via Ames Laboratory
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have discovered a metal-free carbon-based catalyst that has the potential to be much less expensive and more efficient for many industrial concerns, including manufacturing of bio- and fossil fuels, electrocatalysis, and fuel cells.
At their most fundamental, these industry processes involve splitting strong chemical bonds, like hydrogen-hydrogen, carbon-oxygen, and carbon-hydrogen bonds. Traditionally this has been accomplished with catalysts that use transition or precious metals, many of them expensive and low in natural abundance — like platinum and palladium.
The scientists performed experiments with a type of heterogeneous catalyst, Nitrogen-Assembly Carbons (NACs), in which the design and placement of nitrogen on the carbon surface greatly influenced the catalytic activity of the material. These N atoms on carbon surfaces were previously believed to be distant from one another, as the close placement of N atoms is thermodynamically unstable. The team in Ames Lab correlated the N precursors and pyrolysis temperature for the NACs synthesis with the N distribution and discovered that meta-stable N assemblies can be made by design and deliver unexpected catalytic reactions. Such reactions include hydrogenolysis of aryl ethers, dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene and tetrahydroquinoline, and hydrogenation of common unsaturated functionalities (such as ketone, alkene, alkyne, and nitro groups). Moreover, the NACs catalysts are robust with consistent selectivity and activity for both liquid and gas phase reactions under high temperature and/or pressure.
“We discovered that how the nitrogen was distributed on the surface of these NACs really mattered, and in the process realized that this was an entirely new kind of chemical activity,” said Ames Laboratory Associate Scientist Long Qi.
“The discovery should enable scientists to design nitrogen assemblies that are able to accomplish more sophisticated and challenging chemical transformations without the need for transition metals” said Ames Laboratory scientist Wenyu Huang. “It broadly applies to many different types of chemical conversions and industries.”
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Chemical manufacturing
- Study Links Car Seats To Cancer-Causing Chemicals
A study from the American Chemical Society (ACS) found that the foam in modern car seats unleashes a carcinogenic chemical into the air in 99 percent of vehicles. The study cites that exposure to this ...
- US may ban chemical used to make decaf coffee, but there are alternatives: What to know
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. However, coffee consumers are exposed to an exceedingly low amount of the chemical. Currently, the ...
- Dragonfly Energy Announces Breakthrough in Lithium Battery Production: Eliminating Harmful “Forever Chemicals”
has made a significant breakthrough in battery manufacturing with the successful production of PFAS-free electrodes in lithium battery cells. As concerns mount over PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl ...
- Superfund/CERCLA Chemical Taxes: Trade Associations' Letter to Internal Revenue Service Addressing Refund Issue
Superfund is the name often applied to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) that, when originally enacted in 1980, created a hazardous substance cleanup ...
- Advocates Worry “Forever Chemicals” Cleanup May Reinforce Environmental Racism
These hazardous substances may be sent to commercial incinerators that are predominantly found in Black communities.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Chemical manufacturing
[google_news title=”” keyword=”chemical manufacturing” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Metal-free carbon-based catalyst
- Biomass fuels: challenges and opportunities
Carbon dioxide cycle of biomass-based fuels. The term 'biofuels' encompasses ... and temperature (200-500 0 C) using a solid-phase catalyst such as metals, metal oxides, and bifunctional catalysts, ...
- Scientists unlock key to cheap hydrogen fuel with 95% less iridium
At present, hydrogen production requires a catalyst to break the bonds of water and free the hydrogen ... this discovery could help make hydrogen fuel a realistic alternative to carbon-based fuels.
- New Sugar-Based Catalyst Upcycles Carbon Dioxide
A new catalyst made from an inexpensive, abundant metal and common table sugar has the power to destroy carbon dioxide (CO 2) gas. In a new Northwestern University study, the catalyst successfully ...
- New sugar-based catalyst could offer a potential solution for using captured carbon
A new catalyst made from an inexpensive, abundant metal and common table sugar has the power to destroy carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.
- Trash To Treasure: Researchers Turn Metal Waste Into Catalyst for Green Hydrogen
Scientists have found a way to transform metal waste into a highly efficient catalyst to make hydrogen from water ... The group is partnering with AqSorption Ltd, a Nottingham-based company ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Metal-free carbon-based catalyst
[google_news title=”” keyword=”metal-free carbon-based catalyst” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]