Acta Chimica Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 82 ›› Issue (7): 805-818.DOI: 10.6023/A24030108 Previous Articles     Next Articles

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贵金属气凝胶的可控制备及其电催化与表面增强拉曼散射应用

李一a, 翁蓓蓓a, 赵静雯a, 杜然a,b,*()   

  1. a 北京理工大学材料学院 北京 100081
    b 北京理工大学唐山研究院 唐山 063000
  • 投稿日期:2024-03-31 发布日期:2024-05-13
  • 作者简介:

    杜然, 北京理工大学教授. 2016年毕业于北京大学, 获得物理化学博士学位, 随后先后赴新加坡南洋理工大学、德国德累斯顿工业大学、香港大学等地从事博士后研究. 2021年加盟北京理工大学. 先后获得北京大学优秀博士论文、德国洪堡学者、USERN Prize提名(物理与化学科学领域)等荣誉, 入选2020年度海外高层次人才引进计划青年项目, 任SmartMat、National Science Open青年编委. 主要研究领域为以金属气凝胶为代表的先进气凝胶的可控制备及其在电催化、环境治理、智能材料等领域的应用.

  • 基金资助:
    北京市自然科学基金(2232063); 国家自然科学基金(22202009); 大学生创新创业训练项目(BIT2023LH083); 北京理工大学研究生科研水平和创新能力提升专项计划(2023YCXY040)

Controlled Synthesis of Noble Metal Aerogels and Their Applications in Electrocatalysis and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

Yi Lia, Beibei Wenga, Jingwen Zhaoa, Ran Dua,b,*()   

  1. a School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
    b Tangshan Research Institute, Beijing Institute of Technology, Tangshan 063000, China
  • Received:2024-03-31 Published:2024-05-13
  • Contact: *E-mail: rdu@bit.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Beijing Natural Science Foundation(2232063); National Natural Science Foundation of China(22202009); College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program(BIT2023LH083); BIT Research and Innovation Promoting Project(2023YCXY040)

Noble metal aerogels (NMAs) are an emerging class of porous materials that are entirely constructed by one or more kinds of nanostructured noble metals including gold (Au), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), osmium (Os), and iridium (Ir). They feature attributes of both nanostructured noble metals (e.g., high catalytic activity, high electrical conductivity, and special optical properties) and aerogels (e.g., self-standing architecture, large specific surface area, abundant pores, and robust 3D networked structure). Therefore, since their discovery in 2009, NMAs have displayed tremendous potential in fields ranging from (electro)catalysis, battery electrodes, biosensing, plasmonic technologies, and environment remediation. However, as young materials, the investigation of NMAs is far from sufficient. Controlled synthesis is the basis for new materials that dictate how far they can reach. The sol-gel behavior of the metal system is distinct from that of conventional gel systems, thus requiring additional studies. However, the fundamental understanding of the fabrication process and thus the structure/composition control for NMAs are largely overlooked. In this context, our team has been focusing on developing effective fabrication strategies based on an in-depth understanding of the gelation mechanisms as well as the roles played by each component in the reaction. To this end, we have pioneered realizing ligament size control, unveiling the reductant chemistry, unlocking the ligand chemistry, and achieving minute-scale rapid gelation by counter-intuitionally introducing force fields. We aim to eventually realize arbitrary manipulation of the composition and structure of NMAs, which is critical for paving the way for their further development. After gaining sufficient control capacity for NMAs, then we go for exploring their applications. It is crucial to select appropriate scenarios according to their unique attributes, so as to fully exert their potential and eventually find their disruptive application directions. Inheriting features of noble metals and aerogels, NMAs possess abundant catalytic/optical active sites, high electronic/mass transfer channels, and robust and self-supported networks. In this regard, they should be suited for the (photo)electrocatalysis and detection based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Indeed, numerous studies have demonstrated their exceptional electrocatalytic performances towards diverse reactions such as the alcohol oxidation reaction (AOR), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR). We further pioneered incorporating light in the electrocatalytic process, opening the photoelectrocatalysis direction. Additionally, we found that Au aerogels can serve as ideal 3D SERS substrates for they feature hot spots across three dimensions, which enables their outstanding signal enhancement and misfocus tolerance. However, intentionally on-target performance optimi-zation and the exploration of new design perspectives for NMAs are still on the way. In this account, we summarize the representative endeavors made in controlled synthesis and electrocatalysis/SERS applications of NMAs. After a brief introduction of NMAs, we will highlight the state-of-the-art understanding of the sol-gel process of metal systems, and how to achieve structure-controlled synthesis and rapid fabrication of NMAs. After narrating the progress in electrocatalysis and SERS applications, we will conclude the challenges and opportunities for these young materials.

Key words: aerogels, sol-gel, nanostructures, electrocatalysis, surface-enhanced Raman scattering