Abstract Due to the complex core–shell structure and variety of surface functional groups, the photoluminescence (PL) mechanism of carbon dots (CDs) remain unclear. o-Phenylenediamine (oPD), as one of the most common precursors for preparing red emissive CDs, has been extensively studied. Interestingly, most of the red emission CDs based on oPD have similar PL emission characteristics. Herein, we prepared six different oPD-based CDs and found that they had almost the same PL emission and absorption spectra after purification. Structural and spectral characterization indicated that they had similar carbon core structures but different surface polymer shells. Furthermore, single-molecule PL spectroscopy confirmed that the multi-modal emission of those CDs originated from the transitions of different vibrational energy levels of the same PL center in the carbon core. In addition, the phenomenon of “spectral splitting” of single-particle CDs was observed at low temperature, which confirmed these oPD-based CDs were unique materials with properties of both organic molecules and quantum dots. Finally, theoretical calculations revealed their potential polymerization mode and carbon core structure. Moreover, we proposed the PL mechanism of red-emitting CDs based on oPD precursors; that is, the carbon core regulates the PL emission, and the polymer shell regulates the PL intensity. Our work resolves the controversy on the PL mechanism of oPD-based red CDs. These findings provide a general guide for the mechanism exploration and structural analysis of other types of CDs.
The adsorption function of cationic dye stuff is studied by using manganese ore gangue as an adsorption agent.Experiments show that manganese ore gangue has certain adsorption ability for several cationic dye stuff studied,but the function of adsorption is greatly different.The adsorption law conforms to the adsorption isotherm equations of Langmuir and Freundlich
Solar-driven photocatalytic overall water splitting is regarded as one of the ideal strategies to generate renewable hydrogen energy without the initiation of environmental issues. However, there are still a few remaining challenges to develop wide-light-absorption and stable photocatalysts for the simultaneous production of H2 and O2 in pure water without sacrificial reagents. Herein, we report the design and preparation of Z-scheme TiO2/ZnTe/Au nanocorncob heterojunctions by homogeneously decorating Au nanoparticles onto the surface of core-shell TiO2/ZnTe coaxial nanorods for highly efficient overall water splitting. With the appropriate band structure of TiO2/ZnTe heterojunctions and the surface plasmon resonance enhancement of Au nanoparticles, the well-designed TiO2/ZnTe/Au nanocorncob heterojunctions can synergistically make effective utilization of broad-range solar light illunimation and enhance the separation efficency of electron-hole pairs, as evidenced by UV-Vis absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. Photoelectrochemical characterization confirms that the water-splitting reaction on TiO2/ZnTe/Au nanocorncobs is mainly carried out via a two-electron/two-electron transfer process with an intermediate product of H2O2. As a result, the TiO2/ZnTe/Au nanocorncob photocatalyst can generate H2 and O2 with a stoichiometric ratio of 2 : 1 under light irradiation without any sacrificial agents, exhibiting a high H2 production rate of 3344.0 μmol g-1 h-1 and a solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency of 0.98%. Moreover, the TiO2/ZnTe/Au nanocorncob heterojunctions show high stability and well-preserved morphological integrity after long-term photocatalytic tests. This study provides a prototype route to produce clean hydrogen energy from only sunlight, pure water, and rationally-designed heterojunction photocatalysts.
β-Carotene forms radicals in chloroform upon photo-excitation (i) in the femtosecond time-scale by direct electron ejection into chloroform and (ii) in the microsecond time-scale by secondary reactions with chloroform radicals formed in the faster reactions. The precursor for β-carotene radical cation decays in a second-order reaction in the mixed solvents, with a rate decreasing for increasing dielectric constant of cosolvent (acetic acid < ethanol < acetonitrile∼methanol). The precursor is assigned as an ion pair from which the β-carotene radical cation is formed in neat chloroform, but in more polar solvents it reacts at least partly through disproportionation in a bimolecular reaction promoted by the presence of ions. The stabilization of the radical precursor by increased solvent polarity, allowing for deactivation of the precursor by an alternative reaction channel, is discussed in relation to the balance of pro- and antioxidative properties of β-carotene at lipid/water interfaces.
Organometal halide perovskites have been one of the most promising alternative semiconductors in photovoltaic and light-emitting devices due to their excellent optoelectronic properties. However, the photophysical processes in these hybrid perovskites are still not fully understood. Photoluminescence (PL) of perovskite materials has been one of the most popular methods to investigate the photophysical processes in these materials. However, the PL signal only provides information of the radiative recombination of the charge carriers, which is not sufficient to understand the full picture of the photophysics. For example, both PL quenching and degradation of the materials cause decrease of PL intensity, which cannot be distinguished by PL. In this work, by simultaneously monitoring the absorption and PL of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite during the photoexcitation with the assistance of microscopic technology, we followed the PL variation and the absorption change at the same time, allowing us to directly distinguish the PL quenching effect and structure change of the materials. These results provide us an effective way to investigate the perovskite materials from different aspects and further promote the understanding of their physical processes.
Visible-light-induced catalytic hydrophosphonodifluoromethylation of mono- and disubstituted alkenes using bromodifluoromethanephosphonate with a Hantzsch ester as the terminal reductant is reported. The combination of thiyl-radical catalysis with photoredox catalysis is important for achieving good chemoselectivity and high yields.
Water-induced reorganization of individual one-dimensional J-aggregates of perylene bisimide (PBI) dyes was observed by fluorescence microscopy. Fluorescence spectra and decay kinetics of individual J-aggregates immobilized on glass surfaces were measured under a dry nitrogen atmosphere and under humid conditions. The fluorescence properties of PBI J-aggregates arisen from collective excitons under dry nitrogen atmosphere were changed to those of non-interacting dye monomers when water vapor was introduced into the environment (sample chamber). Time-dependent changes of the fluorescence spectra and lifetimes upon exposure to water vapor suggest an initial coordination of water molecules at defect sites leading to the formation of H-type dimer units that act as exciton quenchers, and a subsequent slower disintegration of the hydrogen-bonded J-aggregate into monomers that lack resonance coupling. Our present studies resulted in a direct demonstration of how drastically the optical properties of molecular ensembles and characteristics of their excited states can be changed by delicate reorganization of dye molecules at nanometre scales.
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