Schematic diagram of CO₂ conversion with hydrogen-rich molecules catalyzed by DFLPs.

A research team led by Professor Chang Chunran from the School of Chemical Engineering and the National Energy Storage Platform at Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) has focused on designing novel frustrated catalytic systems.

They further developed new types of frustrated active sites – including dual frustrated Lewis pairs (DFLPs), frustrated Brønsted acid-base pairs (FBPs), and frustrated ion pairs (FIPs). Their research findings have been published in leading international journals.

The team developed a high-throughput screening workflow based on structural homogeneity, coordination environment, and phase stability. From nearly 5,000 ternary compounds, they screened three wurtzite-derived materials – ZnGeN₂, ZnSiN₂, and BeSiN₂ – and identified structurally homogeneous and stable dual FLP active sites on the (100) surfaces of these materials.

The related research findings were published in the top chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition under the title Uniform and Stable Dual Frustrated Lewis Pairs Enabling Highly Efficient Conversion of CO₂ with Hydrogen-rich Molecules, with doctoral student Yu Xiyang as the first author.

Inspired by the concept of FLPs, the team extended their exploration to another branch of acid-base catalysis – Brønsted acid-base systems – and introduced the novel concept of frustrated Brønsted acid-base pair (FBP) active sites in HZSM-5 zeolites.

This research was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition under the title Frustrated Brønsted Pairs: A Kind of Highly Active but Neglected Site in HZSM-5 Zeolite, with doctoral student Liu Hanxuan listed as the first author.

Building on the research into FLPs and FBPs, the team further extended frustrated catalytic systems to anion-cation pair catalysis. Through cationic size engineering to precisely regulate interionic distances and interactions, they innovatively proposed a geometrically controlled frustrated ion pair (FIP) active site.

These findings were published in the top multidisciplinary journal Science Advances under the title Synergy of Liberated Anions and Intense Electric Field in Frustrated Ion Pairs for Enhancing CO₂ Cycloaddition, with doctoral student Luo Decun as the first author.