Energy & FuelsPub Date : 2025-09-15DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03122
Huy Hoang Nguyen, , , Caiden J Parker, , , Jiewei Zheng, , , Charlotte Gilley, , , Grace Bonthorne, , , Karma Zuraiqi, , , Kevin Tran, , , Michelle Spencer, , , Torben Daeneke*, , , Dan Yang*, , and , Ken Chiang*,
{"title":"Enhanced ORR Activity via Synergistic Effects between AgGa and CuGa Intermetallics in a Gallium Matrix","authors":"Huy Hoang Nguyen, , , Caiden J Parker, , , Jiewei Zheng, , , Charlotte Gilley, , , Grace Bonthorne, , , Karma Zuraiqi, , , Kevin Tran, , , Michelle Spencer, , , Torben Daeneke*, , , Dan Yang*, , and , Ken Chiang*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03122","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Developing cost-effective electrocatalysts to overcome the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is essential for advancing fuel cells and metal–air batteries. In this work, we report a low-temperature synthesis approach that utilizes a Ga-based liquid metal to form well-defined Ag and Cu intermetallic compounds embedded within a gallium (Ga) matrix. The resulting intermetallics undergo partial surface restructuring upon acid pretreatment, which significantly enhances their ORR activity. Notably, the ternary system comprising 1 wt % Cu, 1 wt % Ag, and 98 wt % Ga exhibits a high limiting current density of 1.85 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> and an early onset potential of 0.7 V (at −0.1 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal complementary catalytic roles among the three components, CuGa<sub>2</sub> intermetallic, Ag<sub>6.48</sub>Ga<sub>2.52</sub> intermetallic, and CuAg alloy. This work establishes a versatile platform for tuning multimetallic compositions in liquid metal matrices, offering a promising strategy for designing high-performance, cost-effective electrocatalysts beyond noble metals.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18620–18627"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Low-Platinum FePt Nanoalloys with Nanoconfinement Effects for Durable Oxygen Reduction Reaction","authors":"Wei Liu, , , Guangxu Bao, , , Yihan Xu, , , Xiaoyi Chen*, , , Jianlong Lin, , , Zhanpeng Liang, , , Xiao Wang, , , Wenquan Cui*, , and , Sheng Zhang*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02931","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02931","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Metal–air batteries offer higher theoretical energy densities and simpler system architectures compared with conventional fuel cells and other rechargeable batteries, making them highly attractive for next-generation energy storage applications. However, platinum dependency and sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics impede zinc–air fuel cell commercialization. Herein, we develop low-platinum FePt alloys anchored on tannic acid-etched ZIF-8-derived hollow mesoporous carbon nanoframeworks (FePt-HCNFs), leveraging nanoconfinement effects to prevent nanoparticle aggregation during synthesis. The FePt-HCNF catalyst achieves a 0.91 V half-wave potential (20 mV above Pt/C) and a 1.13 A mg<sub>Pt</sub> <sup>–1</sup> mass activity in acidic media while delivering a peak power density of 195.2 mW cm<sup>–</sup><sup>2</sup> in primary zinc–air batteries. Operational stability tests confirm the structural integrity of the FePt-HCNF catalyst, stemming from the optimized interplay between the engineered carbon framework and atomically dispersed active sites. This work demonstrates a rational design paradigm for durable, cost-effective platinum-based catalysts through atomic-scale support engineering, advancing sustainable energy conversion technologies.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18660–18670"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Energy & FuelsPub Date : 2025-09-14DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c04280
Constantin Hoyme*, and , Karsten Müller*,
{"title":"Reliability of Terminal Concepts for the Transshipment of Ammonia","authors":"Constantin Hoyme*, and , Karsten Müller*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c04280","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c04280","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Ammonia offers a large potential for decreasing net emissions, as it enables the utilization of hydrogen energy with a higher density in the maritime industry. To establish ammonia as an energy carrier, the supply chain of green ammonia is a crucial point. Ammonia transport and bunkering on ships are well-established technologies. However, its utilization as a marine fuel technology is new, and several specific boundary conditions must be considered. Next to safety issues regarding the corrosive and toxic materials, reliability is crucial with respect to the avoidance of failure. This is mandatory for an economically sustainable technology. In this study, the reliability of various terminal concepts was investigated to optimize the capitalization and handling of green ammonia for shipping. These terminals contain pressure- and cold-liquefied ammonia. To determine the reliability, FTA (Fault Tree Analysis: a top-down approach to identify the root causes of system failures using logical diagrams) and FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis: a systematic method for identifying potential failure modes in a system and analyzing their effects and risks) were performed. These analyses of the different concepts provide general design criteria for reliable terminal design. It is shown that the frequency of modules within the system is a crucial factor regarding the reliability. Therefore, due to their high number, small elements like sensors and valves will contribute significantly to the overall failure rate. Finally, the best concepts for reliability were determined and compared with the criterion of efficiency. The results indicate that, in terms of reliability, the “Tank Condenser” concept, the one that uses one of the tanks with a cooling unit as a condenser, performs best. However, when considering only the efficiency of the cooling process as the primary criterion, the “Internal Cooling” concept proves to be superior.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18711–18717"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spontaneous Phase-Transformed Interface to Boost Tandem Reoxidation for CO2 Reduction and OTC Degradation via Synergistic Photothermal Effect","authors":"Jian-Yong Zhang, , , Jin-Qiu Shen, , , Qian Wang, , , Xiao-Shuai Liu, , , Zhen-Jiang Liu*, , and , Na Zhang*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02891","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02891","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The robust S-scheme p–n junction between Cu<sub>2</sub>O and Cu-TCPP has been designed by controllable in situ topological reduction. This coshared Cu atom spontaneously transformed interface with abundant oxygen vacancies exhibited a wide light absorption range and a strong internal building electric field. The introduction of the photothermal effect accelerated the reaction kinetics to extract electrons further effectively for photocatalytic interaction, which was confirmed by the tandem CO<sub>2</sub> reduction and OTC degradation experiments. Cu<sub>2</sub>O-10R stands out with an impressive CO production rate of 103.7 μmol g<sup>–1</sup> h<sup>–1</sup> and a high selectivity of 95.4%, 1.77 times and 1.12-fold that of the single half-reduction. DFT and the experiment have verified the real active sites: Cu-TCPP as electron accumulations in the reduction side and the induced Cu<sub>2</sub>O as a hole resoluble pool in the oxidation side. Hence, this in situ-derived p–n junction not only modulates to expedite the carrier’s migration dynamics but also boosts the separation efficiency to achieve superior reoxidation activity.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18525–18536"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Performance Evaluation and Formation Mechanism of Low-Concentration Silicon Quantum Dot-Enhanced Viscoelastic Surfactant Fracturing Fluids","authors":"Han Jia*, , , Ziwei Wei, , , Qiuxia Wang, , , Zhe Wang, , , Xuehao Zhang, , , Xiaolong Wen, , , Songling Yuan, , , Xu Li, , , Bowen Wang, , and , Pan Huang, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02923","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02923","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fracturing fluids gain significant attention in the hydraulic fracturing field with low reservoir damage. However, the harsh reservoir conditions seriously cause the structural instability and viscoelastic degradation of VES fracturing fluids. In this study, the silicon quantum dot (SiQD)-enhanced stearyl trimethylammonium bromide (STAB)/sodium salicylate VES fracturing fluids were constructed and evaluated. Then, the properties (proppant transport, gel-breaking, and permeability damage) of VES fracturing fluids containing different nanoparticles were systematically investigated. SiQDs were characterized by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen adsorption–desorption experiments. Then, the rheological test and Cryo-TEM were employed to study the influences of various nanoparticles on the viscoelasticity of VES fracturing fluids. Compared to VES fracturing fluids enhanced by hydrophilic SiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles (SiNPs, 0.1 wt %), the relatively low-concentration SiQD (0.025 wt %)-reinforced VES fracturing fluids exhibited superior tolerance properties and application performance in harsh reservoir environments. The very intensive electrostatic interactions between STAB and SiQDs promoted the formation of more connection points, effectively extending contour length and improving viscoelasticity of VES fracturing fluids. In addition, the controlled experiments about SiQDs modified with propyltrimethoxysilane confirmed the dominant roles of the electrostatic interactions rather than hydrophobic interactions between SiQDs and STAB. To our knowledge, this work demonstrates the first successful application of SiQDs to improve the viscoelasticity of VES fracturing fluids for unconventional oil and gas development.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18406–18416"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Energy & FuelsPub Date : 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03111
Sayandeep Biswas, , , Angiras Menon, , , Randall Field, , , Guiyan Zang, , and , William H. Green*,
{"title":"A Comprehensive Costing and Emissions Analysis of Blue, Green, and Combined Blue-Green Ammonia Production","authors":"Sayandeep Biswas, , , Angiras Menon, , , Randall Field, , , Guiyan Zang, , and , William H. Green*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03111","url":null,"abstract":"<p >This work presents a costing and emissions analysis of three ammonia production pathways. These include blue ammonia production via autothermal reforming, green ammonia production via low temperature electrolysis of water and a combined blue-green process. The combined blue-green process utilizes oxygen produced by electrolysis as part of the feed to the autothermal reformer. Air is also fed to the autothermal reformer to provide nitrogen for ammonia synthesis in the downstream Haber–Bosch process. This approach eliminates the need for an air separation unit. Detailed Aspen models were developed for each production pathway to determine feedstock and utility requirements. These inputs were integrated into the H2A Production Cash Flow Analysis Tool to calculate the levelized cost of ammonia (LCOA). Emissions analysis accounted for process emissions from the Aspen simulations, upstream emissions from grid electricity usage, and upstream emissions from feedstock. Validation of the model against literature values confirmed the accuracy of key performance metrics, including feedstock conversion efficiency, levelized electricity consumption, and carbon capture rate. The results indicate that the combined blue-green process reduces the LCOA by 7% compared to standalone blue and green ammonia plants while also lowering life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 63% relative to conventional blue ammonia production. This emissions reduction comes at a cost of approximately $112 per tonne of CO<sub>2</sub> avoided─substantially lower than alternative decarbonization options such as direct air capture. The study also highlights the critical role of methane leak rates and renewable electricity sources. Low methane leaks are essential for ensuring the environmental viability of blue and blue-green ammonia pathways. Additionally, while the importance of renewable electricity for green ammonia is well established, this study confirms its importance for blue ammonia based pathways as well. The economic and environmental advantages of the combined blue-green process suggest it is a promising and affordable transitional technology for decarbonizing ammonia production and scaling up green hydrogen capacity for future applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18694–18710"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Energy & FuelsPub Date : 2025-09-12DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03178
Sowndharya Palanisamy, , , Jangwoo Shin, , , Sivaselvi Chellamuthu, , , Rajathsing Kalusulingam*, , , Churchil A. Antonyraj*, , and , Jun Ho Shim*,
{"title":"Exfoliated CoNiAl-LDH@rGO 2D/2D Heterojunction for Sustainable Hydrogen Production via Ammonia Electrolysis","authors":"Sowndharya Palanisamy, , , Jangwoo Shin, , , Sivaselvi Chellamuthu, , , Rajathsing Kalusulingam*, , , Churchil A. Antonyraj*, , and , Jun Ho Shim*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03178","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Ammonia offers promise as a hydrogen carrier and electrochemical fuel due to its high hydrogen content, ease of storage and transport, and well-established infrastructure. In this work, we report a sustainable and scalable strategy for synthesizing a bifunctional electrocatalyst by restacking exfoliated CoNiAl-layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets with reduced graphene oxide (rGO), forming a 2D/2D heterojunction structure (CoNiAl-LDH@rGO). The eco-friendly water-based synthesis method avoids energy-intensive steps and ensures strong interfacial interactions between the active LDH nanosheets and conductive rGO layers. The resulting hybrid catalyst exhibits excellent performance for both the ammonia oxidation reaction (AOR) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an alkaline ammonia electrolyte. It delivers a low overpotential of 245 mV for AOR with a Tafel slope of 65 mV dec<sup>–</sup><sup>1</sup> and a turnover frequency (TOF) of 0.0043 s<sup>–1</sup> at 10 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>, indicating favorable reaction kinetics and intrinsic activity. For the HER, it achieves an overpotential of 114 mV and a TOF of 0.0157 s<sup>–1</sup> at the same current density, demonstrating efficient hydrogen generation. In a two-electrode configuration using CoNiAl-LDH@rGO as both the anode and the cathode, the electrolyzer operates at a low cell voltage of only 1.517 V at 10 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>, maintaining exceptional operational durability over 48 h and achieving a high Faradaic efficiency of 92.58%. This work demonstrates the advantages of using earth-abundant LDH structure combined carbon supports, while also presenting an eco-friendly and scalable strategy for developing efficient electrocatalysts for low-energy hydrogen production via ammonia-assisted water electrolysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18597–18607"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Energy & FuelsPub Date : 2025-09-12DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02144
Kavya Mrudula Tadepalli*, and , Rajnish Kumar*,
{"title":"Design of CO2 Thickeners Using Genetic Algorithm and Implementation in Enhanced Oil Recovery Simulations","authors":"Kavya Mrudula Tadepalli*, and , Rajnish Kumar*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c02144","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Enhanced oil recovery using CO<sub>2</sub>-based flooding is a famous alternative to tackle both the problems of environmental pollution and enhanced fuel requirement of modern times, by CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration with crude oil. This paper presents a framework for the molecular design of CO<sub>2</sub> thickeners using an artificial neural network and genetic algorithm. This framework consists of two parts. The first part is a set of simulations to determine the properties of the thickening molecules. The second part is the framework to design molecules and finally a set of simulations to test the newly formed designs in different pore sizes of calcite material to understand the implementation and performance of these compounds on the ground scale of enhanced oil recovery. The results show that all of the molecules improve the viscosity as compared to systems with pure carbon dioxide and are comparable in performance to the oligomer of polyFast. It is also observed that the molecules are moderately synthesizable with an SA score between 2.5 and 5 (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest), in comparison to the oligomer of polyFast with an SA score of 3.86. The model and the framework’s output and performance proved satisfactory in such cases where there is no readily available data from experiments to build data-based models for molecular design.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18503–18512"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Energy & FuelsPub Date : 2025-09-12DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03071
Rajan Lakshman, , , Swarit Dwivedi, , , Sanje Mahasivam, , , Alan Chaffee, , and , Akshat Tanksale*,
{"title":"Selective Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Acetic Acid over Thermally Transformed Co and Co–Ni ZIF-67 Catalysts","authors":"Rajan Lakshman, , , Swarit Dwivedi, , , Sanje Mahasivam, , , Alan Chaffee, , and , Akshat Tanksale*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03071","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Carbon dioxide utilization is essential for reducing our carbon footprint, and significant efforts are needed to use CO<sub>2</sub> as a feedstock to generate value-added chemicals. Acetic acid, a vital bulk chemical used in several industries, is industrially produced through the methanol carbonylation process. While some progress has been made toward hydrocarboxylation of methanol to acetic acid, which utilizes methanol and CO<sub>2</sub> as reactants, a direct pathway to convert CO<sub>2</sub> without an additional carbon source remains a significant challenge. Here, we demonstrate that thermally transformed Co and Co–Ni ZIF-67 exhibit hydrogenation and C–C coupling activities, converting CO<sub>2</sub> to acetic acid via a formate intermediate in aqueous media. Bimetallic Co–Ni ZIF-67 with Co:Ni = 1:2, thermally transformed at 280 °C, proved to be the best catalyst due to the presence of mixed oxidation state of Co<sup>2+</sup> and Co<sup>0</sup> sites, which provide the bifunctional activity of CO<sub>2</sub> reduction and C–C coupling.</p>","PeriodicalId":35,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Fuels","volume":"39 38","pages":"18608–18619"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5c03071","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145128091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}