TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATERIAL CATALYSTS FOR HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN INVOLVING REACTIONS IN ENERGY CONVERSION

Abstract

Two dimensional (2D) materials are atomic thin nanosheets with unique catalytic properties for hydrogen and oxygen involving reactions in energy production, however, they suffer from moderate catalytic activity with relatively low stability, low productivity and the difficulty in product collection. In this thesis, we addressed the problems on the catalyst activity and stability by employing interface confined catalysis. Noble metals were encapsulated within the layered spacing of bulk MoS2 and few-layered graphene, which can experience a size-restricted growth during the in-situ reduction process. The strong metal-substrate interaction and the anisotropic mass diffusion of reactants result in excellent catalytic activities and unprecedented long-term stabilities for hydrogen evolution and glycerol oxidation. We also developed a universal C-X to C-H (D) strategy to transform hydrogen gas from water splitting into high-value, deuterated organic molecules. Finally, we constructed a hierarchically porous, N-doped carbon catalyst to facilitate sluggish oxygen-involving reactions, thus providing excellent performance as an air-breathable cathode in fuel cells and Zn-air batteries