Polymeric Carbon Nitride-based Single Atom Photocatalysts for CO2 Reduction to C1 Products

Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ fuels is considered to be an important way for alleviating increasingly serious energy crisis and environmental pollution. Due to the environment-friendly, simple preparation, easy formation of highly-stable metal-nitrogen(M-N_x) coordination bonds, and suitable band structure, polymeric carbon nitride-based single-atom catalysts(C₃N₄-based SACs) are expected to become a potential for CO₂ reduction under visible-light irradiation. In this review, we summarize the recent advancement on C₃N₄-based SACs for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ products, including the reaction mechanism for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ products, the structure and synthesis methods of C₃N₄-based SACs and their applications toward photocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction(CO₂RR) for C₁ production. The current challenges and future opportunities of C₃N₄-based SACs for photoreduction of CO₂ are also discussed.     

Ultrathin,Porous and Oxygen Vacancies‐Enriched Ag/WO3−x Heterostructures for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Exploring advanced electrocatalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution is highly desired but remains a challenge due to the lack of an efficient preparation method and reasonable structural design. Herein, we deliberately designed novel Ag/WO_3?x heterostructures through a supercritical CO₂‐assisted exfoliation‐oxidation route and the subsequent loading of Ag nanoparticles. The ultrathin and oxygen vacancies‐enriched WO_3?x nanosheets are ideal substrates for loading Ag nanoparticles, which can largely increase the active site density and improve electron transport. Besides, the resultant WO_3?x nanosheets with porous structure can form during the electrochemical cycling process induced by an electric field. As a result, the exquisite Ag/WO_3?x heterostructures show an enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity with a low onset overpotential of ≈30 mV, a small Tafel slope of ≈40 mV dec^?1 at 10 mA cm^?2, and as well as long‐term durability. This work sheds light on material design and preparation, and even opens up an avenue for the development of high‐efficiency electrocatalysts.     

氮化硼纳米管-纳米片分级结构的制备及光学和吸附特性

将五硼酸铵、 氨硼烷络合物和氧化镁混合, 球磨均匀后, 在1200 ℃及0.6 L/min流动氨气保护条件下退火6 h, 即可在氧化铝基片上收集到白色毛状产物. 采用X射线衍射(XRD), 红外光谱(FTIR)、 扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、 透射电子显微镜(TEM)、 拉曼光谱(Raman)、 紫外-可见吸收光谱(UV-Vis)和荧光光谱(PL)对产物进行了表征. 结果表明, 样品呈一维线状分级结构, 长度大于5 mm, 中间为竹节状空心结构, 内部管径为50~350 nm, 外径范围为200~800 nm. 分级结构表面负载了大量氮化硼(BN)纳米薄片, 单个薄片厚度约为13 nm. 薄片弯曲褶皱, 相互交织, 构成1个氮化硼片层, 其厚度约为50~200 nm. UV-Vis和PL光谱测试结果表明, 氮化硼纳米管(BNNT)分级结构在紫外光材料领域具有一定的应用潜力, 且对亚甲基蓝具有良好的吸附能力(7 min即可吸附71%, 107 min时可吸附96%). 对比实验结果表明, BNNT的生长机理遵循气-液-固相(VLS)模型, 而表面负载的超薄BN片的生长机理遵循气-固相(VS)模型.     

Impregnated copper ferrite on mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride: An efficient and reusable catalyst for promoting ligand‐free click synthesis of diverse 1,2,3‐triazoles and tetrazoles

Magnetic CuFe₂O₄/g‐C₃N₄ hybrids were synthesized through a facile method and their catalytic performances were evaluated in click chemistry for the first time. The structural and morphological characterization of prepared materials was carried out by different techniques such as X‐ray diffraction, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, thermogravimetric analysis, and N₂ adsorption–desorption analysis (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area). The utilization of magnetic CuFe₂O₄/g‐C₃N₄ enabled superior performance in the one‐pot azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction in water using alkyl halides and epoxides as azide precursors without the need of any additional agents. The present system is broad in scope and especially practical for the synthesis of macrocyclic triazoles and also tetrazoles. In addition, the catalytic system highly fulfills the demands of “green click chemistry” with its convenient conditions, especially easy access to a variety of significant products in low catalyst loading and simple work‐up and isolation procedure.     

Semi‐heterogeneous Dual Nickel/Photocatalysis using Carbon Nitrides: Esterification of Carboxylic Acids with Aryl Halides

Cross‐coupling reactions mediated by dual nickel/photocatalysis are synthetically attractive but rely mainly on expensive, non‐recyclable noble‐metal complexes as photocatalysts. Heterogeneous semiconductors, which are commonly used for artificial photosynthesis and wastewater treatment, are a sustainable alternative. Graphitic carbon nitrides, a class of metal‐free polymers that can be easily prepared from bulk chemicals, are heterogeneous semiconductors with high potential for photocatalytic organic transformations. Here, we demonstrate that graphitic carbon nitrides in combination with nickel catalysis can induce selective C?O cross‐couplings of carboxylic acids with aryl halides, yielding the respective aryl esters in excellent yield and selectivity. The heterogeneous organic photocatalyst exhibits a broad substrate scope, is able to harvest green light, and can be recycled multiple times. In situ FTIR was used to track the reaction progress to study this transformation at different irradiation wavelengths and reaction scales.     

Cytotoxicity of Shear Exfoliated Pnictogen (As,Sb, Bi) Nanosheets

The experimental achievement of phosphorene, which exhibits superior electronic, physical, and optical properties has spurred recent interest in other Group 15 elemental 2D nanomaterials such as arsenene, antimonene, and bismuthene. These unique and superior properties of the pnictogen nanosheets have spurred intensive research efforts and led to the discovery of their diversified potential applications; for instance, optical Kerr material, photonic devices, pnictogen-decorated microfibers, high-speed transistors, and flexible 2D electronics. Previous studies have mainly been dedicated to study the synthesis, properties, and applications of the heavy pnictogens nanosheets; however, the toxicological behaviour of these nanosheets has yet to be established. Herein, the cytotoxicity study of pnictogen nanosheets (As, Sb, and Bi) was conducted over 24 h of incubation with various concentrations of test materials and adenocarcinoma human lung epithelial A549 cells. After the treatment period, the remaining cell viabilities were obtained through absorbance measurements with WST-8 and MTT assays. These findings demonstrate that the toxicity of pnictogen nanosheets decreases down Group 15, whereby arsenic nanosheets are considered to be the most toxic, whereas bismuth nanosheets induce low cytotoxicity. The findings of this study constitute an important initial step towards enhancing our understanding of the toxicological effects of pnictogen nanosheets in light of their prospective commercial applications.     

Ultrathin Fe‐N‐C Nanosheets Coordinated Fe‐Doped CoNi Alloy Nanoparticles for Electrochemical Water Splitting

The development of highly active and cost‐effective catalyst materials toward electrochemical water splitting is of great importance for converting and storing the intermittent solar energy in the form of hydrogen. Herein, for the first time, an ultrathin Fe and N‐co‐doped carbon nanosheet encapsulated Fe‐doped CoNi alloy nanoparticle (FeCoNi@FeNC) composite is obtained and applied as a bifunctional catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This catalyst exhibits prominent catalytic performances for both HER and OER, which only requires overpotentials of 102 and 330 mV, respectively, to reach a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 in alkaline media. The high catalytic activity is intrinsically associated with the presence of Fe in both nanosheets and nanoparticles, which has triggered the occurrence of coordinative effects between Fe‐N‐C and FeCoNi that are beneficial for HER and OER, as revealed by electrochemical techniques. In an overall water splitting electrolyzer, FeCoNi@FeNC is employed as both the cathode and anode catalysts, achieving 12 mA cm^?2 at 1.63 V for a duration of more than 12 h.     

Tantalum Nitride Nanosheets for Photoacoustic Imaging-Guided Photothermal Cancer Therapy

In this study, the synthesis of TaN nanosheets and their application in theranostic agents is reported. After coating polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the TaN nanosheets, the as-synthesized PEG-modified TaN nanosheets (TaN-PEG) show good stability and biocompatibility. Because of their high absorbance in the near-IR region, TaN-PEG can be utilized as photoacoustic imaging contrast agents for tumor imaging. Moreover, TaN-PEG has significant photothermal conversion performance, exhibiting effective laser-induced tumor ablation capability. The TaN-PEG possessing excellent photoacoustic contrast effect and photothermal properties thus have great promise in theranostic applications, especially imaging-guided cancer treatment.     

单层石墨相氮化碳负载Pt4团簇吸附O2的第一性理论研究

The structural and electronic properties of Pt₄ nanoparticles adsorbed on monolayer graphitic carbon nitride (Pt₄/g-C₃N₄), as well as the adsorption behavior of oxygen molecules on the Pt₄/g-C₃N₄ surface have been investigated through first-principles density-functional theory (DFT) calculations with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The interaction of the oxygen molecules with the bare g-C₃N₄ and the Pt₄ clusters was also calculated for comparison. Our calculations show that Pt nanoparticles prefer to bond with four edge N atoms on heptazine phase g-C₃N₄ (HGCN) surfaces, forming two hexagonal rings. For s-triazine phase g-C₃N₄ (TGCN) surfaces, Pt nanoparticles prefer to sit atop the single vacancy site, forming three bonds with the nearest nitrogen atoms. Stronger hybridization of the Pt nanoparticles with the sp2 dangling bonds of neighboring nitrogen atoms leads to the Pt₄ clusters strongly binding on both types of g-C₃N₄ surface. In addition, the results from Mulliken charge population analyses suggest that there are electrons flowing from the Pt clusters to g-C₃N₄. According to the comparative analyses of the O₂ adsorbed on the Pt₄/HGCN, Pt₄/TGCN, and pure g-C₃N₄ systems, the presence of metal clusters promotes greater electron transfer to oxygen molecules and elongates the O―O bond. Meanwhile, its greater adsorbate-substrate distortion and large adsorption energy render the Pt₄/HGCN system slightly superior to the Pt₄/TGCN system in catalytic performance. The results validate that being supported on g-C₃N₄ may be a good way to modify the electronic structure of materials and their surface properties improve their catalytic performance.     

Enhanced Catalytic Activity in Liquid‐Exfoliated FeOCl Nanosheets as a Fenton‐Like Catalyst

A facile liquid‐phase exfoliation method to prepare few‐layer FeOCl nanosheets in acetonitrile by ultrasonication is reported. The detailed exfoliation mechanism and generated products were investigated by combining first‐principle calculations and experimental approaches. The similar cleavage energies of FeOCl (340 mJ m^?2) and graphite (320 mJ m^?2) confirm the experimental exfoliation feasibility. As a Fenton reagent, FeOCl nanosheets showed outstanding properties in the catalytic degradation of phenol in water at room temperature, under neutral pH conditions, and with sunlight irradiation. Apart from the increased surface area of the nanosheets, the surface state change of the nanosheets also plays a key role in improving the catalytic performance. The changes of charge density, density of states (DOS), and valence state of Fe atoms in the exfoliated FeOCl nanosheets versus plates illustrated that surface atomistic relationships made the few‐layer nanosheets higher activity, indicating the exfoliation process of the FeOCl nanosheets also brought about surface state changes.