Mo2TiC2 MXene-Supported Ru Clusters for Efficient Photothermal Reverse Water-Gas Shift

Zhiyi Wu; Jiahui Shen; Chaoran Li; Chengcheng Zhang; Kai Feng; Zhiqiang Wang; Xuchun Wang; Debora Motta Meira; Mujin Cai; Dake Zhang; Shenghua Wang; Mingyu Chu; Jinxing Chen; Yuyao Xi; Liang Zhang; Tsun-Kong Sham; Alexander Genest; Günther Rupprechter; Xiaohong Zhang; Le He

doi:10.1021/acsnano.2c10707

Mo₂TiC₂ MXene-Supported Ru Clusters for Efficient Photothermal Reverse Water-Gas Shift

ACS Nano. 2022 Dec 30;17(2):1550-1559. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.2c10707. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhiyi Wu^{1

2}, Jiahui Shen¹, Chaoran Li^{1

2}, Chengcheng Zhang¹, Kai Feng¹, Zhiqiang Wang³, Xuchun Wang³, Debora Motta Meira⁴, Mujin Cai¹, Dake Zhang¹, Shenghua Wang¹, Mingyu Chu¹, Jinxing Chen¹, Yuyao Xi¹, Liang Zhang^{1

2}, Tsun-Kong Sham³, Alexander Genest⁵, Günther Rupprechter⁵, Xiaohong Zhang^{1

2}, Le He^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University-Western University Centre for Synchrotron Radiation Research, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, PR China.
² Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123 Jiangsu. PR China.
³ Department of Chemistry, Soochow University-Western University Centre for Synchrotron Radiation Research, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada.
⁴ CLS@APS, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States.
⁵ Institute of Materials Chemistry, Technische Universität Wein, Wien 1060, Austria.

Abstract

Driving metal-cluster-catalyzed high-temperature chemical reactions by sunlight holds promise for the development of negative-carbon-footprint industrial catalysis, which has yet often been hindered by the poor ability of metal clusters to harvest and utilize the full spectrum of solar energy. Here, we report the preparation of Mo₂TiC₂ MXene-supported Ru clusters (Ru/Mo₂TiC₂) with pronounced broadband sunlight absorption ability and high sintering resistance. Under illumination of focused sunlight, Ru/Mo₂TiC₂ can catalyze the reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction to produce carbon monoxide from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and renewable hydrogen with enhanced activity, selectivity, and stability compared to their nanoparticle counterparts. Notably, the CO production rate of MXene-supported Ru clusters reached 4.0 mol·g_Ru^-1·h^-1, which is among the best reported so far for photothermal RWGS catalysts. Detailed studies suggest that the production of methane is kinetically inhibited by the rapid desorption of CO from the surface of the Ru clusters.

Keywords: CO2 hydrogenation; MXene materials; Photothermal catalysis; solar fuels; supported metal clusters.