YIP ENHANCING MXENE CATALYSIS ON THE NANOSCALE
Abstract
New catalysts are needed for conversion of CO2 and N2 to high value fuels, such as jet and rocket fuel, without prohibitively high energy costs. Transition metal carbides and nitrides, colloquially called MXenes, are promising layered 2D materials for catalysis of CO2 and N2. However, efforts to optimize MXenes for catalysis have struggled to identify the active sites of CO2 and N2 activation and disentangle the contributions of morphological defects and the intrinsic material in the catalysis. In the proposed research we will use photoemission electron microscopy to image the nanoscale morphology, electronic structure, and electron dynamics of MXenes, determining how morphological defects of MXenes change the electronic structure that determines CO2 and N2 binding and activation. We will determine the binding energy and the dynamics of electron activation of N2 and CO2 at different regions on MXene flakes to distinguish the intrinsic versus the defect role in N2 and CO2 activation by three different MXenes- conventional mixed terminated Ti3C2Tx as well as new single terminated Ti3C2Cl2 and Ti3C2S MXenes. We will then modify the contributions of intrinsic versus defect sites for N2 and CO2 by enhancing bond activation in nanoscale regions with shaped plasmonic fields. Our research will create the foundation for low temperature, low-pressure routes to catalysis of CO2 and N2 to high value fuels critical to the sustainable operational superiority of the US Air Force.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502210224
Entities
People
- Sarah King
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Chicago