Organocatalyst Supported by a Single‐Atom Support Accelerates both Electrodes used in the Chlor‐Alkali Industry via Modification of Non‐Covalent Interactions

Abstract

Consuming one of the largest amount of electricity, the chlor‐alkali industry supplies basic chemicals for society, which mainly consists of two reactions, hydrogen evolution (HER) and chlorine evolution reaction (CER). Till now, the state‐of‐the‐art catalyst applied in this field is still the dimensional stable anode (DSA), which consumes a large amount of noble metal of Ru and Ir. It is thus necessary to develop new types of catalysts. In this study, an organocatalyst anchored on the single‐atom support (SAS) is put forward. It exhibits high catalytic efficiency towards both HER and CER with an overpotential of 21 mV and 20 mV at 10 mAꞏcm‐2. With this catalyst on both electrodes, the energy consumption is cut down by 1.2 % compared with the commercial system under industrial conditions. Based on this novel catalyst and the high activity, the mechanism of modifying non‐covalent interaction is demonstrated to be reliable for the catalyst’s design. This work not only provides efficient catalysts for the chlor‐alkali industry but also points out that the SACs can also act as support, providing new twists for the development of SACs and organic molecules in the next step.

Single‐atom materials: The application in energy conversion

“…The conclusion of the oil production limiting agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some other major oil-producing countries, together with the increasing environmental issues, forced many countries to consider new sustainable resources to generate transportation fuels, which can be indicated from Figure 5A. [83,84] Through the rational selection of the catalytic system, biomass as a sustainable resource, can be efficiently converted into biofuels through various organic synthesis methods, which has been applied by many districts and arises fast. [85] Biological fermentation is the most common traditional biomass conversion method.…”

Atomically dispersed multi-site catalysts: bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts boost flexible zinc–air battery performance

“…The atomically dispersed multi-site catalysts exhibit distinct physical and chemical properties attributed to the exceptional local coordination environment at isolated atoms, thereby offering extensive prospects for application in heterogeneous catalysis. 114 To achieve uniform distribution, single atoms are synthesized on substrates through high-temperature pyrolysis or in situ growth. 115 However, the surface Gibbs free energy of individual atoms poses a significant challenge due to aggregation and sintering, which can impair their catalytic activity (Fig.…”

Metal–Single Atom Support Interactions for Enhancing Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Cathode Stability: A Review

“…With the extensive use of fossil fuels, the gradual deterioration of the environment and the accelerated depletion of resources have become significant challenges to humanity's sustainable development in the 21st century. 1,2 In response to these challenges, it is urgent to promote the large-scale development of renewable energy to achieve the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. 3−5 Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are considered to be efficient and environmentally friendly electrochemical energy conversion devices, with broad application prospects in distributed power stations, mobile devices, electric vehicles, and more.…”

“…With the extensive use of fossil fuels, the gradual deterioration of the environment and the accelerated depletion of resources have become significant challenges to humanity’s sustainable development in the 21st century. , In response to these challenges, it is urgent to promote the large-scale development of renewable energy to achieve the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. − Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are considered to be efficient and environmentally friendly electrochemical energy conversion devices, with broad application prospects in distributed power stations, mobile devices, electric vehicles, and more. − Currently, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode of PEMFCs requires a large amount of catalyst to enhance the reaction rate due to its slow kinetics, and platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts are considered to be the best performing ORR catalysts. , However, the high cost of PGM catalysts (which account for about 40–50% of the total cost of PEMFC systems) and their scarcity significantly hinder the large-scale application of PEMFCs. − Therefore, it is urgent to develop non-PGM catalysts with high activity and stability to partially or completely replace PGM catalysts. ,, Among the most promising non-PGM catalysts, single-atom catalysts (SACs) with metal–nitrogen–carbon (M–N–C, where M = Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, etc.) are widely regarded for their high catalytic activity and nearly 100% atom utilization rate. − The Fe–N–C catalysts have gained renown for their outstanding performance, have exhibited ORR activity in half-cell and PEMFC tests that is comparable to that of commercial Pt/C catalysts. − However, M–N–C catalysts face significant stability issues in practical applications as they often experience a loss in performance ranging from 40 to 80% within the first 100 h of PEMFC operation. − Therefore, addressing the problem of SACs stability is crucial to promote its commercialization process in PEMFC.…”