IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-63910-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Linking electrocatalytic turnover to elementary step rates in hydrocarbon fuel oxidation

Author

Listed:
  • Alexander J. Zielinski

    (University of Wisconsin–Madison)

  • Christine Lucky

    (University of Wisconsin–Madison)

  • Marcel Schreier

    (University of Wisconsin–Madison
    University of Wisconsin–Madison)

Abstract

Maximizing steady-state turnover rates is a central goal in electrocatalysis research, but improving one reaction step often impedes others. Navigating these trade-offs requires methods that systematically reveal how a single parameter change affects all key steps of a reaction mechanism. Here, we use electrochemical mass spectrometry to determine the potential-dependent rates of each principal step in propane oxidation on Pt and directly relate them to the steady-state turnover rate. Our analysis reveals that low steady-state activity arises from a mismatch between the optimal potentials for adsorption, conversion, and *CO oxidation. By applying alternating potentials to individually optimize adsorption and oxidation, we overcome this limitation and achieve rates exceeding those under constant-potential operation. This step-resolved approach clarifies how individual processes interact to govern overall activity and provides a framework for the rational design of electrocatalysts carrying out complex reactions at steady-state.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander J. Zielinski & Christine Lucky & Marcel Schreier, 2025. "Linking electrocatalytic turnover to elementary step rates in hydrocarbon fuel oxidation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-63910-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63910-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63910-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-63910-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mingchuan Luo & Ziyun Wang & Yuguang C. Li & Jun Li & Fengwang Li & Yanwei Lum & Dae-Hyun Nam & Bin Chen & Joshua Wicks & Aoni Xu & Taotao Zhuang & Wan Ru Leow & Xue Wang & Cao-Thang Dinh & Ying Wang , 2019. "Hydroxide promotes carbon dioxide electroreduction to ethanol on copper via tuning of adsorbed hydrogen," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-7, December.
    2. Jingjie Wu & Sichao Ma & Jing Sun & Jake I. Gold & ChandraSekhar Tiwary & Byoungsu Kim & Lingyang Zhu & Nitin Chopra & Ihab N. Odeh & Robert Vajtai & Aaron Z. Yu & Raymond Luo & Jun Lou & Guqiao Ding , 2016. "A metal-free electrocatalyst for carbon dioxide reduction to multi-carbon hydrocarbons and oxygenates," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-6, December.
    3. Yu, Xiao & Sandhu, Navjot S. & Yang, Zhenyi & Zheng, Ming, 2020. "Suitability of energy sources for automotive application – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    4. Wenzhe Niu & Jie Feng & Junfeng Chen & Lei Deng & Wen Guo & Huajing Li & Liqiang Zhang & Youyong Li & Bo Zhang, 2024. "High-efficiency C3 electrosynthesis on a lattice-strain-stabilized nitrogen-doped Cu surface," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    5. Lei Chen & Junmei Chen & Weiwei Fu & Jiayi Chen & Di Wang & Yukun Xiao & Shibo Xi & Yongfei Ji & Lei Wang, 2024. "Energy-efficient CO(2) conversion to multicarbon products at high rates on CuGa bimetallic catalyst," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Jun Li & Aoni Xu & Fengwang Li & Ziyun Wang & Chengqin Zou & Christine M. Gabardo & Yuhang Wang & Adnan Ozden & Yi Xu & Dae-Hyun Nam & Yanwei Lum & Joshua Wicks & Bin Chen & Zhiqiang Wang & Jiatang Ch, 2020. "Enhanced multi-carbon alcohol electroproduction from CO via modulated hydrogen adsorption," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    7. Thomas Covert & Michael Greenstone & Christopher R. Knittel, 2016. "Will We Ever Stop Using Fossil Fuels?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(1), pages 117-138, Winter.
    8. Qineng Xia & Zongjia Chen & Yi Shao & Xueqing Gong & Haifeng Wang & Xiaohui Liu & Stewart F. Parker & Xue Han & Sihai Yang & Yanqin Wang, 2016. "Direct hydrodeoxygenation of raw woody biomass into liquid alkanes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-10, September.
    9. Hefei Li & Pengfei Wei & Tianfu Liu & Mingrun Li & Chao Wang & Rongtan Li & Jinyu Ye & Zhi-You Zhou & Shi-Gang Sun & Qiang Fu & Dunfeng Gao & Guoxiong Wang & Xinhe Bao, 2024. "CO electrolysis to multicarbon products over grain boundary-rich Cu nanoparticles in membrane electrode assembly electrolyzers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    10. Xiao Chen & Shuaiqiang Jia & Jianxin Zhai & Jiapeng Jiao & Mengke Dong & Cheng Xue & Ting Deng & Hailian Cheng & Zhanghui Xia & Chunjun Chen & Xueqing Xing & Jianrong Zeng & Haihong Wu & Mingyuan He &, 2024. "Multivalent Cu sites synergistically adjust carbonaceous intermediates adsorption for electrocatalytic ethanol production," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    11. Mohammed, Hanin & Al-Othman, Amani & Nancarrow, Paul & Tawalbeh, Muhammad & El Haj Assad, Mamdouh, 2019. "Direct hydrocarbon fuel cells: A promising technology for improving energy efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 207-219.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wenbin Li & Chang Yu & Xuedan Song & Yafang Zhang & Xinyi Tan & Wenxin Yang & Weizhe Liu & Yi Yang & Jieshan Qiu, 2025. "A chelate to break diffusion limits on Helmholtz plane for CO2 electroreduction to ethanol," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Zhibo Yao & Hao Cheng & Yifei Xu & Xinyu Zhan & Song Hong & Xinyi Tan & Tai-Sing Wu & Pei Xiong & Yun-Liang Soo & Molly Meng-Jung Li & Leiduan Hao & Liang Xu & Alex W. Robertson & Bingjun Xu & Ming Ya, 2024. "Hydrogen radical-boosted electrocatalytic CO2 reduction using Ni-partnered heteroatomic pairs," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Chen, Zhangsen & Zhang, Gaixia & Chen, Hangrong & Prakash, Jai & Zheng, Yi & Sun, Shuhui, 2022. "Multi-metallic catalysts for the electroreduction of carbon dioxide: Recent advances and perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    4. Xiaoqin Si & Rui Lu & Zhitong Zhao & Xiaofeng Yang & Feng Wang & Huifang Jiang & Xiaolin Luo & Aiqin Wang & Zhaochi Feng & Jie Xu & Fang Lu, 2022. "Catalytic production of low-carbon footprint sustainable natural gas," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Zunian Luo, 2022. "Cap or No Cap? What Can Governments Do to Promote EV Sales?," Papers 2212.08137, arXiv.org.
    6. Maksymilian Mądziel, 2024. "Quantifying Emissions in Vehicles Equipped with Energy-Saving Start–Stop Technology: THC and NOx Modeling Insights," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-25, June.
    7. Skare, Marinko & Gavurova, Beata & Sinkovic, Dean, 2023. "Regional aspects of financial development and renewable energy: A cross-sectional study in 214 countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1142-1157.
    8. Guifeng Ma & Olga A. Syzgantseva & Yan Huang & Dragos Stoian & Jie Zhang & Shuliang Yang & Wen Luo & Mengying Jiang & Shumu Li & Chunjun Chen & Maria A. Syzgantseva & Sen Yan & Ningyu Chen & Li Peng &, 2023. "A hydrophobic Cu/Cu2O sheet catalyst for selective electroreduction of CO to ethanol," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    9. Lucas W. Davis, 2017. "The Environmental Cost of Global Fuel Subsidies," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(KAPSARC S).
    10. Gregory Casey, 2024. "Energy Efficiency and Directed Technical Change: Implications for Climate Change Mitigation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(1), pages 192-228.
    11. Abdirizak Omar & Mouadh Addassi & Volker Vahrenkamp & Hussein Hoteit, 2021. "Co-Optimization of CO 2 Storage and Enhanced Gas Recovery Using Carbonated Water and Supercritical CO 2," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-21, November.
    12. Yves Achdou & Charles Bertucci & Jean-Michel Lasry & Pierre-Louis Lions & Antoine Rostand & José A. Scheinkman, 2022. "A class of short-term models for the oil industry that accounts for speculative oil storage," Finance and Stochastics, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 631-669, July.
    13. Catherine Hausman & Lucija Muehlenbachs, 2019. "Price Regulation and Environmental Externalities: Evidence from Methane Leaks," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(1), pages 73-109.
    14. Xu, Shang & Allen Klaiber, H., 2019. "The impact of new natural gas pipelines on emissions and fuel consumption in China," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 49-62.
    15. Mohammad Al-Smairan & Moayyad Shawaqfah & Fares AlMomani, 2020. "Techno-Economic Investigation of an Integrated Boiler–Solar Water Heating/Cooling System: A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, December.
    16. Tithy Dev & Morteza Haghiri & Gabriela Sabau, 2024. "Impacts of Urbanization on Energy Consumption in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Zone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-15, September.
    17. Don Fullerton & Chi L. Ta, 2025. "What Determines Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Standards? General Equilibrium Analytical Model and Empirical Analysis," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(1), pages 65-103.
    18. Pengtang Wang & Hao Yang & Cheng Tang & Yu Wu & Yao Zheng & Tao Cheng & Kenneth Davey & Xiaoqing Huang & Shi-Zhang Qiao, 2022. "Boosting electrocatalytic CO2–to–ethanol production via asymmetric C–C coupling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    19. Jiaqi Feng & Libing Zhang & Shoujie Liu & Liang Xu & Xiaodong Ma & Xingxing Tan & Limin Wu & Qingli Qian & Tianbin Wu & Jianling Zhang & Xiaofu Sun & Buxing Han, 2023. "Modulating adsorbed hydrogen drives electrochemical CO2-to-C2 products," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    20. Muntasir Murshed & Mohamed Elheddad & Rizwan Ahmed & Mohga Bassim & Ei Thuzar Than, 2022. "Foreign Direct Investments, Renewable Electricity Output, and Ecological Footprints: Do Financial Globalization Facilitate Renewable Energy Transition and Environmental Welfare in Bangladesh?," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 29(1), pages 33-78, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-63910-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.