Restructuring is ubiquitous in thermocatalysis and of pivotal importance to identify the real active site, yet it is less explored in electrocatalysis. Herein, by using operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy in conjunction with advanced electron microscopy, we reveal the restructuring of the as-synthesized Cu− N 4 single-atom site to the nanoparticles of ∼5 nm during the electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia, a green ammonia production route upon combined with the plasma-assisted oxidation of nitrogen. The reduction of Cu 2+ to Cu + and Cu 0 and the subsequent aggregation of Cu 0 single atoms is found to occur concurrently with the enhancement of the NH 3 production rate, both of them are driven by the applied potential switching from 0.00 to −1.00 V versus RHE. The maximum production rate of ammonia reaches 4.5 mg cm −2 h −1 (12.5 mol NH 3 g Cu −1 h −1 ) with a Faradaic efficiency of 84.7% at −1.00 V versus RHE, outperforming most of the other Cu catalysts reported previously. After electrolysis, the aggregated Cu nanoparticles are reversibly disintegrated into single atoms and then restored to the Cu−N 4 structure upon being exposed to an ambient atmosphere, which masks the potential-induced restructuring during the reaction. The synchronous changes of the Cu 0 percentage and the ammonia Faradaic efficiency with the applied potential suggests that the Cu nanoparticles are the genuine active sites for nitrate reduction to ammonia, which is corroborated with both the post-deposited Cu NP catalyst and density functional theory calculations.
CO 2 electrolysis via solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) has shown promising practical applications in CO 2 conversion and renewable electricity storage due to low overpotential, large current density, high Faradaic efficiency, and energy efficiency facilitated by high-temperature operation. [1] Perovskites have been extensively investigated as cathode materials for direct CO 2 electrolysis in SOEC in the absence of protective gas [2] ; however, the perovskites still suffer from insufficient CO 2 electrolysis performance. [3] In situ exsolving metal nanoparticles on the perovskite surface have been explored as an efficient strategy to improve CO 2 electrolysis performance due to the exsolution of highly active metal nanoparticles and the simultaneous generation of oxygen vacancies within perovskite, where abundant metal-oxide interfaces are generated for highly efficient CO 2 electrolysis. [4] In addition, reversible exsolution and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in perovskite have been proposed as vital properties for resolving the possible particle agglomeration and coke formation during a long-term operation of SOECs. [2b,5] To date, although some perovskites have demonstrated redox reversibility with exsolution and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in reducing and oxidizing atmosphere, [6] fundamental understanding of these phenomena is still scarce. [7] Ex situ scanning/transmission electron microscopy (SEM/ TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques have been employed to investigate the morphology and crystalline evolution after reducing and oxidizing treatments. [8] Irvine et al. found that a decrease in the stoichiometry of perovskite from A/B = 1 to A/B<1 could break the bottleneck of exsolution level and facilitate high-population exsolution of metal nanoparticles. [7,9] Kim et al. investigated the reducibility of different cations in perovskite using co-segregation energy as a descriptor. The co-segregation energy of B-site dopant and oxygen vacancies plays a critical role in the exsolution. [10] Furthermore, Luo et al. used in situ TEM to investigate the exsolution of Co nano particles in Pr 0.5 Ba 0.5 Mn 0.9 Co 0.1 O x (PBMCo) perovskite, excluding the possibility of metal nanoparticles Reversible exsolution and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in perovskite has been investigated as an efficient strategy to improve CO 2 electrolysis performance. However, fundamental understanding with regard to the reversible exsolution and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in perovskite is still scarce. Herein, in situ exsolution and dissolution of CoFe alloy nanoparticles in Co-doped Sr 2 Fe 1.5 Mo 0.5 O 6-δ (SFMC) revealed by in situ X-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and density functional theory calculations are reported. Under a reducing atmosphere, facile exsolution of Co promotes reduction of the Fe cation to generate CoFe alloy nanoparticles in SFMC, accompanied by structure transformation from double perovskite to layer...
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