TiO2 Nanotubes: Nitrogen‐Ion Implantation at Low Dose Provides Noble‐Metal‐Free Photocatalytic H2‐Evolution Activity

Low‐dose nitrogen implantation induces an ion and damage profile in TiO₂ nanotubes that leads to “co‐catalytic” activity for photocatalytic H₂‐evolution (without the use of any noble metal). Ion implantation with adequate parameters creates this active zone limited to the top part of the tubes. The coupling of this top layer and the underlying non‐implanted part of the nanotubes additionally contributes to an efficient carrier separation and thus to a significantly enhanced H₂ generation.     

Hydrogenated Anatase: Strong Photocatalytic Dihydrogen Evolution without the Use of a Co‐Catalyst

The high‐pressure hydrogenation of commercially available anatase or anatase/rutile TiO₂ powder can create a photocatalyst for H₂ evolution that is highly effective and stable without the need for any additional co‐catalyst. This activation effect cannot be observed for rutile; however, for anatase/rutile mixtures, a strong synergistic effect can be found (similar to results commonly observed for noble‐metal‐decorated TiO₂). EPR and PL measurements indicated the intrinsic co‐catalytic activation of anatase TiO₂ to be due to specific defect centers formed during hydrogenation. These active centers can be observed specifically for high‐pressure hydrogenation; other common reduction treatments do not result in this effect.     

A Dewetted‐Dealloyed Nanoporous Pt Co‐Catalyst Formed on TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Leads to Strongly Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Production

Pt nanoparticles are typically decorated as co‐catalyst on semiconductors to enhance the photocatalytic performance. Due to the low abundance and high cost of Pt, reaching a high activity with minimized co‐catalyst loadings is a key challenge in the field. We explore a dewetting‐dealloying strategy to fabricate on TiO₂ nanotubes nanoporous Pt nanoparticles, aiming at improving the co‐catalyst mass activity for H₂ generation. For this, we sputter first Pt‐Ni bi‐layers of controllable thickness (nm range) on highly ordered TiO₂ nanotube arrays, and then induce dewetting‐alloying of the Pt‐Ni bi‐layers by a suitable annealing step in a reducing atmosphere: the thermal treatment causes the Pt and Ni films to agglomerate and at the same time mix with each other, forming on the TiO₂ nanotube surface metal islands of a mixed PtNi composition. In a subsequent step we perform chemical dealloying of Ni that is selectively etched out from the bimetallic dewetted islands, leaving behind nanoporous Pt decorations. Under optimized conditions, the nanoporous Pt‐decorated TiO₂ structures show a>6 times higher photocatalytic H₂ generation activity compared to structures modified with a comparable loading of dewetted, non‐porous Pt. We ascribe this beneficial effect to the nanoporous nature of the dealloyed Pt co‐catalyst, which provides an increased surface‐to‐volume ratio and thus a more efficient electron transfer and a higher density of active sites at the co‐catalyst surface for H₂ evolution.     

Molten‐Salt‐Mediated Synthesis of an Atomic Nickel Co‐catalyst on TiO2 for Improved Photocatalytic H2 Evolution

Atomic co‐catalysts offer high potential to improve the photocatalytic performance, of which the preparation with earth‐abundant elements is challenging. Here, a new molten salt method (MSM) is designed to prepare atomic Ni co‐catalyst on widely studied TiO₂ nanoparticles. The liquid environment and space confinement effect of the molten salt leads to atomic dispersion of Ni ions on TiO₂, while the strong polarizing force provided by the molten salt promotes formation of strong Ni?O bonds. Interestingly, Ni atoms are found to facilitate the formation of oxygen vacancies (OV) on TiO₂ during the MSM process, which benefits the charge transfer and hydrogen evolution reaction. The synergy of atomic Ni co‐catalyst and OV results in 4‐time increase in H₂ evolution rate compared to that of the Ni co‐catalyst on TiO₂ prepared by an impregnation method. This work provides a new strategy of controlling atomic co‐catalyst together with defects for efficient photocatalytic water splitting.     

Sulfur and Ti3+ co‐Doping of TiO2 Nanotubes Enhance Photocatalytic H2 Evolution Without the Use of Any co‐catalyst

TiO₂ nanotubes were successfully co‐doped with sulfur and Ti³⁺ states using a facile annealing treatment in H₂/H₂S gas mixture. The obtained nanotubes were investigated for their photocatalytic performance and characterized by SEM, XRD, XPS, EPR, IPCE, IMPS and Mott‐Schottky measurements. The synthesized co‐doped TiO₂ nanotubes show an enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production rate compared to tubes that were treated only in pure H₂ or H₂S atmosphere—this without the presence of any co‐catalyst. It was found that sulfur in co‐doped TiO₂ exists in the form of S^2? and a small quantity of S⁴⁺/S⁶⁺, which leads to a narrowing of the band gap. However, the enhanced absorption of light in the visible range is not the key reason for the improved photocatalytic performance. We ascribe the enhanced photocatalytic activity to a synergetic effect of S mid‐gap states and disordered Ti³⁺ defects that facilitate photo generated electron transfer.     

Stable Isolated Metal Atoms as Active Sites for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

The process of using solar energy to split water to produce hydrogen assisted by an inorganic semiconductor is crucial for solving our energy crisis and environmental problems in the future. However, most semiconductor photocatalysts would not exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity without loading suitable co‐catalysts. Generally, the noble metals have been widely applied as co‐catalysts, but always agglomerate during the loading process or photocatalytic reaction. Therefore, the utilization efficiency of the noble co‐catalysts is still very low on a per metal atom basis if no obvious size effect exists, because heterogeneous catalytic reactions occur on the surface active atoms. Here, for the first time, we have synthesized isolated metal atoms (Pt, Pd, Rh, or Ru) stably by anchoring on TiO₂, a model photocatalystic system, by a facile one‐step method. The isolated metal atom based photocatalysts show excellent stability for H₂ evolution and can lead to a 6–13‐fold increase in photocatalytic activity over the metal clusters loaded on TiO₂ by the traditional method. Furthermore, the configurations of isolated atoms as well as the originality of their unusual stability were analyzed by a collaborative work from both experiments and theoretical calculations.     

Double‐Side Co‐Catalytic Activation of Anodic TiO2 Nanotube Membranes with Sputter‐Coated Pt for Photocatalytic H2 Generation from Water/Methanol Mixtures

Self‐standing TiO₂ nanotube layers in the form of membranes are fabricated by self‐organizing anodization of Ti metal and a potential shock technique. The membranes are then decorated by sputtering different Pt amounts i) only at the top, ii) only at the bottom or iii) at both top and bottom of the tube layers. The Pt‐decorated membranes are transferred either in tube top‐up or in tube top‐down configuration onto FTO slides and are investigated, after crystallization, as photocatalysts for H₂ generation using either front or back‐side light irradiation. Double‐side Pt‐decoration of the tube membranes leads to higher H₂ generation rates (independently of tube and light‐irradiation configuration) compared to membranes decorated at only one side with similar overall Pt amounts. The results suggest that this effect cannot be only ascribed to the overall amount of Pt co‐catalyst as such but also to its distribution at both tube extremities. This leads to optimized light absorption and electron diffusion/transfer dynamics: the central part of the membranes acts as light‐harvesting zone and electrons therein generated can diffuse towards the Pt/TiO₂ active zones (tube extremities) where they can react with the environment and generate H₂.     

贵金属负载TiO2对光催化还原CO2选择性的影响

利用光沉积方法在TiO₂表面分别负载1%(质量分数) Pt、Pd、Au和Ag助催化剂.用TEM、XRD、UV-vis等技术对催化剂进行了表征,并利用连续瞬态电流时间响应和线性扫描伏安法等电化学方法,对贵金属负载的TiO₂光催化剂在光照条件下的电流响应强度及电催化析氢电位等特性加以测试.分析了贵金属助催化剂对光催化还原CO₂性能的差异.结果表明,负载贵金属助催化剂能显著加速光生电子空穴的分离,降低复合率;另外,助催化剂对还原CO₂选择性的顺序为Ag>Au>Pd>Pt.贵金属助催化剂还原CO₂的加氢选择性和析氢过电位存在相关性,即越不利于析氢过程的助催化剂,其催化CO₂加氢还原产物的选择性越高.     

Noble Metals Can Have Different Effects on Photocatalysis Over Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs): A Case Study on M/NH2‐MIL‐125(Ti) (M=Pt and Au)

M‐doped NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti) (M=Pt and Au) were prepared by using the wetness impregnation method followed by a treatment with H₂ flow. The resultant samples were characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X‐ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analyses, N₂‐sorption BET surface area, and UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The photocatalytic reaction carried out in saturated CO₂ with triethanolamine (TEOA) as sacrificial agent under visible‐light irradiations showed that the noble metal‐doping on NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti) promoted the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Unlike that over pure NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti), in which only formate was produced, both hydrogen and formate were formed over Pt‐ and Au‐loaded NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti). However, Pt and Au have different effects on the photocatalytic performance for formate production. Compared with pure NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti), Pt/NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti) showed an enhanced activity for photocatalytic formate formation, whereas Au has a negative effect on this reaction. To elucidate the origin of the different photocatalytic performance, electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out over M/NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti).The photocatalytic mechanisms over M/NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti) (M=Pt and Au) were proposed. For the first time, the hydrogen spillover from the noble metal Pt to the framework of NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti) and its promoting effect on the photocatalytic CO₂ reduction is revealed. The elucidation of the mechanism on the photocatalysis over M/NH₂‐MIL‐125(Ti) can provide some guidance in the development of new photocatalysts based on MOF materials. This study also demonstrates the potential of using noble metal‐doped MOFs in photocatalytic reactions involving hydrogen as a reactant, like hydrogenation reactions.     

Review on Undoped/Doped TiO2 Nanomaterial; Synthesis and Photocatalytic and Antimicrobial Activity

This review covers the various synthetic methods of doped and undoped TiO₂ nanomaterials, ranging from single‐doped and co‐doped to multidoped with transition‐metal ions, rare earth metal ions, and other metals and nonmetals ions. The effects of doping on the physiochemical propertiesas well as the photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities of TiO₂ nanomaterial are discussed. The results from the literature show that doping of TiO₂ shifts the absorption edge to the visible region as a result of the decrease in the bandgap due to the formation of new energy levels in the bandgap. The dopent also acts as a trapping center for electrons and holes, thereby reducing the recombination rate of charge carriers and increasing the photocatalytic and antimicrobial activity of TiO₂ nanomaterials. All multidoped TiO₂ nanomaterials show higher activity than their undoped, single‐doped, and co‐doped counterparts.     

Photocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide by Hydrous Hydrazine over Au–Cu Alloy Nanoparticles Supported on SrTiO3/TiO2 Coaxial Nanotube Arrays

Efficient photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ into CO and hydrocarbons by hydrous hydrazine (N₂H₄?H₂O) is achieved on SrTiO₃/TiO₂ coaxial nanotube arrays loaded with Au–Cu bimetallic alloy nanoparticles. The synergetic catalytic effect by the Au–Cu alloy nanoparticles and the fast electron‐transfer in SrTiO₃/TiO₂ coaxial nanoarchitecture are the main reasons for the efficiency, while N₂H₄?H₂O as the H source and electron donor provides a reducing atmosphere to protect the surface Cu atoms from oxidation, therefore maintaining the alloying effect which is the basis for the high photocatalytic activity and stability. This approach opens a feasible route to enhance the photocatalytic efficiency, which also benefits the development of photocatalysts and co‐catalysts.     

Delivery of Highly Active Noble‐Metal Nanoparticles into Microspherical Supports by an Aerosol‐Spray Method

Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) with 1–5 nm diameter obtained from NaHB₄ reduction possess high catalytic activity. However, they are rarely used directly. This work presents a facile, versatile, and efficient aerosol‐spray approach to deliver noble‐metal NPs into metal oxide supports, while maintaining the size of the NPs and the ability to easily adjust the loading amount. In comparison with the conventional spray approach, the size of the loaded noble‐metal nanoparticles can be significantly decreased. An investigation of the 4‐nitrophenol hydrogenation reaction catalyzed by these materials suggests that the NPs/oxides catalysts have high activity and good endurance. For 1 % Au/CeO₂ and Pd/Al₂O₃ catalysts, the rate constants reach 2.03 and 1.46 min^?1, which is much higher than many other reports with the same noble‐metal loading scale. Besides, the thermal stability of catalysts can be significantly enhanced by modifying the supports. Therefore, this work contributes an efficient method as well as some guidance on how to produce highly active and stable supported noble‐metal catalysts.     

Selective Amplification of CO Bond Hydrogenation on Pt/TiO2: Catalytic Reaction and Sum‐Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy Studies of Crotonaldehyde Hydrogenation

The hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde in the presence of supported platinum nanoparticles was used to determine how the interaction between the metal particles and their support can control catalytic performance. Using gas‐phase catalytic reaction studies and in situ sum‐frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG) to study Pt/TiO₂ and Pt/SiO₂ catalysts, a unique reaction pathway was identified for Pt/TiO₂, which selectively produces alcohol products. The catalytic and spectroscopic data obtained for the Pt/SiO₂ catalyst shows that SiO₂ has no active role in this reaction. SFG spectra obtained for the Pt/TiO₂ catalyst indicate the presence of a crotyl‐oxy surface intermediate. By adsorption through the aldehyde oxygen atom to an O‐vacancy site on the TiO₂ surface, the C?O bond of crotonaldehyde is activated, by charge transfer, for hydrogenation. This intermediate reacts with spillover H provided by the Pt to produce crotyl alcohol.     

Preparation and Photocatalytic Activity of Mesoporous TiO2 Photocatalyst Co‐doped with Fe and H3PW12O40

The mesoporous titanium dioxide (MTiO₂) photocatalysts co‐doped with Fe and H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ were synthesized by template method using tetrabutyl titanate (Ti(OC₄H₉)₄), Fe(NO₃)k₃9H₂Oand H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ as precursors and Pluronic P123 as template. The as‐prepared photocatalyst was characterized by N₂ adsorption‐desorption measurements, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV‐vis adsorption spectroscopy, and the photocatalytic activities of the prepared samples under UV and visible light were estimated by measuring the degradation rate of methyl blue (MB) (50 mg/L) in an aqueous solution. The characterizations indicated that the photocatalysts possessed a homogeneous pore diameter of ca. 10 nm with high surface area of ca. 150 m²/g. The results of MB photodecomposition showed that co‐doped mesoporous TiO₂ exhibited higher photocatalytic activities than un‐doped, single‐doped mesoporous TiO₂ under UV and visible light irradiation. It was shown that the co‐doped MTiO₂ could be activated by visible light and could thus be used as an effective catalyst in photo‐oxidation reactions. The synergistic effect of Fe and H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ co‐doping played an important role in improving the photocatalytic activity.     

Recent Advances in Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction Using Earth‐Abundant Metal Complexes‐Derived Photocatalysts

Photochemical reduction of CO₂ with H₂O into energy‐rich chemicals using inexhaustible solar energy is an appealing strategy to simultaneously address the global energy and environmental issues. Earth‐abundant metal complexes show promising application in this field due to their easy availability, rich redox valence and tunable property. Great progress has been seen on catalytic reduction of CO₂ under visible light illumination employing earth‐abundant metal complexes and their hybrids as key contributors, especially for producing CO and HCOOH via the two‐electron reduction process. In this minireview, we will summarize and update advances on earth‐abundant metal complex‐derived photocatalytic system for visible‐light driven CO₂ photoreduction over the last 5 years. Homogeneous earth‐abundant metal complex photocatalysts and earth‐abundant metal complex derived hybrid photocatalysts were both presented with focus on efficient improvement strategy.     

Facile Synthesis of Three‐Dimensional Pt‐TiO2 Nano‐networks: A Highly Active Catalyst for the Hydrolytic Dehydrogenation of Ammonia–Borane

Three‐dimensional (3D) porous metal and metal oxide nanostructures have received considerable interest because organization of inorganic materials into 3D nanomaterials holds extraordinary properties such as low density, high porosity, and high surface area. Supramolecular self‐assembled peptide nanostructures were exploited as an organic template for catalytic 3D Pt‐TiO₂ nano‐network fabrication. A 3D peptide nanofiber aerogel was conformally coated with TiO₂ by atomic layer deposition (ALD) with angstrom‐level thickness precision. The 3D peptide‐TiO₂ nano‐network was further decorated with highly monodisperse Pt nanoparticles by using ozone‐assisted ALD. The 3D TiO₂ nano‐network decorated with Pt nanoparticles shows superior catalytic activity in hydrolysis of ammonia–borane, generating three equivalents of H₂.     

Surface Plasmon Resonance‐Enhanced Visible‐NIR‐Driven Photocatalytic and Photothermal Catalytic Performance by Ag/Mesoporous Black TiO2 Nanotube Heterojunctions

Ag/mesoporous black TiO₂ nanotubes heterojunctions (Ag‐MBTHs) were fabricated through a surface hydrogenation, wet‐impregnation and photoreduction strategy. The as‐prepared Ag‐MBTHs possess a relatively high specific surface area of ≈85 m² g^?1 and an average pore size of ≈13.2 nm. The Ag‐MBTHs with a narrow band gap of ≈2.63 eV extend the photoresponse from UV to the visible‐light and near‐infrared (NIR) region. They exhibit excellent visible‐NIR‐driven photothermal catalytic and photocatalytic performance for complete conversion of nitro aromatic compounds (100 %) and mineralization of highly toxic phenol (100 %). The enhancement can be attributed to the mesoporous hollow structures increasing the light multi‐refraction, the Ti³⁺ in frameworks and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of plasmonic Ag nanoparticles favoring light‐harvesting and spatial separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which is confirmed by transient fluorescence. The fabrication of this SPR‐enhanced visible‐NIR‐driven Ag‐MBTHs catalyst may provide new insights for designing other high‐performance heterojunctions as photocatalytic and photothermal catalytic nanomaterials.     

锐钛矿(001)与(101)晶面在光催化反应中的作用

采用水热法制备了(001)和(101)晶面暴露的单晶锐钛矿TiO₂颗粒. 利用光还原沉积贵金属(Au, Ag, Pt)和光氧化沉积金属氧化物(PbO₂, MnO_x)的方法研究了暴露的锐钛矿(001)和(101)晶面在光催化中的作用. 通过透射电子显微镜(TEM)、扫描电子显微镜(STM)、能量色散X射线光谱仪(EDX)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)的表征, 发现发生光还原反应生成的贵金属粒子主要沉积在暴露的锐钛矿(101)晶面上, 而发生光氧化反应产生的金属氧化物颗粒主要沉积在暴露的锐钛矿(001)晶面上. 此结果表明光激发产生的电子与空穴主要并分别分布在单晶锐钛矿TiO₂的(101)与(001)晶面上, 并在其上参与光催化还原反应和氧化反应. 同时也表明暴露的不同晶面对光生电荷具有分离效应. 基于本研究可以认为同时暴露分别进行氧化和还原反应的晶面可以有效促进光催化反应.     

Effects of titanium silicalite and TiO2 nanocomposites on supported Co‐based catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

Titanium silicalite (TS) and TiO₂ nanocomposites were prepared by mixing TS and TiO₂ with different ratios in ethanol. They were impregnated with 15 wt% Co loading to afford Co‐based catalysts. Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) performance of these TS–TiO₂ nanocomposite‐supported Co‐based catalysts was studied in a fixed‐bed tubular reactor. The results reveal that the Co/TS–TiO₂ catalysts have better catalytic performance than Co/TS or Co/TiO₂ each with a single support, showing the synergistic effect of the binary TS–TiO₂ support. Among the TS–TiO₂ nanocomposite‐supported Co‐based catalysts, Co/TS–TiO₂‐1 presents the highest activity. These catalysts were characterized using N₂ adsorption–desorption measurements, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, H₂ temperature‐programmed reduction, H₂ temperature‐programmed desorption and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the position of the active component has a significant effect on the catalytic activity. In the TS–TiO₂ nanocomposites, cobalt oxides located at the new pores developed between TS and TiO₂ can exhibit better catalytic activity. Also, a positive relationship is observed between Co dispersion and FTS catalytic performance for all catalysts. The catalytic activity is improved on increasing the dispersion of Co.     

A Methylthio‐Functionalized‐MOF Photocatalyst with High Performance for Visible‐Light‐Driven H2 Evolution

Recently, the emergence of photoactive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has given great prospects for their applications as photocatalytic materials in visible‐light‐driven hydrogen evolution. Herein, a highly photoactive visible‐light‐driven material for H₂ evolution was prepared by introducing methylthio terephthalate into a MOF lattice via solvent‐assisted ligand‐exchange method. Accordingly, a first methylthio‐functionalized porous MOF decorated with Pt co‐catalyst for efficient photocatalytic H₂ evolution was achieved, which exhibited a high quantum yield (8.90 %) at 420 nm by use sacrificial triethanolamine. This hybrid material exhibited perfect H₂ production rate as high as 3814.0 μmol g^?1 h^?1, which even is one order of magnitude higher than that of the state‐of‐the‐art Pt/MOF photocatalyst derived from aminoterephthalate.