| Nov 05, 2021 |
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(Nanowerk News) Carbon-supported single-atom catalysts (SACs) are promising in heterogeneous catalysis due to their high atomic utilization efficiency and unique catalytic performances.
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However, maximum utilization of the carbon-supported single atoms is very challenging, since many single atoms are probably embedded in the carbon matrix and thus not available during catalysis due to the mass transfer limitation.
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Recently, researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a confined thermal transformation strategy to synthesize nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanospheres (NMCS)-supported SACs.
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The study was published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A (“Confined thermal transformation strategy to synthesize single atom catalysts supported on nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanospheres for selective hydrogenation”).
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| Synthesis and characterization of Pd1/NMCS using thermal transformation strategy. (Image by TIAN Zhengbin) (click on image to enlarge)
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In this study, the researchers reported a soft-templating method to synthesize the core-shell mesostructured polymer nanospheres with metal nanoclusters (M-NCs, M=Pd, Pt) as the core, which can be easily converted into the NMCS-supported SACs (M1/NMCS) after a confined thermal transformation process.
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By this strategy, Pd1/NMCS and Pt1/NMCS were prepared with rich porosity and high N content. The synthesized Pd1/NMCS sample showed enhanced catalytic performance in the selective hydrogenation of quinoline compared with Pd1/NCS without mesopores.
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“The enhanced activity indicates to some extent that the mesoporous structure of Pd1/NMCS is indeed beneficial for the exposure of active cites and the mass transfer,” said Prof. WANG.
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This work supplies a way to prepare the single atom catalysts supported on the nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanospheres, which have potential applications in various reactions.
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