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Atomically dispersed and nitrogen-coordinated single iron site catalysts hold great promise to replace platinum for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, but they suffer from significant performance loss. Now, solving the conundrum to distinguish durable and non-durable FeN4 active sites can guide high-performance catalyst design.
Electrochemical CO2 conversion to hydrocarbons has increasingly improved with the development of better catalysts. Now, a copper catalyst modified with a polymer boosts the selectivity for ethylene production to 87%.
Despite over a century of research to understand heterogeneous electrocatalysis, the precise mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Now, it is proposed that the oxygen evolution reaction on IrOx is driven by changes in the redox state of the Ir–O active sites, rather than by changes in the interfacial electric field.
