Graphical Abstract Spontaneous solar-driven water splitting into H2 and O2, that is, the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy, is being intensively investigated. In their Communication on page 2160 ff., M. Fujitsuka, T. Majima et al. present a new 2D heterostructure of black phosphorus and bismuth vanadate for photocatalytic water splitting without any sacrificial agents under visible-light irradiation. The Z-scheme architectural band structures contribute to an effective charge separation.
The Cover Feature illustrates the low-cost Fe2P as a cocatalyst hybridized with g-C3N4 for photocatalytic H2 generation under visible-light exposure. The enhanced photocatalytic H2 generation performance was attributed to the effective interfacial charge transfer between Fe2P and g-C3N4. The study demonstrates significant potential for the application of noble-metal-free Fe2P. More information can be found in the Article by Z. Sun et al. on page 540 in Issue 7, 2019 (DOI: 10.1002/cptc.201800260).
In this paper, a novel porphyrin dye (5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-(anthracene-1-ylmethoxy)phenyl) porphyrin, TPPAN) and its functionalized platinum nanoparticles (Pt-TPPAN) were synthesized. Using the Pt-TPPAN nanocomposite as a photocatalyst, a new and more compact photoinduced hydrogen evolution system from an aqueous ethanol solution without additives was developed. Fluorescence and photo-electrochemical spectra reveal that photoinduced electron transfer occurs from the photoexcited state of anthracene substituents to the porphyrin, accompanied by an electron transfer from the excited porphyrin moiety to the Pt co-catalyst. The photocatalytic activity results suggested that this TPPAN functionalized Pt nano-assembly could efficiently catalyze hydrogen evolution from an aqueous ethanol solution under simulated solar light irradiation. Therein, the TPPAN molecule in the nanocomposite worked as a light absorption antenna and the nanocore Pt species acted as a co-catalyst. This investigation might offer a new paradigm for constructing a simpler and more efficient homogeneous photocatalytic hydrogen evolution system for mimicking natural photosynthesis.
The catalytic removal of chlorinated VOCs (CVOCs) in gas–solid reactions usually suffers from chlorine-containing byproduct formation and catalyst deactivation. AOP wet scrubber has recently attracted ever-increasing interest in VOC treatment due to its advantages of high efficiency and no gaseous byproduct emission. Herein, the low-valence Co nanoparticles (NPs) confined in a N-doped carbon nanotube (Co@NCNT) were studied to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for efficient CVOC removal in a wet scrubber. Co@NCNT exhibited unprecedented catalytic activity, recyclability, and low Co ion leakage (0.19 mg L–1) for chlorobenzene degradation in a very wide pH range (3–11). The chlorobenzene removal efficiency was kept stable above 90% over Co@NCNT, much higher than that of nonconfined Co@NCNS (45%). The low-valence Co NPs achieved a continuous electron redox cycling (Co0/Co2+ → Co3+ → Co0/Co2+) and greatly promoted the O–O bond dissociation of PMS with the least energy (0.83 eV) inside the channel of Co@NCNT to form abundant HO• and SO4•–. Thus, the deep oxidation of chlorobenzene was achieved without any biphenyl byproducts from the coupling reaction. This study provided a new avenue for designing novel nanoconfined catalysts with outstanding activity, paving the way for the deep oxidation of CVOC waste gas via AOP wet scrubber.
Abstract Efficient utilization of solar energy is a high‐priority target and the search for suitable materials as photocatalysts that not only can harvest the broad wavelength of solar light, from UV to near‐infrared (NIR) region, but also can achieve high and efficient solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion is one of the most challenging missions. Herein, using Au/La 2 Ti 2 O 7 (BP‐Au/LTO) sensitized with black phosphorus (BP), a broadband solar response photocatalyst was designed and used as efficient photocatalyst for H 2 production. The optimum H 2 production rates of BP‐Au/LTO were about 0.74 and 0.30 mmol g −1 h −1 at wavelengths longer than 420 nm and 780 nm, respectively. The broad absorption of BP and plasmonic Au contribute to the enhanced photocatalytic activity in the visible and NIR light regions. Time‐resolved diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealed efficient interfacial electron transfer from excited BP and Au to LTO which is in accordance with the observed high photoactivities.
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