Porous single crystal niobium nitride and tantalum nitride nanocubes boost catalytic performance†
Abstract
Porous single crystals provide more active sites for improving catalytic activity and stability attributed to their properties, such as a continuous lattice, a complete lattice arrangement and a large specific surface area. Here, we have grown porous hexahedral Ta3N5 and Nb4N5 microcrystals from nonporous hexahedral KTaO3 and NaNbO3. The results show that the ethane conversion rates of Ta3N5 and Nb4N5 single crystals at 680 °C were 23% and 21%, respectively, and the ethylene selectivity of both reached 90%. Meanwhile, the performance remained durable even after 50 hours of continuous operation. The outcome of this research paves a feasible path for the development and application of other porous nitride single crystal materials.