Collaborative Research: CAS-Climate: Structure, Dynamics, and Reaction Mechanism of Supported Single Atom for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

马奎特大学化学系的黄吉尔和圣地亚哥州立大学化学与生物化学系的顾静在化学部化学结构、动力学机制-B（CSDM-B）项目的支持下，旨在构建和研究新一代可见光驱动的二氧化碳（CO2）还原单原子催化剂，以形成高效、选择性和稳定性的化学燃料。通过利用太阳能的光催化CO2减排是最有吸引力的策略之一，它试图同时解决温室气体封存问题并致力于未来的替代能源。 这项研究将辅之以各种教育和外联活动，包括努力鼓励研究生和本科生，特别是少数群体成员，考虑从事科学事业。 Huang/Gu团队还将为从小学到高中的学生/教师提供机会，以提高他们对催化和可再生能源技术的总体理解。负载单原子（SA）已成为一类新型催化剂，为光驱动的CO2还原提供了新的希望。现有研究的重点主要是记录催化剂的效率，稳定性和选择性，而不是强调SA结构与其光催化性能相关性的基本机理研究。为了弥补这些知识上的差距，顾博士和黄教授利用他们在材料设计和合成方面的互补专业知识与时间分辨光谱学瞄准了以下目标：1）通过改变SA的固有性质，金属-载体相互作用，并通过与不同尺寸的纳米颗粒进行比较，系统地调整负载SA的几何和电子结构; 2）研究电荷分离和结构动力学，并使用时间分辨光学和X射线吸收光谱以高的时间和空间分辨率分辨催化活性位点处的中间结构;和3）评价负载型SA催化剂的结构与它们的物理化学性质和催化功能的直接相关性，以建立结构-性质关系。减少二氧化碳排放的功能关系。 从这些努力中获得的成果预计将有助于开发更有效的支持SA的光催化CO2减排，goingforward.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

With support from the Chemical Structure, Dynamics & Mechanisms-B (CSDM-B) Program of the Chemistry Division, Jier Huang of the Department of Chemistry at Marquette University and Jing Gu of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at San Diego State University aim to construct and investigate new generation single atom catalysts for visible light driven carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction to form chemical fuels with high efficiency, selectivity, and stability. Photocatalytic CO2 reduction through the harnessing solar energy represents one of the most attractive strategies that attempts to simultaneously address the greenhouse gas sequestration issue and work toward alternative energy sources for the future. The research will be supplemented by diverse educational and outreach activities, including efforts to encourage graduate and undergraduate students, especially members of underrserved minority groups, to consider pursuing careers in science. The Huang/Gu team will also provide opportunities for students/teachers ranging from elementary to high schools to advance their general understanding of catalysis and renewable energy technologies. Supported single atoms (SAs) have emerged as a novel class of catalysts, offering new promise for light-driven CO2 reduction. The focus of prior research is largely on documenting the efficiency, stability, and the selectivity of the catalysts, not the fundamental mechanistic studies that underlines the correlation of SA structure and their photocatalytic performance. To address such gaps in knowledge, Drs. Gu and Professor Huang are targeting the following objectives by leveraging their complementary expertise in materials design and synthesis with time resolved spectroscopy: 1) to systematically tune the geometric and electronic structures of supported SAs by altering the intrinsic nature of SAs, the metal-support interaction, and by comparing with nanoparticles with various sizes; 2) to examine the charge separation and structural dynamics, and resolving the intermediate structures at catalytic active sites with high temporal and spatial resolution using time resolved optical and X-ray absorption spectroscopy; and 3) to evaluate the direct correlation of the structures of the supported SA catalysts with their photophysical properties and catalytic function to establish structure-property-function relationships for CO2 reduction. Results obtained from these efforts are expected to aid in the development of more effective supported SAs for photocatalytic CO2 reduction, going forward.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.