Recognizing the ultrafast laser-to-thermal conversion capacity and the impermeable, flexible features of graphene, Dr. Ye-Chuang Han and Prof. Zhong-Qun Tian had the brilliant idea of utilizing this material as a diffusion-constrained nanoreactor for high-temperature reactions.
In their research, they discovered that in one pulse of nanosecond laser irradiation, the heated area of graphene can achieve an astounding heating/cooling rate of 109 °C/s. This groundbreaking method is known as graphene-confined ultrafast radiant heating (GCURH). Through theoretical calculations and collaboration with Dr. Jun Yi and Prof. Kostya S. Novoselov, they also found that the ultrafast cooling process aligns with the Stefan-Boltzmann law, where radiation becomes the primary mode of energy release at high temperatures.
To synthesize subnanometer metal clusters, thermally activated ultrafast diffusion, collision, and combination of metal atoms are essential processes. However, no existing method allows for kinetically controllable synthesis of subnanometer metal clusters without compromising metal loading.
To address this challenge, Dr. Ye-Chuang Han and Dr. Beibei Pang successfully demonstrated that their kinetics-driven GCURH method can synthesize subnanometer Co cluster catalysts with high metal loading up to 27.1 wt% by pyrolyzing a Co-based metal-organic framework in microseconds. This achievement represents one of the highest combinations of size-loading and the quickest rate for MOF pyrolysis reported in the literature.
In conclusion, their work presents a general strategy to overcome the trade-off between ultrasmall size and high loading in metal cluster catalysts. This breakthrough holds tremendous potential for the future industrial applications of cluster catalysts.
The study has been published in the journal National Science Review.
More information:
Ye-Chuang Han et al, Graphene-confined ultrafast radiant heating for high-loading subnanometer metal cluster catalysts, National Science Review (2023). DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwad081
Citation:
Overcoming the trade-off between sub-nanometer size and high metal loading in metal cluster catalysts (2023, June 16)
retrieved 17 June 2023
from https://phys.org/news/2023-06-trade-off-sub-nanometer-size-high-metal.html
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Shambhu Kumar is a science communicator, making complex scientific topics accessible to all. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
