Novel complexes of various earth-abundant, inexpensive transition or main group metals that facilitate the transformation of carbon dioxide into other more useful organic products. These complexes can bind and alter the CO.sub.2 at mild conditions of temperature and pressure, enabling, according to some embodiments, the electrochemical conversion of CO.sub.2 into new products.

The disclosure provides for multivariant zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), methods of making thereof, and methods of use therefrom.

A nano-nickel catalyst and a hydrogenation device of carbon oxides are provided. The hydrogenation device is configured to reduce the carbon oxides to form low carbon hydrocarbons. The nano-nickel catalyst has a metallic nickel body and a plurality of microstructures connecting with at least one surface of the metallic nickel body. The microstructures are sharp, and have a length-diameter ratio ranging from 2 to 5.

A carbon dioxide absorption and reduction solution contains 0.01 to 100 mM of a metal complex in a mixed solvent of water and a water-soluble solvent. The metal complex contains: a central metal which is any of rhenium, manganese, or iron; and a ligand which coordinates to the central metal. The ligand includes two or more carbonyl groups and two or more nitrogen-containing heterocycles, and at least one of the two or more nitrogen-containing heterocycles has at least one substituent including a carboxy group or a hydroxy group. When the central metal of the metal complex is ruthenium, the nitrogen-containing heterocycles May not have a carboxy group or a hydroxy group.

The present embodiments provide a reduction catalyst realizing high reaction efficiency and a reduction reactor employing the catalyst. The reduction catalyst of the embodiment comprises an electric conductor and an organic layer having organic modifying groups placed on the surface of the conductor. The organic modifying groups have an aromatic ring having two or more nitrogen atoms. The reduction catalyst is used in a reduction reactor, and the reactor is also provided.

A nano-nickel catalyst and a hydrogenation device of carbon oxides are provided. The hydrogenation device is configured to reduce the carbon oxides to form low carbon hydrocarbons. The nano-nickel catalyst has a metallic nickel body and a plurality of microstructures connecting with at least one surface of the metallic nickel body. The microstructures are sharp, and have a length-diameter ratio ranging from 2 to 5.

An anion-conducting polymeric membrane comprises vinylbenzyl-R.sub.s and a substituted ethene. R.sub.s is a positively charged cyclic amine group. The total weight of the vinylbenzyl-R.sub.s groups is greater than 15% of the total weight of the membrane. In a preferred embodiment, the membrane is a Helper Membrane that increases the faradaic efficiency of an electrochemical cell into which the membrane is incorporated, and also allows product formation at lower voltages than in cells without the Helper Membrane.

An electrocatalytic device for carbon dioxide conversion includes a cathode with a Catalytically Active Elementa metal in the form of supported or unsupported particles or flakes with an average size between 0.6 nm and 100 nm. The reaction products comprise at least one of CO, HCO.sup., H.sub.2CO, (HCOO).sup., HCOOH, CH.sub.3OH, CH.sub.4, C.sub.2H.sub.4, CH.sub.3CH.sub.2OH, CH.sub.3COO.sup., CH.sub.3COOH, C.sub.2H.sub.6, (COOH).sub.2, (COO.sup.).sub.2, and CF.sub.3COOH.

This invention relates to a process for the preparation of surface-functionalised metal oxide, metal sulphide, metal selenide or metal telluride nanoparticles, a process for the preparation of a composite material comprising such nanoparticles, nanoparticles and a composite material produced thereby, the use of such nanoparticles in catalysis and a catalyst comprising such nanoparticles.

Highly stable high-entropy metal-organic frameworks (HEMOFs) are derived from polynuclear metal clusters, incorporating significant levels of all rare-earth metals without segregation. As an example, HEMOFs comprising nonanuclear metal clusters of rare-earth element ions with similar size and coordination chemistry connected by 1,2,4,5-tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) benzene linkers was developed, providing a metal-organic framework with high internal surface area and accessible Lewis acid sites. This new class of HEMOFs enables the development of multifunctional materials with tailored properties for a wide range of applications, including in catalysis. For example, these HEMOFs are highly active for CO.sub.2 fixation under mild conditions and short reaction times, outperforming existing heterogeneous catalysts.