Engineering a Self-Grown TiO2/Ti-MOF Heterojunction with Selectively Anchored High-Density Pt Single-Atomic Cocatalysts for Efficient Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution

A photocatalyst TiO₂/Ti-BPDC-Pt is developed with a self-grown TiO₂/Ti-metal–organic framework (MOF) heterojunction, i.e., TiO₂/Ti-BPDC, and selectively anchored high-density Pt single-atomic cocatalysts on Ti-BPDC for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. This intimate heterojunction, growing from the surface pyrolytic reconstruction of Ti-BPDC, works in a direct Z-scheme, efficiently separating electrons and holes. Pt is selectively anchored on Ti-BPDC by ligands and is found in the form of single atoms with loading up to 1.8 wt %. The selective location of Pt is the electron-enriched domain of the heterojunction, which further enhances the utilization of the separated electrons. This tailored TiO₂/Ti-BPDC-Pt shows a significantly enhanced activity of 12.4 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ compared to other TiO₂- or MOF-based catalysts. The structure-activity relationship further proves the balance of two simultaneously exposed domains of heterojunctions is critical to fulfilling this kind of catalyst.     

Hierarchical TiO2 nanosheet‐assembled nanotubes with dual electron sink functional sites for efficient photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

A novel Pt–TiO₂/Ag nanotube photocatalyst has been synthesized successfully via a facile method. TiO₂ nanotubes are assembled with numerous ultrathin TiO₂ nanosheets and show a highly open structure. The gaps between adjacent TiO₂ nanosheets can serve as channels for the access of reactants, accelerating the mass transfer process. During the fabrication process of the Pt–TiO₂/Ag nanotube photocatalyst, high‐quality Pt–SiO₂ nanotubes are synthesized first with the structure‐directing effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone. Then a TiO₂ layer is coated on the outside surface of the silica nanotubes. The introduced titanium species can be converted into TiO₂ nanosheet structure during the subsequent hydrothermal treatment, gradually constructing nanosheet‐assembled nanotubes. Lastly, after the introduction of another electron sink function site of Ag through UV irradiation, the Pt–TiO₂/Ag nanotube photocatalyst with dual electron sink functional sites is obtained. The specially doped Pt and Ag NPs can simultaneously inhibit the recombination process of photogenerated charge carriers and increase light utilization efficiency. Therefore, the as‐synthesized Pt–TiO₂/Ag nanotube catalyst exhibits a high photocatalytic degradation performance for rhodamine B of 0.2 min^?1, which is about 3.2 and 5.3 times as high as that of Pt–TiO₂ and TiO₂ nanotubes because of the enhanced charge carrier separation efficiency. Furthermore, in the unique nanoarchitecture, the nanotubes are assembled with numerous ultrathin TiO₂ nanosheets, which can absorb abundant active species and dye molecules for photocatalytic reaction. On the basis of experimental results, a possible rhodamine B degradation mechanism is proposed to explain the excellent photocatalytic efficiency of the Pt–TiO₂/Ag nanotube photocatalyst.     

Rh/Cr2O3 and CoOx Cocatalysts for Efficient Photocatalytic Water Splitting by Poly (Triazine Imide) Crystals

In situ photo-deposition of both Pt and CoO_x cocatalysts on the facets of poly (triazine imide) (PTI) crystals has been developed for photocatalytic overall water splitting. However, the undesired backward reaction (i.e., water formation) on the noble Pt surface is a spontaneously down-hill process, which restricts their efficiency to run the overall water splitting reaction. Herein, we demonstrate that the efficiency for photocatalytic overall water splitting could be largely promoted by the decoration of Rh/Cr₂O₃ and CoO_x as H₂ and O₂ evolution cocatalysts, respectively. Results reveal that the dual cocatalysts greatly extract charges from bulk to surface, while the Rh/Cr₂O₃ cocatalyst dramatically restrains the backward reaction, achieving an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 20.2 % for the photocatalytic overall water splitting reaction.     

In‐situ Platinum Plasmon Resonance Effect Prompt Titanium Dioxide Nanocube Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Herein, Pt‐decorated TiO₂ nanocube hierarchy structure (Pt‐TNCB) was fabricated by a facile solvothermal synthesis and in‐situ photodeposition strategy. The Pt‐TNCB exhibits an excellent solar‐driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (337.84 μmol h^?1), which is about 37 times higher than that of TNCB (9.19 μmol h^?1). Interestingly, its photocatalytic property is still superior to TNCB with post modification Pt (1 wt %) (208.11 μmol h^?1). The introduction of Pt efficiently extends the photoresponse of the composite material from UV to visible light region, simultaneously boosting their solar‐driven photocatalytic performance, which attribute to the porous structure, the sub size TNCB, the SPR effect of Pt NPs and strong interaction of two components. In fact, Pt NPs can enhance collective oscillations on delocalized electrons, which is conducive to capture electrons and hinder the recombination of photogenerated electron‐hole pairs, leading to the longer lifetime of photogenerated charges. The fabrication of Pt‐TNCB photocatalyst with SPR effect may provide a promising method to improve visible‐light photocatalytic activities for traditional photocatalysts.     

Nanoplasmonic zirconium nitride photocatalyst for direct overall water splitting

The ability of plasmonic nanostructures to efficiently harvest light energy and generate energetic hot carriers makes them promising materials for utilization in photocatalytic water spitting.Apart from the traditional Au and Ag based plasmonic photocatalysts,more recently the noble-metal-free alternative plasmonic materials have attracted ever-increasing interest.Here we report the first use of plasmonic zirconium nitride（ZrN） nanoparticles as a promising photocatalyst for water splitting.Highl...     

Platinum- and CuOx-Decorated TiO2 Photocatalyst for Oxidative Coupling of Methane to C2 Hydrocarbons in a Flow Reactor

Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is considered one of the most promising catalytic technologies to upgrade methane. However, C₂ products (C₂H₆/C₂H₄) from conventional methane conversion have not been produced commercially owing to competition from overoxidation and carbon accumulation at high temperatures. Herein, we report the codeposition of Pt nanoparticles and CuO_x clusters on TiO₂ (PC-50) and use of the resulting photocatalyst for OCM in a flow reactor operated at room temperature under atmospheric pressure for the first time. The optimized Cu_0.1Pt_0.5/PC-50 sample showed a highest yield of C₂ product of 6.8 μmol h⁻¹ at a space velocity of 2400 h⁻¹, more than twice the sum of the activity of Pt/PC-50 (1.07 μmol h⁻¹) and Cu/PC-50 (1.9 μmol h⁻¹), it might also be the highest among photocatalytic methane conversions reported so far under atmospheric pressure. A high C₂ selectivity of 60 % is also comparable to that attainable by conventional high-temperature (>943 K) thermal catalysis. It is proposed that Pt functions as an electron acceptor to facilitate charge separation, while holes could transfer to CuO_x to avoid deep dehydrogenation and the overoxidation of C₂ products.     

Ag@AgCl修饰的锐钛矿相TiO2纳米管的制备及其光催化性能

首先采用水热合成法和双氧水处理制备了具有锐钛矿相的TiO2纳米管,然后通过沉淀和光化学反应将Ag@AgCl纳米粒子负载于其上,从而制得TiO2纳米管负载的表面等离子体光催化剂.结果表明,经Ag@AgCl纳米粒子修饰后,锐钛矿相TiO2纳米管因表面等离子共振效应而对可见光具有明显的响应,光生电子-空穴对更容易分离,因而T...     

Engineering the Atomic Interface with Single Platinum Atoms for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

It is highly desirable but challenging to optimize the structure of photocatalysts at the atomic scale to facilitate the separation of electron–hole pairs for enhanced performance. Now, a highly efficient photocatalyst is formed by assembling single Pt atoms on a defective TiO₂ support (Pt₁/def‐TiO₂). Apart from being proton reduction sites, single Pt atoms promote the neighboring TiO₂ units to generate surface oxygen vacancies and form a Pt‐O‐Ti³⁺ atomic interface. Experimental results and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the Pt‐O‐Ti³⁺ atomic interface effectively facilitates photogenerated electrons to transfer from Ti³⁺ defective sites to single Pt atoms, thereby enhancing the separation of electron–hole pairs. This unique structure makes Pt₁/def‐TiO₂ exhibit a record‐level photocatalytic hydrogen production performance with an unexpectedly high turnover frequency of 51423 h^?1, exceeding the Pt nanoparticle supported TiO₂ catalyst by a factor of 591.     

Visible light-induced photocatalysis through surface plasmon excitation of platinum-metallized titania for photocatalytic bleaching of rhodamine B

Abstract  

Nanocomposites consisting of titania nanoparticles and metallic platinum were prepared via a soft chemical reduction method. The detailed structural, compositional, and optical characterization and physicochemical properties of the obtained products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and FT-IR spectroscopy techniques. Employing photodegradation of rhodamine B as the model reaction, we found that the as-prepared Pt/TiO₂ nanocomposite showed an excellent photocatalytic oxidation activity under visible light irradiation. On the basis of these results, the intrinsic mechanism of visible light-induced photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds on the platinized titania is proposed and discussed. The superior visible light-driven photocatalytic efficiency of the Pt/TiO₂ nanocomposite photocatalyst can be ascribed to the high efficiency of charge-pair separation due to the presence of deposited Pt serving as electron sinks to retard the rapid e⁻–h⁺ couple recombination; the good photoabsorption capacity in the visible light region; and the higher concentration of surface hydroxyl groups, which are able to effectively scavenge photogenerated valence band holes. Accumulation of the holes at the catalyst surface increases the probability of the formation of OH· as a reactive species that readily oxidizes the organic dye molecule.     

高度分散的Pt/TiO2的制备及光催化活性

用柠檬酸作为空穴捕获剂和分散剂, 在温和条件下用光催化还原法将3 nm金属铂沉积在7 nm的锐钛矿相及介孔二氧化钛纳米晶表面. TEM观察显示铂的负载量为w＝1.0%时, 多数二氧化钛纳米晶表面沉积了岛状的铂团簇, XPS和电子衍射结果表明铂以游离态存在. 负载w＝1.0%～2.0%铂的TiO₂在苯酚光氧化反应中活性显著提高. Pt/TiO₂在氨气中经550 ℃氮化, 可制得氮掺杂的Pt/TiO₂可见光光催化剂, 氮化过程中铂团簇没有烧结和显著长大.     

Template‐free Fabrication of ZnS/TiO2 Photocatalyst with Macrochannels

Constructing a porous structure in photocatalysts is an effective strategy for improving the photocatalytic activity because of its enhanced molecule transfer capability and light capturing efficiency. In this work, a hierarchical macro‐/mesoporous ZnS/TiO₂ composite with macrochannels was successfully synthesized without using templates by the simple dropwise addition of an ethanol solution of tetrabutyl titanate and zinc acetate into a sodium sulfide aqueous solution, which was then calcined at 450°C. Compared with pure TiO₂, the ordered porous ZnS/TiO₂ composite exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic activity on methylene blue removal under UV‐light irradiation. The results indicate that the macro‐/mesoporous structure, the large specific surface area, and the heterostructure combination between ZnS and TiO₂ play a synergistic effect on the enhanced photocatalytic activity via improving the light absorption and the diffusion of organic molecules, providing more reactive sites for the photocatalytic reaction and improving the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, respectively. Radical trapping experiments demonstrated that holes (h⁺) and superoxide anion radicals (O₂⁻) play an important role in the photocatalytic oxidation process.     

非共价修饰碳纳米管/二氧化钛复合材料的合成及性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法在聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)非共价修饰的碳纳米管表面均匀沉积二氧化钛粒子制得纳米复合材料。用TEM、XRD、FTIR、N2吸脱附等对复合材料进行了表征。结果表明:纳米二氧化钛纳米粒子均匀沉积在被修饰碳纳米管表面,且二氧化钛为纯锐钛矿晶体结构,没有金红石和板钛矿相。非共价修饰碳纳米管/二氧化钛复合材料具有良好的介孔结构,其孔径分布主要集中在6～10 nm,且比表面积与纯的二氧化钛相比明显增大,在紫外光照射下降解亚甲基蓝,相比纯的二氧化钛和碳纳米管/二氧化钛,具有较高的催化活性。     

Thin Heterojunctions and Spatially Separated Cocatalysts To Simultaneously Reduce Bulk and Surface Recombination in Photocatalysts

Efficient charge separation and light absorption are crucial for solar energy conversion over solid photocatalysts. This paper describes the construction of Pt@TiO₂@In₂O₃@MnO_x mesoporous hollow spheres (PTIM‐MSs) for highly efficient photocatalytic oxidation. TiO₂–In₂O₃ double‐layered shells were selectively decorated with Pt nanoparticles and MnO_x on the inner and outer surfaces, respectively. The spatially separated cocatalysts drive electrons and holes near the surface to flow in opposite directions, while the thin heterogeneous shell separates the charges generated in the bulk phase. The synergy between the thin heterojunctions and the spatially separated cocatalysts can simultaneously reduce bulk and surface/subsurface recombination. In₂O₃ also serves as a sensitizer to enhance light absorption. The PTIM‐MSs exhibit high photocatalytic activity for both water and alcohol oxidation.     

Amino‐Assisted Anchoring of CsPbBr3 Perovskite Quantum Dots on Porous g‐C3N4 for Enhanced Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) have great potential in photocatalytic applications if their low charge transportation efficiency and chemical instability can be overcome. To circumvent these obstacles, we anchored CsPbBr₃ QDs (CPB) on NH_x‐rich porous g‐C₃N₄ nanosheets (PCN) to construct the composite photocatalysts via N?Br chemical bonding. The 20 CPB‐PCN (20 wt % of QDs) photocatalyst exhibits good stability and an outstanding yield of 149 μmol h^?1 g^?1 in acetonitrile/water for photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to CO under visible light irradiation, which is around 15 times higher than that of CsPbBr₃ QDs. This study opens up new possibilities of using halide perovskite QDs for photocatalytic application.     

Pt/TiO2光催化氧化还原耦合反应脱除水中无机氮

本文采用光催化还原法制备了高活性的载铂二氧化钛光催化剂，并用XRF、TEM、XRD对样品进行了表征，考察了pH值、负载Pt的含量、Fe²⁺的添加及保护气的种类等反应条件对该催化剂活性的影响。结果表明：碱性条件下利于氨氮、亚硝酸氮的耦合脱氮反应，载铂量0.5%时去除效果最佳，Fe²⁺的加入利于光催化反应，氮气保护下催化剂反应活性更高。     

Boosting Photocatalytic Water Splitting: Interfacial Charge Polarization in Atomically Controlled Core–Shell Cocatalysts

Platinum is a commonly used cocatalyst for improved charge separation and surface reactions in photocatalytic water splitting. It is envisioned that its practical applications can be facilitated by further reducing the material cost and improving the efficacy of Pt cocatalysts. In this direction, the use of atomically controlled Pd@Pt quasi‐core–shell cocatalysts in combination with TiO₂ as a model semiconductor is described. As demonstrated experimentally, the electron trapping necessary for charge separation is substantially promoted by combining a Schottky junction with interfacial charge polarization, enabled by the three‐atom‐thick Pt shell. Meanwhile, the increase in electron density and lattice strain would significantly enhance the adsorption of H₂O onto Pt surface. Taken together, the improved charge separation and molecular activation dramatically boost the overall efficiency of photocatalytic water splitting.     

CoxP/Hollow Porous C3N4 as Highly Efficient Schottky Contact Photocatalyst for H2 Evolution from Water Splitting

Photocatalytic water splitting to obtain hydrogen energy can transform low-density solar to high density, new and clean energy in a clean way, which is one of the ideal ways to solve the energy crisis and environmental pollution. In this paper, The Co_xP/hollow porous C₃N₄ composite photocatalytic material was synthesized by simple methods. The photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of Co_xP/hollow porous C₃N₄ reaches 1602 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, which is 151 times of that of pure C₃N₄. The reasons for the high photocatalytic H₂ evolution activity of Co_xP/hollow porous C₃N₄ could be summarized as follows: (1) the hollow and porous structure of C₃N₄ shows higher light capture efficiency, larger specific surface area and more surface active sites. (2) metalloid Co_xP loaded forms the Schottky contact with C₃N₄, which improves the photogenerated charges separation efficiency of C₃N₄, prolongs the photogenerated charges lifetime and improves the photocatalytic H₂ evolution activity of C₃N₄. (3) The higher conductivity of metalloid Co_xP and the lower overpotential of hydrogen production are other reasons for the higher activity of photocatalytic hydrogen production of Co_xP/hollow porous C₃N₄. This work provides an important role for the design of efficient, stable, and efficient construction of photocatalysts for solar energy conversion.     

Surface-Degenerate Semiconductor Photocatalysis for Efficient Water Splitting without Sacrificial Agents via a Reticular Chemistry Approach

The production of green hydrogen through photocatalytic water splitting is crucial for a sustainable hydrogen economy and chemical manufacturing. However, current approaches suffer from slow hydrogen production (<70 μmol ⋅ g_cat⁻¹ ⋅ h⁻¹) due to the sluggish four-electrons oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and limited catalyst activity. Herein, we achieve efficient photocatalytic water splitting by exploiting a multifunctional interface between a nano-photocatalyst and metal–organic framework (MOF) layer. The functional interface plays two critical roles: (1) enriching electron density directly on photocatalyst surface to promote catalytic activity, and (2) delocalizing photogenerated holes into MOF to enhance OER. Our photocatalytic ensemble boosts hydrogen evolution by ≈100-fold over pristine photocatalyst and concurrently produces oxygen at ideal stoichiometric ratio, even without using sacrificial agents. Notably, this unique design attains superior hydrogen production (519 μmol ⋅ g_cat⁻¹ ⋅ h⁻¹) and apparent quantum efficiency up to 13-fold and 8-fold better than emerging photocatalytic designs utilizing hole scavengers. Comprehensive investigations underscore the vital role of the interfacial design in generating high-energy photoelectrons on surface-degenerate photocatalyst to thermodynamically drive hydrogen evolution, while leveraging the nanoporous MOF scaffold as an effective photohole sink to enhance OER. Our interfacial approach creates vast opportunities for designing next-generation, multifunctional photocatalytic ensembles using reticular chemistry with diverse energy and environmental applications.     

Chlorophyll-Based Organic Heterojunction on Ti3C2Tx MXene Nanosheets for Efficient Hydrogen Production

The Z-scheme process is a photoinduced electron-transfer pathway in natural oxygenic photosynthesis involving electron transport from photosystem II (PSII) to photosystem I (PSI). Inspired by the interesting Z-scheme process, herein a photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) employing chlorophyll (Chl) derivatives, Chl-1 and Chl-2, on the surface of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene with two-dimensional accordion-like morphology, forming Chl-1@Chl-2@Ti₃C₂T_x composite, is demonstrated. Due to the frontier molecular orbital energy alignments of Chl-1 and Chl-2, sublayer Chl-1 is a simulation of PSI, whereas upper layer Chl-2 is equivalent to PSII, and the resultant electron transport can take place from Chl-2 to Chl-1. Under the illumination of visible light (>420 nm), the HER performance of Chl-1@Chl-2@Ti₃C₂T_x photocatalyst was found to be as high as 143 μmol h⁻¹ g_cat⁻¹, which was substantially higher than that of photocatalysts of either Chl-1@Ti₃C₂T_x (20 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹) or Chl-2@Ti₃C₂T_x (15 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹).     

Long-Term Stable Hydrogen Production from Water and Lactic Acid via Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysis in a Porous Microreactor

Photocatalytic hydrogen (H₂) production is significant to overcome challenges like fossil fuel depletion and carbon dioxide emission, but its efficiency is still far below that which is needed for commercialization. Herein, we achieve long-term stable H₂ bubbling production from water (H₂O) and lactic acid via visible-light-driven photocatalysis in a porous microreactor (PP12); the catalytic system benefits from photocatalyst dispersion, charge separation, mass transfer, and dissociation of O−H bonds associated with H₂O. With the widely used platinum/cadmium-sulfide (Pt/CdS) photocatalyst, PP12 leads to a H₂ bubbling production rate of 602.5 mmol h⁻¹ m⁻², which is 1000 times higher than that in a traditional reactor. Even when amplifying PP12 into a flat-plate reactor with an area as large as 1 m² and extending the reaction time to 100 h, the H₂ bubbling production rate still remains at around 600.0 mmol h⁻¹ m⁻², offering great potential for commercialization.