Molten-salt-assisted synthesis of single-atom iron confined N-doped carbon nanosheets for highly efficient industrial-level CO2 electroreduction and Zn-CO2 batteries

Remote p–d orbital hybridization via first/second-layer coordination of Fe single atoms with heteroatoms for enhanced electrochemical CO2-to-CO reduction

“…402.1 and 404.6 eV attributed to the graphite N and oxidized N, respectively. 29,32,37,39,50–54 Compared with Fe–poN 4 –C (400.8 eV), the binding energy peak position of pyrrole N in S/Fe–poN 4 –C (400.9 eV) shifted upward, while the peak position of pyridine N (398.2 eV) in S/Fe–poN 4 –C and Fe–poN 4 –C did not shift. Similar results to S/Fe–poN 4 –C could be obtained for the S/Fe–pdN 4 –C catalysts.…”

“…The energy barrier to form *COOH was significantly lower for S-doped catalysts S/Fe–pdN 4 –C and S/Fe–poN 4 –C compared to that for S-undoped counterparts Fe–pdN 4 –C and Fe–poN 4 –C, confirming that S and Fe–N 4 can induce p–d orbital interactions to enhance the binding strength of the *COOH intermediate toward the surface of the catalysts. 65,66 It is known that weak adsorption of the *CO intermediate favors the generation of CO. 3,51 The desorption energy of the *CO intermediate was −0.61 eV (Fe–pdN 4 –C), −0.38 eV (S/Fe–pdN 4 –C), −0.11 eV (Fe–poN 4 –C), and −0.19 eV (S/Fe–poN 4 –C), respectively. The formation of CO in Fe–pdN 4 –C and S/Fe–pdN 4 –C was prevented by the high desorption energy of the *CO intermediate.…”

Research progress of dual-atom site catalysts for photocatalysis

“…Methanol (CH 3 OH) and methane (CH 4 ) can be produced during the reduction of H protons. 112 It is particularly important to note that HCHO and CH 3 OH are two intermediates rather than reaction by-products, and the C–O cleavage reaction is always accompanied by a protonation reaction. However, the production of CO is unable to be revealed by the formaldehyde pathway.…”

Two-dimensional Cu-based materials for electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction

“…For example, in 2022, Yang et al. 75 successfully prepared 2D N-doped carbon NSs loaded with Fe single-atom catalysts by the molten salt process. The advantage of the molten salt process over the previously mentioned synthesis methods is the high synthetic efficiency.…”