Atomic-layered Au clusters on α-MoC as catalysts for the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction

Siyu Yao; Xiao Zhang; Wu Zhou; Rui Gao; Wenqian Xu; Yifan Ye; Lili Lin; Xiaodong Wen; Ping Liu; Bingbing Chen; Ethan Crumlin; Jinghua Guo; Zhijun Zuo; Weizhen Li; Jinglin Xie; Li Lu; Christopher J Kiely; Lin Gu; Chuan Shi; José A Rodriguez; Ding Ma

doi:10.1126/science.aah4321

Atomic-layered Au clusters on α-MoC as catalysts for the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction

Science. 2017 Jul 28;357(6349):389-393. doi: 10.1126/science.aah4321. Epub 2017 Jun 22.

Authors

Siyu Yao¹, Xiao Zhang², Wu Zhou^{3

4}, Rui Gao^{5

6}, Wenqian Xu⁷, Yifan Ye⁸, Lili Lin¹, Xiaodong Wen^{5

6}, Ping Liu⁷, Bingbing Chen², Ethan Crumlin⁸, Jinghua Guo⁸, Zhijun Zuo⁹, Weizhen Li¹, Jinglin Xie¹, Li Lu¹⁰, Christopher J Kiely¹⁰, Lin Gu¹¹, Chuan Shi¹², José A Rodriguez¹³, Ding Ma¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering and College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, College of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
³ School of Physical Sciences, CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) Key Laboratory of Vacuum Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁴ Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Post Office Box 165, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030001, China.
⁶ Synfuels China, Beijing 100195, China.
⁷ Chemistry Division, Building 555, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Post Office Box 5000, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA.
⁸ Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
⁹ Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology of Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi, China.
¹⁰ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015-3195, USA.
¹¹ Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
¹² State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, College of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
¹³ Chemistry Division, Building 555, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Post Office Box 5000, Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
¹⁴ College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering and College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].

PMID: 28642235
DOI: 10.1126/science.aah4321

Abstract

The water-gas shift (WGS) reaction (where carbon monoxide plus water yields dihydrogen and carbon dioxide) is an essential process for hydrogen generation and carbon monoxide removal in various energy-related chemical operations. This equilibrium-limited reaction is favored at a low working temperature. Potential application in fuel cells also requires a WGS catalyst to be highly active, stable, and energy-efficient and to match the working temperature of on-site hydrogen generation and consumption units. We synthesized layered gold (Au) clusters on a molybdenum carbide (α-MoC) substrate to create an interfacial catalyst system for the ultralow-temperature WGS reaction. Water was activated over α-MoC at 303 kelvin, whereas carbon monoxide adsorbed on adjacent Au sites was apt to react with surface hydroxyl groups formed from water splitting, leading to a high WGS activity at low temperatures.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't