Academic literature on the topic 'Cerium-oxide Based Catalyst'

Catalysts based on cerium oxide are now used as effective oxidation systems in numerous environmental applications. Cerium oxide was introduced into the catalysis field relatively recently, in 1976, and not as a catalyst initially. Rather, it was chosen as the key oxygen-storage component of the three-way catalyst (TWC) used in automotive exhausts. Accordingly, ceria is used to extend the air/fuel ratio window in the exhaust gas, releasing or accepting oxygen, respectively, under fuel-rich or fuellean conditions, so that the noble metal catalyst operates at the desirable stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, at which it effectively converts all three gaseous pollutants—CO, hydrocarbons, and NO—to innocuous products. A solid solution of cerium and zirconium oxides is used in today's catalytic converters because of its higher oxygen-storage capacity (OSC) compared with pure ceria. In the years that followed the introduction of ceria into the catalytic converter, many additional merits of cerium oxide were realized, first as an active catalytic component of the TWC and subsequently as a catalyst and sorbent in various industrial applications. A review article by Trovarelli on ceria-based catalysts is a good recent compilation.

Research into the incorporation of cerium into a diverse range of catalyst systems for a wide spectrum of process chemistries has expanded rapidly. This has been evidenced since about 1980 in the increasing number of both scientific research journals and patent publications that address the application of cerium as a component of a multi-metal oxide system and as a support material for metal catalysts. This review chronicles both the applied and fundamental research into cerium-containing oxide catalysts where cerium’s redox activity confers enhanced and new catalytic functionality. Application areas of cerium-containing catalysts include selective oxidation, combustion, NOx remediation, and the production of sustainable chemicals and materials via bio-based feedstocks, among others. The newfound interest in cerium-containing catalysts stems from the benefits achieved by cerium’s inclusion, which include selectivity, activity, and stability. These benefits arise because of cerium’s unique combination of chemical and thermal stability, its redox active properties, its ability to stabilize defect structures in multicomponent oxides, and its propensity to stabilize catalytically optimal oxidation states of other multivalent elements. This review surveys the origins and some of the current directions in the research and application of cerium oxide-based catalysts.

Based on the porous carbon material from citric acid residue, catalysts of different Ce-Mn ratios were prepared with incipient-wetness impregnation (IWI) to delve into their acetone-degrading performance and relevant mechanisms. When the Ce-Mn molar ratio is 0.8, the prepared catalyst Ce0.8-Mn/AC shows abundant and uniformly dispersed Mn and Ce particles on the surface. The content of Mn and Ce on the Ce0.8-Mn/AC surface reaches 5.64% and 0.75%, respectively. At the acetone concentration of 238 mg/m3 (100 ppm), the laws of acetone degradation in different catalysts at different catalyzing temperatures and with various oxygen concentrations were studied, and we found that the rate of acetone degradation by Ce0.8-Mn/AC can exceed 90% at 250 °C. Cerium oxide and manganese oxide are synergistic in the catalytic degradation of acetone. Adding cerium to manganese-based catalysts can increase the oxygen migration rate in the catalysts and thus raise the reduction rate of lattice oxygen in manganese oxide. The results offer new ideas and approaches for the efficient and comprehensive utilization of bio-fermentation by-products, and for the development of cheap and high degradation performance catalysts for acetone.

Transitioning to lower carbon energy and environment sustainability requires a reduction in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) that contribute to global warming. One of the most actively studied rare earth metal catalysts is cerium oxide (CeO2) which produces remarkable improvements in catalysts in dry reforming methane. This paper reviews the management of CO2 emissions and the recent advent and trends in bimetallic catalyst development utilizing CeO2 in dry reforming methane (DRM) and steam reforming methane (SRM) from 2015 to 2021 as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper focus on the identification of key trends in catalyst preparation using CeO2 and the effectiveness of the catalysts formulated.

Nanosized cerium-manganese ferrite particles were prepared by co-precipitation approach. The structural evolutions and morphological characteristics of the nanopowder were investigated using X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy and thermo-gravimetry. XRD results showed that particles with crystallite size in nanometer scale were formed. TEM studies showed the morphology of the prepared cerium-manganese ferrite with a crystallite diameter of 20 nm at the calcination temperature of 500°C for 4 h. The catalyst showed high activities for SCR of nitric oxide with ammonia.

The methanation reaction is a promising method for the purification of natural gas, in which the acid gases of CO2,is eliminated by catalytic conversion. The advantage of catalytic technology is the utilization of CO2present in the production of methane gas. The used of alumina supported cerium oxide as the based catalyst in CO2/H2methanation reaction have been investigated in this research by using manganese as the dopant and ruthenium as the co-dopantviawet impregnation technique. The series of cerium oxide catalysts were calcined at 400 °C for 5 hours had been prepared at the screening stage. Then, the catalysts were optimized by different calcination temperatures and different based oxide loadings. The potential catalysts of Ru/Mn/Ce (5:35:60)/Al2O3calcined at 700 °C gave 100 % of CO2conversion by using FTIR and yielded about 24 % of CH4respectively at reaction temperature of 400 °C. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) showed that the supported catalysts were amorphous in structure. FESEM analysis illustrated the surface of the catalysts were covered with small and dispersed spherical particles. EDX analysis revealed that there was 1.02 % reduction of Ru in the Ru/Mn/Ce (5:35:60)/Al2O3used catalysts compared to fresh catalysts. Meanwhile NA analysis showed that Ru/Mn/Ce (5:35:60)/Al2O3catalysts attained surface area of 143.10 m2/g respectively.

Almost all automobiles in the world are emitting a huge amount of exhaust gases to the atmosphere every day. These exhaust gas contains harmful substances like carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, and other toxic substances. If these substances go on increasing they will cause several diseases like blood circulatory problem, lung diseases, bronchitis, blood cancer, etc. Also they may cause different environmental problems like acid rain, green house effect, etc. So, the emission of these substances should be controlled as far as possible. This project work presents a new catalytic converter to be used for compressed ignition engine. The catalytic converter is developed based on the catalyst materials consisting of metal oxides such as aluminum oxide and cerium oxide coated with wire mesh filter. Both the catalyst materials - aluminum oxide and cerium oxide are inexpensive in comparison with conventional catalysts such as palladium or platinum. The main objective of this work is to control the NOx, CO emission and to develop a low-cost three way catalytic converter. This catalytic converter is assembled in the exhaust manifold region of a computerized single cylinder four stroke diesel engine.

Abstract Exhaust gas emissions, e.g. nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons (HCs) and carbon monoxide (CO), are harmful to human health and the environment. Catalysis is an efficient method to decrease these emissions. Unfortunately, the fuels and lubricant oils may contain chemical impurities that are also present in exhaust gases. Thus, catalytic materials with high activity and chemical resistance towards impurities are needed in the abatement of exhaust gas emission. In this thesis, the aim was to gain new knowledge about the effects of chemical impurities on the behaviour and activity of the catalysts. To find out these effects, the impurities existing in the exhaust gas particulate matter after combustion of biofuels and fossil fuels were analysed. The studied zeolite (ZSM-5), cerium-zirconium mixed oxides (CeZr and ZrCe) and silicon-zirconium oxide (SiZr) based catalysts were also treated with impurities to simulate the poisoning of the catalysts by, e.g. potassium, sodium, phosphorus and sulphur, using gas or liquid phase treatments. Several characterization techniques were applied to find out the effects of impurities on catalysts’ properties. The activity of catalysts was tested in laboratory-scale measurements in CO and HC oxidation and NOx reduction using ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen (H2) as reductants. The results revealed that the CeZr based catalysts had a high activity in NOx reduction by NH3 and moderate activity by H2. Sulphur was proven to enhance the activity of CeZr catalysts in NOx reduction. This is due to an increase in chemisorbed oxygen after the sulphur treatment on the catalyst surface. Instead, in HC and CO oxidation reactions, sulphur had a negligible impact on the activity of the SiZr based diesel oxidation catalyst. Thus, both CeZr and SiZr based catalysts can be utilized in exhaust gas purification when sulphur is present. ZSM-5 based catalysts were proven to be resistant to potassium and sodium. Alternatively, the activity of SiZr based catalysts decreased due to phosphorus. Thus, the removal of biomaterial-based impurities from the exhaust gases is needed to retain high catalyst activity in the exhaust gas after-treatment system
Tiivistelmä Pakokaasupäästöissä olevat typen oksidit (NOx), hiilivedyt (HCs) ja hiilimonoksidi (CO) ovat haitallisia ihmisten terveydelle ja ympäristölle. Katalyysi on tehokas menetelmä vähentää näitä päästökomponentteja. Polttoaineet ja voiteluöljyt sisältävät epäpuhtauksia, jotka siirtyvät myös pakokaasuihin. Tästä johtuen pakokaasupäästöjen hallinnassa tarvitaan katalyyttimateriaaleja, joilla on hyvä vastustuskyky myrkyttymistä vastaan. Tavoitteena oli saada uutta tietoa kemiallisten epäpuhtauksien vaikutuksesta katalyyttien toimintaan. Biopolttoaineiden sisältämät mahdolliset epäpuhtaudet selvitettiin analysoimalla fossiilisen ja biopolttoaineen palamisessa muodostuvia partikkeleita ja vertaamalla niitä polttoaineiden hivenaineanalyysiin. Tutkimuksessa käytetyt zeoliitti (ZSM-5), cerium-zirkonium-sekaoksidi (CeZr) ja pii-zirkonium-oksidipohjaiset (SiZr) katalyytit käsiteltiin epäpuhtauksilla (kalium, natrium, fosfori ja rikki) kaasu- ja nestefaasissa. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin useita karakterisointitekniikoita, joiden avulla selvitettiin epäpuhtauksien vaikutuksia katalyyttien ominaisuuksiin. Katalyyttien toimintaa testattiin laboratoriomittakaavan kokeissa CO:n ja HC-yhdisteiden hapetuksessa sekä NOx:ien pelkistyksessä käyttäen ammoniakkia (NH3) tai vetyä (H2) pelkistimenä. Tulokset osoittavat, että CeZr-pohjaisten katalyyttien aktiivisuus NOx:ien pelkistyksessä oli hyvä käytettäessä pelkistimenä NH3:a ja kohtalainen käytettäessä vetyä. Rikki paransi CeZr-katalyyttien aktiivisuutta NOx:ien pelkistyksessä, mikä johtui kemiallisesti sitoutuneen hapen osuudesta katalyyttien pinnoilla. Vastaavasti hiilivetyjen ja CO:n hapetusreaktioissa rikki ei vaikuttanut SiZr-pohjaisten dieselhapetuskatalyyttien aktiivisuuteen. Sekä CeZr- ja SiZr-pohjaisia katalyytteja voidaan siten käyttää rikkiä sisältävien pakokaasujen puhdistuksessa. SiZr-pohjaisten katalyyttien aktiivisuus laski fosforin vuoksi. ZSM-5-pohjaiset katalyytit olivat vastustuskykyisiä kaliumille ja natriumille. Kestäviä katalyyttejä on siten kehitettävä, mikäli biopolttoaineiden sisältämien epäpuhtauksien poistaminen polttoaineista ei ole mahdollista

In this Ph.D. thesis the reactivity of clean and silver precovered ceria surfaces is studied in the context of applications in catalysis of Diesel particulate soot abatement. In fact, ceria and in particular silver doped ceria show very good catalytic activity in decreasing the temperature of soot combustion. A key step in the mechanism of oxidation of the particulate, which is mainly amorphous carbon, is the activation of the oxygen molecule. In literature, experimental IR-Raman and EPR studies show the comparison of peroxo, O22-, and superoxo, O2-, species when O2 interacts with ceria. With theoretical calculations we firstly investigate the interaction of O2 with regular CeO2(111) and defective CeO2-x (111) surfaces. While with the regular surface we find no interaction and no activation of the oxygen molecule, on the oxygen vacancy a peroxo strongly linked to the surface is observed. The formation of O22- is due to a charge transfer from the two Ce3+ centers that are located on the surface when an O is removed. The formation of a superoxo, thus, is not found when such an interaction is considered. The hypothesis is then that the interaction of O2 with isolated Ce3+ could generate O2- by charge transfer. When O2- is studied, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) properties can be evaluated. For superoxo formed on ceria the experimental spectra available in literature are not well resolved, so a comparison between calculated and experimental data is not trivial. Then, a model system is studied to validate the theoretical approach in reproducing EPR properties of superoxo. In fact, for O2- formed on Na precovered MgO surfaces, very well resolved EPR spectra are available. In this case we found that our theoretical approach can reproduce the EPR properties very well. Subsequently, we studied the interaction of O2 with ceria clusters and nanoparticles. At first, we considered the model system Ce2O3, that has two Ce3+ ions. This species is modeled at different theoretical levels, and we always find the expected result, the formation of O2- by charge transfer from one low-coordinated Ce3+ center. The evidences of this are in the O-O bond length, in the IR frequency and in the EPR properties, that are in very good agreement with the experimental ones. This result is confirmed also on bigger defective nanoparticles, where the oxygen vacancy leaves two Ce3+ centers that stabilize on low-coordinated sites. The presence of low-coordinated and, more important, isolated Ce3+ centers is thus responsible of the formation of superoxo ions on ceria. The role of silver in improving the catalytic activity of ceria is proved in literature by a decrease of the soot combustion temperature. Moreover, in literature, experimental EPR studies show a slightly increase of the signal due to the presence of superoxo ions. Experimental STM and XPS data of Ag nanoparticles deposited on stoichiometric and reduced thin CeO2 films grown on Pt(111) in UHV conditions show a reduction of ceria with comparison of Ce3+ centers. Theoretically, we studied the interaction of Ag atoms, Ag5 and Ag0 clusters and mono and bi-layers of silver adsorbed on CeO2(111) and CeO2-x(111) surfaces. We find a general tendency of silver to reduce ceria by charge transfer, with subsequent oxidation of the metal. However, the experimental data could also fit with an oxygen spillover mechanism. In this situation, oxygen atoms migrate from the surface to the metal particles, leaving a reduced support. Our calculations show that this mechanism is highly unfavourable from an energetic point of view. Therefore, both the experimental and the theoretical results agree with a reduction of ceria due to a charge transfer from silver.

This thesis focuses on the computational study of models for platinum catalysts supported on cerium oxide (CeO2) which are of technological relevance. In these catalysts, ceria is often found acting as a non-inert support, leading to complex metal-support interactions (MSI) that modify the properties of both the oxide and the supported metal. First principles computational methods based on the Density functional Theory (DFT) have been used to study the nature of these interactions and their effect on the atomic and electronic structure and on the chemical activity of these catalytic systems. In particular, charge transfer phenomena have been studied and how the oxygen storage capacity of CeO2 is affected by the presence of deposited Pt particles. The effect of the MSI in the activity towards the WGS has also been addressed, as well as the During the fulfillment of these studies, close collaboration with world leading experimental groups from different countries has been crucial to broaden the understanding of these systems. The interaction of single Pt atoms with the CeO2(111) surface was studied first. By using the DFT+U approach in combination with hybrid functionals the validity of the DFT+U methodology for studying Pt/CeO2 systems was assessed and a suitable value for the U parameter was established for further studies dealing with similar systems. It was found that in its most stable adsorption site, Pt atoms can be found in a neutral form or oxidized to +1 formal oxidation state, with the concomitant reduction of one Ce4+ cation to Ce3+. The formation and stability of Pt dimers on CeO2(111) was studied next. It was shown that Pt atoms can easily diffuse until forming the more stable Pt2 moieties. In turn, the dimers will also diffuse before dissociating, thus describing the initial phase of Pt particle nucleation in Pt/CeO2 catalysts. The effect of the MSI in the reducibility of CeO2 was also addressed. The Oxigen Storage Capacity (OSC) of CeO2 is a consequence of its inherent reducibility, and it is believed that tuning the OSC leads to improving the catalytic performance of ceria-based catalysts. In collaboration with the experimental partners, it was found that the presence of deposited Pt particles facilitates the release of oxygen atoms from ceria by enabling the migration of an oxygen atom from the ceria substrate to the deposited metal. This phenomenon is known as reverse oxygen spill-over mechanism and is only thermodynamically favorable when the ceria substrate is nanostructured. The unprecedented experimental observation of this process and its rationalization through theoretical calculations merited the publication of these results in the prestigious Nature Materials journal. It is also found that very stable cationic Pt2+ species are formed upon the adsorption of Pt atoms on ceria nanoparticles. These adsorption complexes are so stable that they can resist harsh conditions leading to bulk-diffusion and sintering to form larger Pt species. The effect of strong electronic MSI on the activity of Pt/CeO2 catalysts toward the Water-Gas Shift Reaction was also investigated. It was found that the intimate contact between the small metal particles and the oxide substrate triggers electronic perturbations that dramatically enhance the ability of Pt to dissociate water, leading to increased WGS activity. This investigation was performed in collaboration with Jose Rodriguez’s experimental group and was initiated by the research visit that AB carried out to Brookhaven National Laboratory. These landmark results were published in the Journal of the Americal Chemical Society. In addition, the effect of the size and shape of Pt nanoparticles towards their capacity to dissociate water was investigated for lone-standing nanoparticles of different sizes. It was shown that, for Pt particles still under the scalable-to-bulk regime, the size of the particle as well as the type of sites exposed by these play an important role on their reactivity. Smaller particles with uncoordinated corner Pt atoms were found to be most active.
En aquesta tesi s’han utilitzat mètodes teòrics basats en la DFT per estudiar les propietats de sistemes formats per Pt i CeO2. Mitjançant un anàlisi de l’estructura electrònica i geomètrica dels models considerats, s’ha contribuït a la comprensió a nivell microscòpic de les interaccions entre Pt i CeO2. Així, s’han descrit els processos de transferència de càrrega entre diferents espècies de Pt i substrats de CeO2, resultant en l’oxidació de les espècies metàl•liques i la reducció de cations Ce. A més, s’ha demostrat que la presència del platí facilita la reducció de l’òxid de ceri a través de processos de migració (spillover) d’àtoms d’oxigen i que aquest efecte és més pronunciat quan el CeO2 és nanoestructurat. Això ha permès explicar per primera vegada els mecanismes de formació de vacants en catalitzadors basats en Pt i CeO2, que són responsables de la seva capacitat d’emmagatzemar oxigen i per tant, de la seva activitat catalítica. Amb els models de nanopartícules de CeO2, s’ha descrit l’existència de complexos d’adsorció on el Pt es troba dispersat atòmicament i en forma de catió a la superfície de les nanopartícules de cèria. A més, aquestes espècies es poden utilitzar com a electrocatalitzadors en els ànodes de cel•les de combustible, permetent el desenvolupament de dispositius que utilitzin platí de forma més eficient i, per tant, reduint-ne dràsticament els costos. L’estudi de la reactivitat de diferents espècies de Pt envers la reacció WGS mitjançant la determinació del perfil energètic de la dissociació de l’H2O ha permès caracteritzar els efectes que tenen la mida de la partícula de Pt i les interaccions metall-suport amb l’òxid de ceri en l’activitat d’aquests catalitzadors. S’ha demostrat l’excepcional activitat catalítica d’aquests sistemes i s’han identificat les propietats que els fan més reactius, superant en rendiment als catalitzadors que s’utilitzen industrialment per a catalitzar la WGS. Els estudis realitzats durant aquesta tesi han permès descriure detalladament propietats de sistemes formats per Pt i CeO2. Aquesta caracterització serveix per comprendre els sistemes catalítics basats en aquests materials i per guiar el disseny racional de nous materials amb les propietats catalítiques idònies per a cada aplicació.

Afin de développer une économie basée sur l'hydrogène, il est souhaitable de pouvoir le produire à partir de biogaz (CH4 and CO2) ou de gaz à effet de serre (GES). Le reformage à sec (DRM) et le reformage oxydant du méthane (ODRM) sont des voies prometteuses pour produire H2 et CO à partir des GES et suscitent une grande attention en raison de préoccupations environnementales. Ces réactions ont été étudiées à basse température (600 -700 ° C) sur des oxydes mixtes CeNiX(AlZ)OY, NiXMg2AlOY, et des catalyseurs supportés Ni/SBA-15. Diverses techniques physico-chimiques ont été utilisées pour caractériser les catalyseurs, tels que DRX, XPS, TPR et Raman. L’influence de différents paramètres a été examinée, telles que la température de réaction, le prétraitement sous H2, la teneur en Ni, la masse de catalyseur et les concentrations en réactifs. En particulier, les réactions ont été étudiées à 600 °C, sans dilution des réactifs et sur 10 mg de catalyseur. Les meilleures activités catalytiques et sélectivités sont obtenues sur des catalyseurs partiellement réduits à température appropriée. L'addition d'O2 augmente la conversion du CH4 mais diminue la conversion du CO2, et O2/CH4 =0,3 apparaît comme la condition optimisée en raison de l'activité et de la sélectivité élevées et de la faible formation de carbone. Enfin, un site actif impliquant des espèces Ni en interaction forte avec d'autres cations est proposé. Il est obtenu sur un catalyseur partiellement réduit formé pendant le traitement in situ sous H2 ou sous flux de CH4, il implique des lacunes anioniques, des espèces O2- et des cations
In order to develop a sustainable hydrogen economy, it is desirable to produce hydrogen from biogas (CH4 and CO2) or greenhouses gases (GHG). Dry reforming (DRM) and oxidative dry reforming of methane (ODRM) are promising routes to produce H2 and CO from GHG and have received much attention due environment concerns. Herein, these reactions were studied at low temperatures (600 -700 °C) over CeNiX(AlZ)OY, NiXMg2AlOY mixed oxides and Ni/SBA-15 supported catalysts. Various physico-chemical techniques were employed to characterize the catalysts, such as XRD, XPS, H2-TPR and Raman. The influences of different parameters were examined, such as reaction temperature, pretreatment in H2, Ni content, mass of catalyst and reactants concentration, in particular, at 600°C in harsh conditions (feed gases without dilution) on low mass of catalyst (10 mg). The best catalytic activity and selectivity are obtained on partially reduced catalysts at appropriate temperature. The addition of O2 increases CH4 conversion but decreases CO2 conversion, and O2/CH4 = 0.3 could be the optimized condition due to high activity, selectivity and low carbon formation. Finally, an active site involving Ni species in close interactions with other cations is proposed. It is related to a partially reduced catalyst involving anionic vacancies, O2- species, and cations, which is formed during the in situ H2 treatment or CH4 flow

The overall goal of this project was to elucidate the role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil retention, bioavailability and plant uptake of silver and cerium oxide NPs. The environmental risks of manufactured nanoparticles (NPs) are attracting increasing attention from both industrial and scientific communities. These NPs have shown to be taken-up, translocated and bio- accumulated in plant edible parts. However, very little is known about the behavior of NPs in soil-plant system as affected by dissolved organic matter (DOM). Thus DOM effect on NPs behavior is critical to assessing the environmental fate and risks related to NP exposure. Carbon-based nanomaterials embedded with metal NPs demonstrate a great potential to serve as catalyst and disinfectors. Hence, synthesis of novel carbon-based nanocomposites and testing them in the environmentally relevant conditions (particularly in the DOM presence) is important for their implementation in water purification. Sorption of DOM on Ag-Ag₂S NPs, CeO₂ NPs and synthesized Ag-Fe₃O₄-carbon nanotubebifunctional composite has been studied. High DOM concentration (50mg/L) decreased the adsorptive and catalytic efficiencies of all synthesized NPs. Recyclable Ag-Fe₃O₄-carbon nanotube composite exhibited excellent catalytic and anti-bacterial action, providing complete reduction of common pollutants and inactivating gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria at environmentally relevant DOM concentrations (5-10 mg/L). Our composite material may be suitable for water purification ranging from natural to the industrial waste effluents. We also examined the role of maize (Zeamays L.)-derived root exudates (a form of DOM) and their components on the aggregation and dissolution of CuONPs in the rhizosphere. Root exudates (RE) significantly inhibited the aggregation of CuONPs regardless of ionic strength and electrolyte type. With RE, the critical coagulation concentration of CuONPs in NaCl shifted from 30 to 125 mM and the value in CaCl₂ shifted from 4 to 20 mM. This inhibition was correlated with molecular weight (MW) of RE fractions. Higher MW fraction (> 10 kDa) reduced the aggregation most. RE also significantly promoted the dissolution of CuONPs and lower MW fraction (< 3 kDa) RE mainly contributed to this process. Also, Cu accumulation in plant root tissues was significantly enhanced by RE. This study provides useful insights into the interactions between RE and CuONPs, which is of significance for the safe use of CuONPs-based antimicrobial products in agricultural production. Wheat root exudates (RE) had high reducing ability to convert Ag+ to nAg under light exposure. Photo-induced reduction of Ag+ to nAg in pristine RE was mainly attributed to the 0-3 kDa fraction. Quantification of the silver species change over time suggested that Cl⁻ played an important role in photoconversion of Ag+ to nAg through the formation and redox cycling of photoreactiveAgCl. Potential electron donors for the photoreduction of Ag+ were identified to be reducing sugars and organic acids of low MW. Meanwhile, the stabilization of the formed particles was controlled by both low (0-3 kDa) and high (>3 kDa) MW molecules. This work provides new information for the formation mechanism of metal nanoparticles mediated by RE, which may further our understanding of the biogeochemical cycling and toxicity of heavy metal ions in agricultural and environmental systems. Copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuSNPs) at 1:1 and 1:4 ratios of Cu and S were synthesized, and their respective antifungal efficacy was evaluated against the pathogenic activity of Gibberellafujikuroi(Bakanae disease) in rice (Oryza sativa). In a 2-d in vitro study, CuS decreased G. fujikuroiColony- Forming Units (CFU) compared to controls. In a greenhouse study, treating with CuSNPs at 50 mg/L at the seed stage significantly decreased disease incidence on rice while the commercial Cu-based pesticide Kocide 3000 had no impact on disease. Foliar-applied CuONPs and CuS (1:1) NPs decreased disease incidence by 30.0 and 32.5%, respectively, which outperformed CuS (1:4) NPs (15%) and Kocide 3000 (12.5%). CuS (1:4) NPs also modulated the shoot salicylic acid (SA) and Jasmonic acid (JA) production to enhance the plant defense mechanisms against G. fujikuroiinfection. These results are useful for improving the delivery efficiency of agrichemicals via nano-enabled strategies while minimizing their environmental impact, and advance our understanding of the defense mechanisms triggered by the NPs presence in plants.