Hydrogen Evolution Reactions of Hydrocarbons and Hydroborons Promoted by Superatomic Nb n – Clusters

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry letters Vol. 15; no. 39; pp. 9888 - 9893
• Main Authors: Ma, Demiao, Lei, Xin, Cui, Chaonan, Yi, Qiuhao, Luo, Zhixun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 03.10.2024
• Subjects: Physical Insights into Chemistry, Catalysis, and Interfaces
• ISSN: 1948-7185; 1948-7185
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c02120

Hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) are crucial for producing renewable and ecological hydrogen energy. Here we report the finding that ethyl acetylene (C2H2), borane (B2H6), and benzene (C6H6) undergo drastic dehydrogenation reactions upon interaction with niobium cluster anions (Nb n –). This finding was enabled by our very sensitive and specialized mass spectrometer, which monitored the cluster ions and the resulting metal carbide and boride products in real time. Through mass spectrometry experiments and density functional theory computations, we delved into the varying reactivities of these common gas molecules with small Nb n – clusters and elucidated the underlying reaction mechanisms. These findings shed light on the HER mechanisms of hydrocarbon and hydroboron molecules on superatomic Nb n – clusters, furnishing valuable insights pertinent to the advancement of hydrogen energy resources.