Ziyue Zhang, Mengmeng Xu, Juan Xie, Yujin Ji, Huilong Dong, Youyong Li
{"title":"High-Throughput Screening of MN4 Coordinated Macrocyclic Frameworks for CO Reduction by Combining First-Principles Calculations and Machine Learning","authors":"Ziyue Zhang, Mengmeng Xu, Juan Xie, Yujin Ji, Huilong Dong, Youyong Li","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c05023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c05023","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) by single-atomcatalysts (SACs) provides a promising route for converting CO intovalue-added C<sub>1</sub> products, but the rational discovery ofefficient SACs remains challenging because of the large configurationalspace and complex reaction network. Herein, we chose two-dimensionalperiodic macrocyclic frameworks with MN<sub>4</sub> coordination centersas the SACs and established a multilevel screening strategy by combiningfirst-principles calculations and machine learning (ML). After evaluatingthermodynamic stability, dissolution resistance, *CO adsorption, andhydrogen evolution reaction suppression, 90 candidates were screenedout from 156 SACs for further analysis. The hydrogenation of *CO to*CHO was identified as a key step for deep CO reduction, and ΔG<sub>(*CHO-*CO)</sub> was selected as the main descriptor. An ExtraTreesregression model trained on the screened SACs achieved high predictiveaccuracy, with R<sub>2</sub> values of 0.947 and 0.925 for the trainingand test sets, respectively. By scanning the full reaction pathwayof CORR (CH<sub>4</sub> as the final product) on the SACs with relativelylow ΔG<sub>(*CHO-*CO)</sub> value, the FeC<sub>8</sub>N<sub>8</sub> was found to exhibit the highest catalytic activityamong the examined candidates, with a low limiting potential (U<sub>L</sub>) of −0.30 V. To accelerate catalyst evaluation, ΔG<sub>(*CHO-*CO)</sub>, which describes the first hydrogenationof adsorbed *CO, was selected as the key descriptor and predictedby ML algorithm. Full-pathway calculations were subsequently carriedout for catalysts with relatively low ΔG<sub>(*CHO-*CO)</sub> values to validate the descriptor-guided screening results.</p>","PeriodicalId":61,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry C","volume":"130 40","pages":"13669–13678"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Investigating the\u0000Role of Intermediate Carbon Species\u0000on Methane Activation over Molten In–Sn and In–Ni","authors":"Nikil Surya Rajaprabu,Abdul Kaish,D. Chester Upham,Vishal Agarwal","doi":"10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c05394","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c05394","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Methane pyrolysis over molten metal catalysts has gained attention as a promising route for CO2-free hydrogen production owing to the intrinsic resistance of liquid catalysts to carbon-induced deactivation. In this work, we investigate the role of intermediate carbon species on the surface composition and methane activation over molten In–Sn and In–Ni alloys using ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Free-energy calculations indicate that methane dissociation proceeds through the formation of carbon monomer and dimer intermediates, which are likely to serve as the initial building blocks for carbon nucleation and subsequent growth of larger poly-aromatic carbon structures. Carbon exhibits distinct segregation behavior in the two molten alloys, preferentially occupying the surface and subsurface regions in In–Sn, while migrating toward the subsurface and bulk in In–Ni. These contrasting distributions are largely independent of the carbon concentration and arise from the preferential interaction of carbon with Sn in In–Sn and Ni in In–Ni. Although carbon segregation modifies the local surface environment, methane activation barriers remain qualitatively unchanged, while the dissociated intermediates are preferentially stabilized on surface carbon species rather than on the molten alloy surface, highlighting the sustained catalytic activity of the molten catalysts.","PeriodicalId":61,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Physical Chemistry C","volume":"297 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.126,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149150845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}