Browsing by Author "Xiong, Y."

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    Laser-ablation assisted strain engineering of gold nanoparticles for selective electrochemical CO2 reduction
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2022-04-19) Zhang, C.; Zhang, W.; Karadaş, Ferdi; Low, J.; Long, R.; Liang, C.; Wang, J.; Li, Z.; Xiong, Y.
    Strain engineering can endow versatile functions, such as refining d-band center and inducing lattice mismatch, on catalysts for a specific reaction. To this end, effective strain engineering for introducing strain on the catalyst is highly sought in various catalytic applications. Herein, a facile laser ablation in liquid (LAL) strategy is adopted to synthesize gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) with rich compressive strain (Au-LAL) for electrochemical CO2 reduction. It is demonstrated that the rich compressive strain can greatly promote the electrochemical CO2 reduction performance of Au, achieving a CO partial current density of 24.9 mA cm−2 and a maximum CO faradaic efficiency of 97% at −0.9 V for Au-LAL, while it is only 2.77 mA cm−2 and 16.2% for regular Au nanoparticles (Au-A). As revealed by the in situ Raman characterization and density functional theory calculations, the presence of compressive strain can induce a unique electronic structure change in Au NPs, significantly up-shifting the d-band center of Au. Such a phenomenon can greatly enhance the adsorption strength of Au NPs toward the key intermediate of CO2 reduction (i.e., *COOH). More interestingly, we demonstrate that, an important industrial chemical feedstock, syngas, can be obtained by simply mixing Au-LAL with Au-A in a suitable ratio. This work provides a promising method for introducing strain in metal NPs and demonstrates the important role of strain in tuning the performance and selectivity of catalysts.
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    Photocatalytic CO2 conversion: Beyond the earth
    (Elsevier, 2023-07-25) Low, J.; Zhang, C.; Karadaş, Ferdi.; Xiong, Y.
    The issue of climate change attributed to CO2 emissions has led to increased attention towards the study and development of artificial photosynthesis through photocatalytic CO2 conversion to recon‐struct the broken carbon cycle in nature. Photocatalytic CO2 conversion can simultaneously reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and produce valuable hydrocarbon fuels. With the recent discovery of abundant reserves of CO2 and water at extraterrestrial sites, it has been proposed that photocatalytic CO2 conversion can also be implemented at extraterrestrial sites to build up an artificial carbon cycle for providing propellants and life support for space missions. This comment presents our perspectives on the development of photocatalytic CO2 conversion beyond Earth, with a focus on its general principles and potential challenges that may arise at extraterrestrial sites. Finally, a brief overview of the future research directions in this field is presented.