Pocket the difference

Recent advances in CO2 capture and reduction

“…Specifically, the ligand chains form a hydrophobic domain around the pocket that facilitates the diffusion of CO 2 , while inhibiting the diffusion of water/protons, into the NOLI structure, favouring CO 2 conversion over the HER. 192 The Ag–NOLI improved the activity and selectivity towards CO formation dramatically in CO 2 RR, whereas the turnover and selectivity drop to a level similar to Ag foil when the ligand layer was removed (Fig. 24B and C), supporting the importance of the NOLI structure in the selective CO 2 -to-CO transformation.…”

Why surface hydrophobicity promotes CO2 electroreduction: a case study of hydrophobic polymer N-heterocyclic carbenes

“…[23][24][25] Among these approaches, the incorporation of rationally designed surface ligands on nanocatalysts has attracted much attention recently. [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] As inspired by metalloenzymes where the stability and overall efficiency of the active metal sites rely on nely engineered protein frameworks, passive organic ligands anchored to the surface of nanocatalysts can stabilize nanocatalysts and simultaneously provide a similar microenvironment that controls the selectivity for CO 2 electroreduction. 27,36 Ligands at the catalyst-electrolyte interface where the reduction normally occurs control how substrates bind/activate on the catalyst and/or stabilize key rection intermediates, simultaneously preventing the interparticle coalescence.…”