ORCID Profile
0000-0002-8653-8666
Current Organisations
Shanghai University
,
University of Toronto
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Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA13751A
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-05-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-022-30155-4
Abstract: Platinum is the most efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic conditions, but its widespread use has been impeded by scarcity and high cost. Herein, Pt atomic clusters (Pt ACs) containing Pt-O-Pt units were prepared using Co/N co-doped carbon (CoNC) as support. Pt ACs are anchored to single Co atoms on CoNC by forming strong interactions. Pt-ACs/CoNC exhibits only 24 mV overpotential at 10 mA cm −2 and a high mass activity of 28.6 A mg −1 at 50 mV, which is more than 6 times higher than commercial Pt/C with any Pt loadings. Spectroscopic measurements and computational modeling reveal the enhanced hydrogen generation activity attributes to the charge redistribution between Pt and O atoms in Pt-O-Pt units, making Pt atoms the main active sites and O linkers the assistants, thus optimizing the proton adsorption and hydrogen desorption. This work opens an avenue to fabricate noble-metal-based ACs stabilized by single-atom catalysts with desired properties for electrocatalysis.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-07-2022
Abstract: Graphene edges exhibit a highly localized density of states that result in increased reactivity compared to its basal plane. However, exploiting this increased reactivity to anchor and tune the electronic states of single atom catalysts (SACs) remains elusive. To investigate this, a method to anchor Pt SACs with ultra‐low mass loadings at the edges of edge‐rich vertically aligned graphene (as low as 0.71 µg Pt cm –2 ) is developed. Angle‐dependent X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and density‐functional theory calculations reveal that edge‐anchored Pt SACs has a robust coupling with the π‐electrons of graphene. This interaction results in a higher occupancy of the Pt 5d orbital, shifting the d ‐band center toward the Fermi level, improving the adsorption of *H for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Pt primarily coordinated to the graphene edge shows improved alkaline HER performance compared to Pt coordinated in mixed environments (turnover frequencies of 22.6 and 10.9 s –1 at an overpotential of 150 mV, respectively). This work demonstrates an effective route to engineering the coordination environment of Pt SACs by using the graphene edge for enhanced energy conversion reactions.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2017
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1039/C7TA02689G
Abstract: Sb 2 O 3 /MXene(Ti 3 C 2 T x ) composites with Sb 2 O 3 nanoparticles confined in the 3D network of Ti 3 C 2 T x flakes were fabricated as anodes for Na-ion batteries.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-12-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-02-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-019-08422-8
Abstract: Due to the high theoretical specific energy, the lithium–oxygen battery has been heralded as a promising energy storage system for applications such as electric vehicles. However, its large over-potentials during discharge–charge cycling lead to the formation of side-products, and short cycle life. Herein, we report an ionic liquid bearing the redox active 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy moiety, which serves multiple functions as redox mediator, oxygen shuttle, lithium anode protector, as well as electrolyte solvent. The additive contributes a 33-fold increase of the discharge capacity in comparison to a pure ether-based electrolyte and lowers the over-potential to an exceptionally low value of 0.9 V. Meanwhile, its molecule facilitates smooth lithium plating/stripping, and promotes the formation of a stable solid electrolyte interface to suppress side-reactions. Moreover, the proportion of ionic liquid in the electrolyte influences the reaction mechanism, and a high proportion leads to the formation of amorphous lithium peroxide and a long cycling life ( 200 cycles). In particular, it enables an outstanding electrochemical performance when operated in air.
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1039/C6TA04244A
Abstract: The major challenge in water splitting is to develop low cost electrocatalysts as alternatives for simultaneously generating oxygen and hydrogen.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-12-2014
DOI: 10.1038/SREP07557
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-12-2013
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 26-06-2014
DOI: 10.1039/C4TA01888E
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2022
Abstract: The application of renewable energy conversion devices is considered as one of the effective ways to alleviate the energy shortage and environmental pollution. Designing electrocatalysts with excellent performance and affordable price is promising to accelerate the reaction process and large‐scale application. At present, ruthenium (Ru)‐based nanomaterials have shown similar catalytic activity but superior price demand compared to commercial Pt/C. This undoubtedly makes Ru‐based nanomaterials a perfect candidate to replace advanced Pt catalysts. Significant progress is made in the rational design of Ru‐based electrocatalysts, but an in‐depth understanding of the engineering strategies and induced effects is still at an early stage. This review summarizes the modification strategies for enhancing the catalytic activity of Ru, including surface structure, metal element, nonmetal element, size, bimetallic oxides, and heterostructure engineering strategies. Then the induced electronic modulation effects generated by the intramolecular and intermolecular of the Ru‐based nanomaterials are elucidated. Further, the application progress of engineered Ru‐based nanomaterials for hydrogen and oxygen conversion reactions is highlighted, and the correlations of engineering strategies, catalytic activity, and reaction pathways are elaborated. Finally, challenges and prospects are presented for the future development and practical application of Ru‐based nanomaterials.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 06-02-2014
DOI: 10.1021/AM4057562
Abstract: Graphene-based materials have been widely used as electrode materials of supercapacitors. However, the intrinsic properties related to the capacitance of graphene-based materials essentially need to be clarified. In this work, we have prepared reduced graphene oxide (RGO) through a simple chemical reduction strategy by using hydrazine hydrate as the reducing reagent. The different reduction levels of graphene sheets were successfully realized by controlling the chemical reduction time, and the surface state and density of the functional group were precisely adjusted. We investigated the electrochemical performance of the as-prepared RGO electrode materials. A time dependence of the specific capacitance for the as-prepared RGO electrode was observed. Graphene oxide reduced by hydrazine hydrate at 95 °C for 60 min exhibited the highest weight specific capacitance. The RGO s les were systematically characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman measurements. We conclude that the oxygen-containing groups, electrical conductivity, density of defects, and carbon electronic state play substantial roles in deciding the specific capacitance of reduced graphene oxide.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-07-2022
Abstract: Single‐atom catalysts (SACs) have attracted tremendous research interest due to their unique atomic structure, maximized atom utilization, and remarkable catalytic performance. Among the SACs, the carbon‐supported SACs have been widely investigated due to their easily controlled properties of the carbon substrates, such as the tunable morphologies, ordered porosity, and abundant anchoring sites. The electrochemical performance of carbon‐supported SACs is highly related to the morphological structure of carbon substrates (macro‐environment) and the local coordination environments of center metals (micro‐environment). This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary on the macro/micro‐environment regulating carbon‐supported SACs for highly efficient hydrogen/oxygen conversion reactions. The authors first summarize the macro‐environment engineering strategies of carbon‐supported SACs with altered specific surface areas and porous properties of the carbon substrates, facilitating the mass diffusion kinetics and structural stability. Then the micro‐environment engineering strategies of carbon‐supported SACs are discussed with the regulated atomic structure and electronic structure of metal centers, boosting the catalytic performance. Insights into the correlation between the co‐boosted effect from the macro/micro‐environments and catalytic activity for hydrogen/oxygen conversion reactions are summarized and discussed. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are addressed in building highly efficient carbon‐supported SACs for practical applications.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-09-2021
Abstract: Single‐atom catalysts (SACs) have been at the frontier of research field in catalysis owing to the maximized atomic utilization, unique structures and properties. The atomically dispersed and catalytically active metal atoms are necessarily anchored by surrounding atoms. As such, the structure and composition of anchoring sites significantly influence the catalytic performance of SACs even with the same metal element. Significant progress has been made to understand structure–activity relationships at an atomic level, but in‐depth understanding in precisely designing highly efficient SACs for the targeted reactions is still required. In this review, various anchoring sites in SACs are summarized and classified into five different types (doped heteroatoms, defect sites, surface atoms, metal sites, and cavity sites). Then, their impacts on catalytic performance are elucidated for electrochemical reactions based on their distance from the metal center (first coordination shell and beyond). Further, SACs anchored on two typical types of hosts, carbon‐ and metal‐based materials, are highlighted, and the effects of anchoring points on achieving the desirable atomic structure, catalytic performance, and reaction pathways are elaborated. At last, insights and outlook to the SAC field based on current achievements and challenges are presented.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-06-2023
Abstract: Rational design and development of highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts is of great significance for the development of green water electrolysis hydrogen production technology. Ru‐engineered 1D PtCo‐Pt rich nanowires (Ru‐Pt rich Co NWs) are fabricated by a facile electrodeposition method. The rich Pt surface on 1D Pt 3 Co contributes to the fully exposed active sites and enhanced intrinsic catalytic activity (co‐engineered by Ru and Co atoms) for HER. The incorporation of Ru atoms can not only accelerate the water dissociation in alkaline condition to provide sufficient H * but also modulate the electronic structure of Pt to achieve optimized H * adsorption energy. As a result, Ru‐Pt rich Co NWs have exhibited ultralow HER overpotentials ( η ) of 8 and 112 mV to achieve current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm −2 in 1 m KOH, respectively, which far exceed those of commercial Pt/C catalyst ( η 10 = 29 mV, η 100 = 206 mV). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further demonstrate that the incorporated Ru atoms possess strong water adsorption capacity (−0.52 vs −0.12 eV for Pt), facilitating water dissociation. The Pt atoms in the outermost Pt‐rich skin of Ru‐Pt rich Co NWs achieve optimized H * adsorption free energy (ΔG H* ) of −0.08 eV, boosting hydrogen generation.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-12-2016
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-09-2015
Abstract: The development of efficient catalysts for electrochemical hydrogen evolution is essential for energy conversion technologies. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has emerged as a promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction, and its performance greatly depends on its exposed edge sites and conductivity. Layered MoS 2 nanosheets supported on a 3D graphene aerogel network (GA‐MoS 2 ) exhibit significant catalytic activity in hydrogen evolution. The GA‐MoS 2 composite displays a unique 3D architecture with large active surface areas, leading to high catalytic performance with low overpotential, high current density, and good stability.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JCIS.2019.04.004
Abstract: Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum sulfide (MoS
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 16-11-2019
Abstract: WS
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1039/C3RA47045H
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-05-2017
Abstract: Large over-potentials owing to the sluggish kinetics of battery reactions have always been the drawbacks of Li-O
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1039/C7TA05936A
Abstract: Fe 3 C based catalysts are found to be one of the most promising electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-02-2017
Abstract: Nitrogen‐doped porous carbon nanosheets were prepared from eucalyptus tree leaves by simply mixing the leaf powders with KHCO 3 and subsequent carbonisation. Porous carbon nanosheets with a high specific surface area of 2133 m 2 g −1 were obtained and applied as electrode materials for supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries. For supercapacitor applications, the porous carbon nanosheet electrode exhibited a supercapacitance of 372 F g −1 at a current density of 500 mA g −1 in 1 m H 2 SO 4 aqueous electrolyte and excellent cycling stability over 15 000 cycles. In organic electrolyte, the nanosheet electrode showed a specific capacitance of 71 F g −1 at a current density of 2 Ag −1 and stable cycling performance. When applied as the anode material for lithium ion batteries, the as‐prepared porous carbon nanosheets also demonstrated a high specific capacity of 819 mA h g −1 at a current density of 100 mA g −1 , good rate capability, and stable cycling performance. The outstanding electrochemical performances for both supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries are derived from the large specific surface area, porous nanosheet structure and nitrogen doping effects. The strategy developed in this paper provides a novel route to utilise biomass‐derived materials for low‐cost energy storage systems.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 05-12-2019
DOI: 10.1021/JACS.9B09352
Abstract: Designing atomically dispersed metal catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a promising approach to achieve efficient energy conversion. Herein, we develop a template-assisted method to synthesize a series of single metal atoms anchored on porous N,S-codoped carbon (NSC) matrix as highly efficient ORR catalysts to investigate the correlation between the structure and their catalytic performance. The structure analysis indicates that an identical synthesis method results in distinguished structural differences between Fe-centered single-atom catalyst (Fe-SAs/NSC) and Co-centered/Ni-centered single-atom catalysts (Co-SAs/NSC and Ni-SAs/NSC) because of the different trends of each metal ion in forming a complex with the N,S-containing precursor during the initial synthesis process. The Fe-SAs/NSC mainly consists of a well-dispersed FeN
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 19-06-2014
DOI: 10.1021/JP504005X
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 27-01-2015
DOI: 10.1021/AM508136K
Abstract: Mesoporous Co3O4 nanoflakes with an interconnected architecture were successfully synthesized using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal and low-temperature conversion method, which exhibited excellent electrochemical performances as anode materials in lithium ion batteries and as catalysts in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations showed the unique interconnected and mesoporous structure. When employed as anode materials for lithium ion batteries, mesoporous Co3O4 nanoflakes delivered a high specific capacity of 883 mAh/g at 0.1C current rate and stable cycling performances even at higher current rates. Post-mortem analysis of ex situ FESEM images revealed that the mesoporous and interconnected structure had been well maintained after long-term cycling. The mesoporous Co3O4 nanoflakes also showed both OER active properties and good catalytic stability. This could be attributed to both the stability of unique mesoporous structure and highly reactive facets.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2015
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 22-05-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2019
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA13788K
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2023
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1039/D2NR06096E
Abstract: Developing efficient and robust catalysts to replace Pt group metals for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is conducive to achieving highly efficient energy conversion.
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1039/D2CS00698G
Abstract: This review summarizes engineering strategies to modify MXene-based catalysts and their active site identification for applications in electrochemical conversion reactions.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-01-2015
DOI: 10.1038/SREP07629
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 05-01-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 21-01-2022
Abstract: The advancement of lithium-oxygen (Li-O 2 ) batteries has been hindered by challenges including low discharge capacity, poor energy efficiency, severe parasitic reactions, etc. We report an Li-O 2 battery operated via a new quenching/mediating mechanism that relies on the direct chemical reactions between a versatile molecule and superoxide radical/Li 2 O 2 . The battery exhibits a 46-fold increase in discharge capacity, a low charge overpotential of 0.7 V, and an ultralong cycle life cycles. Featuring redox-active 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy moieties bridged by a quenching-active perylene diimide backbone, the tailor-designed molecule acts as a redox mediator to catalyze discharge/charge reactions and serves as a reusable superoxide quencher to chemically react with superoxide species generated during battery operation. The all-in-one molecule can simultaneously tackle issues of parasitic reactions associated with superoxide radicals, singlet oxygen, high overpotentials, and lithium corrosion. The molecular design of multifunctional additives combining various capabilities opens a new avenue for developing high-performance Li-O 2 batteries.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2016
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 03-06-2019
DOI: 10.1021/ACS.NANOLETT.9B01329
Abstract: Molecular-scale modulation of interfaces between different unilamellar nanosheets in superlattices is promising for efficient catalytic activities. Here, three kinds of superlattices from alternate restacking of any two of the three unilamellar nanosheets of MoS
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1039/C5TA00158G
Abstract: We devised CoO nanoparticles wrapped by porous graphene (PGE–CoO) as a noble-metal free electrocatalytic material for efficient oxygen evolution. The highly porous structure and excellent chemical and electronic coupling within the composite material led to the superior OER activity and good stability.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-12-2018
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 28-05-2014
DOI: 10.1021/AM501362G
Abstract: Design and synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) structured carbon materials are crucial for achieving high-performance supercapacitors (SC) for energy storage. Here, we report the preparation of 3D architectured GN-CNT hybrid as SC electrodes. Controllable growth of carbon nanotubes on graphene sheets was realized through a facile one-pot pyrolysis strategy. The length of the carbon nanotubes could be rationally tuned by adjusting the amount of precursors. Correspondingly, the resulted GN-CNT hybrid showed adjustable electrochemical performance as an SC electrode. Importantly, the GN-CNT exhibited a high specific surface area of 903 m(2) g(-1) and maximum specific capacitance of 413 F g(-1) as SC electrodes at a scan rate of 5 mV s(-1) in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. This work paves a feasible pathway to prepare carbon electrode materials with favorable 3D architecture and high performance, for use in energy storage and conversion.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-08-2015
Location: Australia
No related grants have been discovered for Yufei Zhao.