The controllable synthesis of stable
single-metal site catalysts
with an expected coordination environment for high catalytic activity
and selectivity is still challenging. Here, we propose a cation-exchange
strategy for precise production of an edge-rich sulfur (S) and nitrogen
(N) dual-decorated single-metal (M) site catalysts (M = Cu, Pt, Pd, etc.) library. Our strategy
relies on the anionic frameworks of sulfides and N-rich polymer shell
to generate abundant S and N defects during high-temperature annealing,
further facilitating the stabilization of exchanged metal species
with atomic dispersion and excellent accessibility. This process was
traced by in situ transmission electron microscopy, during which no
metal aggregates were observed. Both experiments and theoretical results
reveal the precisely obtained S, N dual-decorated Cu sites exhibit
a high activity and low reaction energy barrier in catalytic hydroxylation
of benzene at room temperature. These findings provide a route to
controllably produce stable single-metal site catalysts and an engineering
approach for regulating the central metal to improve catalytic performance.
Fe−N−C electrocatalysts, as a representative of platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) catalysts, exhibit a comparable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity but insufficient stability to that of commercial Pt/C in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), due to the unavoidable Fenton's reactions. Herein, we report a hard-template approach to synthesize the rare-earth singlecerium-atom-doped metal−organic frameworks with a hierarchically macro−meso−microporous structure. Spherical aberration correction electron microscopy confirms the atomic dispersion of Ce sites. Additionally, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was employed to further verify the coordination environment of Ce sites, which were stabilized by four-coordinated nitrogen atoms and six-oxygen atoms (Ce−N 4 /O 6 ). The Ce sites were embedded in a hierarchically macro− meso−microporous N-doped carbon (Ce SAS/HPNC) catalyst, which exhibits a half-wave potential of 0.862 V in ORR and the highest power density of 0.525 W cm −2 under 2.0 bar H 2 /O 2 in the fuel cell test.
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