticles in contact with tetragonal ZrO2. This active state exhibits reaction rates exceeding those of a conventional supported Pd–ZrO2 reference catalyst and its high activity is unambiguously linked to the fast conversion of the highly reactive carbidic/dissolved C-species inside Pd0 toward CO at the Pd/ZrO2 phase boundary, which serves the role of providing efficient CO2 activation sites. In contrast, the near-surface intermetallic precursor decomposes toward ZrO2 islands at the surface of a quasi-infinite Pd0 metal bulk. Strongly delayed Pd carbide accumulation and thus carbon resegregation under reaction conditions leads to a much less active interfacial ZrO2–Pd0 state.