3 research outputs found
Nanoscale elastic strain mapping of polycrystalline materials
<p>Measuring elastic strain with nanoscale resolution has historically been very difficult and required a marriage of simulations and experiments. Nano precession electron diffraction provides excellent strain and spatial resolution but has traditionally only been applied to single-crystalline semiconductors. The present study illustrates that the technique can also be applied to polycrystalline materials. The strain resolution was determined to be 0.15% and 0.10% for polycrystalline copper and boron carbide, respectively. Local strain maps were obtained near grain boundaries in boron carbide and dislocations in magnesium and shown to correlate with expected values, thus demonstrating the efficacy of this technique.</p> <p>This study demonstrates that nano precession electron diffraction can be extended from semiconductor devices to polycrystalline metals and ceramics to map nanoscale elastic strain fields with high strain resolution.</p
Mechanistic Insights for Low-Overpotential Electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> to CO on Copper Nanowires
Recent
developments of copper (Cu)-based nanomaterials have enabled
the electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> at low overpotentials. The
mechanism of low-overpotential CO<sub>2</sub> reduction on these nanocatalysts,
however, largely remains elusive. We report here a systematic investigation
of CO<sub>2</sub> reduction on highly dense Cu nanowires, with the
focus placed on understanding the surface structure effects on the
formation of *CO (* denotes an adsorption site on the catalyst surface)
and the evolution of gas-phase CO product (COÂ(g)) at low overpotentials
(more positive than −0.5 V). Cu nanowires of distinct nanocrystalline
and surface structures are studied comparatively to build up the structure–property
relationships, which are further interpreted by performing density
functional theory (DFT) calculations of the reaction pathway on the
various facets of Cu. A kinetic model reveals competition between
COÂ(g) evolution and *CO poisoning depending on the electrode potential
and surface structures. Open and metastable facets such as (110) and
reconstructed (110) are found to be likely the active sites for the
electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> to CO at the low overpotentials
Low-Overpotential Electroreduction of Carbon Monoxide Using Copper Nanowires
We report on Cu nanowires
as highly active and selective catalysts
for electroreduction of CO at low overpotentials. The Cu nanowires
were synthesized by reducing pregrown CuO nanowires, with the surface
structures tailored by tuning the reduction conditions for improved
catalytic performance. The optimized Cu nanowires achieved 65% faradaic
efficiency (FE) for CO reduction and 50% FE toward production of ethanol
at potentials more positive than −0.5 V (versus reversible
hydrogen electrode, RHE). Structural analyses and computational simulations
suggest that the CO reduction activity may be associated with the
coordinately unsaturated (110) surface sites on the Cu nanowires