The_Catalyst_Review_December_2023 - 7

Process News
How Liquid Metals May Help 'Green' the Chemical Industry
Researchers at the University of Sydney are proposing the idea of liquid metal as the long-awaited solution to " greening " the
chemical industry. The new process uses liquid metals, in this case dissolving tin and nickel, which gives them unique mobility,
enabling them to migrate to the surface of liquid metals and react with input molecules. The new process takes into account the
fact that atoms in liquid metals are more randomly arranged and have greater freedom of movement than solids. This allows
them to easily come into contact with, and participate in, chemical reactions. In their research, the team dissolved high-meltingpoint
nickel and tin in a gallium-based liquid metal with a melting point of only 30° centigrade. The scientists, thus, had access
to single-atom catalysts, which have the highest surface area accessibility for catalysis, offering a remarkable advantage to the
chemical industry. The researchers said their formula could also be used for other chemical reactions by mixing metals using lowtemperature
processes. Source: Mining.com, 11/16/2023.
The Real-time Working Principle of Promoters in a
Catalytic Reaction
TU Wien researchers report that they were able to directly observe the
action of lanthanum promoters in hydrogen oxidation. Visualizing the role
of individual lanthanum atoms using high-tech microscopy tools, they
discovered that two surface portions of the catalyst function as pacemakers,
which are controlled by the promoter. The TU Wien team has already shown
in recent years that distinct areas of nanoparticle surfaces display distinct
behaviors, oscillating between an active and an inactive state. There are
times when the right chemical reaction happens where it should and times
when it does not. It has been demonstrated with specialized microscopes
that several types of these oscillations happen on every nanoparticle
simultaneously and that they all affect one another. Often just a few atom
diameters wide, some areas of the nanoparticle surface are more important
than others. They function as extremely effective " pacemakers, " even
regulating the chemical oscillations in other areas. Promoters can now
intervene in this pacemaker operation, which is exactly what researchers at
TU Wien have been able to examine. Lanthanum can operate as a catalyst
promoter when rhodium is utilized as a catalyst. Individual lanthanum atoms
were inserted on a rhodium nanoparticle's small surface. The same particle
was studied both with and without the promoter. This method revealed
the precise effect of individual lanthanum atoms on the progression of the
chemical process. Source: AZO Materials, 11/21/2023.
Single-atom Catalyst Transforms CO2
The electrochemical CO2
reduction reaction (CO2
into Ethanol
RR) into carbonbased
fuels provides a promising strategy to mitigate CO2
emission
and promotes the utilization of renewable energy. A research
group led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a
Sn-based tandem electrocatalyst which could reproducibly yield
ethanol. Their method promises a Faradaic efficiency of up to
82.5% at -0.9 VRHE
The researchers fabricated the catalyst, SnS2
solvothermal reaction of SnBr2
carbon foam. The electrocatalyst comprised SnS2
atomically dispersed Sn atoms (Sn1
showed that this Sn1
-O3G). A mechanistic study
-O3G could respectively adsorb *CHO and
*CO(OH) intermediates, therefore promoting C-C bond formation
through an unprecedented formyl-bicarbonate coupling pathway.
Moreover, by using isotopically labeled reactants, the researchers
traced the pathway of C atoms in the final C2
Tandem single atom electrocatalyst realizes reduction of CO2
Credit: DICP
product formed over the catalyst of Sn1
methyl C in the product comes from formic acid whereas the methylene C was from CO2
to ethanol.
-O3G. This analysis suggested that the
. Source: Sci Tech Daily, 11/21/2023.
Northvolt Develops State-ofthe-Art
Sodium-ion Battery
Northvolt announced a state-of-theart
sodium-ion battery, developed for
the expansion of cost-efficient and
sustainable energy storage systems
worldwide. Northvolt's validated cell is
more safe, cost-effective, and sustainable
than conventional nickel, manganese,
and cobalt (NMC) or iron phosphate
(LFP) chemistries and is produced with
minerals such as iron and sodium that are
abundant on global markets. It is based
on a hard carbon anode and a Prussian
White-based cathode, and is free from
lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite.
Leveraging a breakthrough in battery
design and manufacturing, Northvolt
plans to be the first to industrialize
Prussian White-based batteries and bring
them to commercial markets. Source:
Northvolt, 11/21/2023.
and a geometric current density of 17.8 mA/cm2
@Sn1-O3G, through a
.
and thiourea on a three-dimensional
nanosheets and
The Catalyst Review
December 2023
7

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