Molten Sn solvent expands liquid metal catalysis.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39837876.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-56222-0 and PMC identifier 11751482.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Regulating favorable assemblies of metallic atoms in the liquid state provides promise for catalyzing various chemical reactions. Expanding the selection of metallic solvents, especially those with unique properties and low cost, enables access to distinctive fluidic atomic structures on the surface of liquid alloys and offers economic feasibility. Here, Sn solvent, as a low-cost commodity, supports unique atomic assemblies at the interface of molten SnIn<sub>0.1034</sub>Cu<sub>0.0094</sub>, which are highly selective for H<sub>2</sub> synthesis from hydrocarbons. Atomistic simulations reveal that distinctive adsorption patterns with hexadecane can be established with Cu transiently reaching the interfacial layer, ensuring an energy-favorable route for H<sub>2</sub> generation. Experiments with a natural oil as feedstock underscore this approach's performance, producing 1.2 × 10<sup>-</sup><sup>4 </sup>mol/min of H<sub>2</sub> with 5.0 g of catalyst at ~93.0% selectivity while offering reliable scalability and durability at 260 °C. This work presents an alternative avenue of tuning fluidic atomic structures, broadening the applications of liquid metals.