posted on 2024-02-06, 01:03authored byChenggen Li, Wenyu Han, Ting Zhu, Li Liu, Yinheng Zhao, Fupeng Luo, Yuan Dong, Ming Yang
Formic acid, renowned as an exceptional
hydrogen storage candidate,
has garnered significant attention. However, its widespread application
in the hydrogen economy is impeded by the low activity and inadequate
stability of dehydrogenation catalysts. In this paper, the activity
and stability of Pd-based catalysts for formic acid hydrogen release
were enhanced through the regulation of the variety of oxygen-containing
functional groups on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via high-temperature
alkali etching. A comprehensive series of characterizations and experimental
results demonstrated that high-temperature alkali etching significantly
enhances the proportion of carbonyl CO in the oxygen-containing
functional groups. This amplifies the dispersion of Pd nanoparticles
and simultaneously modulates the electronic structure of the Pd nanoparticles.
The transfer of electrons from Pd to carbonyl CO facilitates
the generation of positively charged Pdδ+ nanoparticles,
thereby reducing the activation energy required for formic acid dehydrogenation.
Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further revealed that
the carbonyl group augments the electron concentration at the interface
between the Pd cluster and the support. These findings bear substantial
implications for the design of high-performance catalysts for formic
acid dehydrogenation.