Issue 10, 2024

Advanced electron paramagnetic resonance in chemical energy conversion: current status and future potential

Abstract

New sustainable energy technologies are an important current research field that aims to address the global environmental challenge caused by our excessive reliance on fossil fuels. Underpinning this field is the concept of energy conversion, be it the transformation of light energy to electrical energy, in the case of photovoltaic devices, or to chemical energy, in the case of producing renewable ‘green’ fuels (like H2, CH4, and NH3). These necessarily involve multi-electron transfer processes whose precise reaction mechanisms can be challenging to resolve. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is a non-invasive and versatile technique used to characterize systems containing unpaired electrons, such as transition metal ions and radicals, and as such, is uniquely able to study complex, multi-electron catalytic cycles. By integrating the principles of EPR and its application in energy conversion systems, this review summarizes how EPR enhances our understanding of complex catalysts and supports the development of these technologies. EPR facilitates the identification of paramagnetic sites, optimization of catalyst synthesis, elucidation of reaction mechanisms and kinetics, and monitoring of catalytic stability, thus enhancing catalytic activity and prolonging catalyst longevity. We offer a perspective on its current and future potential in developing energy conversion technologies.

Graphical abstract: Advanced electron paramagnetic resonance in chemical energy conversion: current status and future potential

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
28 Jan 2024
Accepted
09 Apr 2024
First published
16 Apr 2024

Energy Environ. Sci., 2024,17, 3307-3328

Advanced electron paramagnetic resonance in chemical energy conversion: current status and future potential

F. Attar, H. Yin, S. L. Schumann, J. Langley, N. Cox, Z. Zeng, K. Catchpole, S. Karuturi and Z. Yin, Energy Environ. Sci., 2024, 17, 3307 DOI: 10.1039/D4EE00445K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements