Ethanol–ethylene conversion mechanism on hydrogen boride sheets probed by in situ infrared absorption spectroscopy

Abstract

Two-dimensional hydrogen boride (HB) sheets were recently demonstrated to act as a solid acid catalyst in their hydrogen-deficient state. However, the mechanism of the catalytic process and the active sites...

2D boron nanosheet architectonics: opening new territories by smart functionalization

“…48,51,54 HB nanosheets were realized experimentally in three ways: (i) decomposition of borane in H 2 ; 55 (ii) chemical vapor deposition from solid powders (B, B 2 O 3 , or NaBH 4 ) in H 2 ; 44,52,53 (iii) a cation exchange reaction with organic solvents/cation exchange resins that can provide protons. [56][57][58][59] For example, Xu et al prepared HB nanosheets on a silicon wafer via chemical vapor deposition using borane gas (5% B 2 H 6 + 95% Ar) and the nanosheets show excellent photoexcitation behavior because of the slightly opened band gap, as illustrated in Fig. 3(a).…”

“…3(e)]. 57,59,63 According to Kondo's work, the redox potential of HB sheets is between À0.277 and À0.257 V versus the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE). 63 The reduction properties of HB nanosheets are related to H functionalization.…”

“…63 Beneting from the protonic character of H + in HB, the HB nanosheets can also be applied as a catalyst in certain proton related reactions, such as the ethanol reforming reaction (C 2 H 5 OH / C 2 H 4 + H 2 O). 57,59 This conversion is driven by dehydration where the -OH in ethanol combines with the proton from the HB sheet, resulting in the formation of C 2 H 5 -B and H 2 O. C 2 H 5 -B was then transformed into C 2 H 4 and HB.…”

Fabrication of Hydrogen Boride Thin Film by Ion Exchange in MgB2

“…The chemical composition of the material is HB, where the hydrogen/boron atomic ratio is 1/1. Previous experiments have shown that hydrogen boride sheets have a high H 2 content (8.5 wt %) [2], unique electronic properties [3,4], solid acid catalytic properties [5,6], photoinduced hydrogen release capability [7], and a unique ability to reduce metal ions to form nanocomposites [8][9][10]. In addition, theoretical models and computer simulations demonstrate that borophane is a promising candidate for applications such as anode material, alcohol gas sensors, current limiters, and photodetectors [11][12][13][14].…”

“…At present, studies on the synthesis of hydrogen boride have been carried out only for a powder sample obtained from finely dispersed MgB 2 [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. However, hydrogen boride thin films deposited on substrates would offer better opportunities for the in-depth analysis of the physical properties and investigation of possible applications of this material.…”