Engineered disorder in CO photocatalysis.

Light harvesting, separation of charge carriers, and surface reactions are three fundamental steps that are essential for an efficient photocatalyst. Here we show that these steps in the TiO can be boosted simultaneously by disorder engineering. A solid-state reduction reaction between sodium and TiO forms a core-shell c-TiO@a-TiO(OH) heterostructure, comprised of HO-Ti-[O]-Ti surface frustrated Lewis pairs (SFLPs) embedded in an amorphous shell surrounding a crystalline core, which enables a new genre of chemical reactivity.

High-performance light-driven heterogeneous CO catalysis with near-unity selectivity on metal phosphides.

Akin to single-site homogeneous catalysis, a long sought-after goal is to achieve reaction site precision in heterogeneous catalysis for chemical control over patterns of activity, selectivity and stability. Herein, we report on metal phosphides as a class of material capable of realizing these attributes and unlock their potential in solar-driven CO hydrogenation. Selected as an archetype, NiP affords a structure based upon highly dispersed nickel nanoclusters integrated into a phosphorus lattice that harvest light intensely across the entire solar spectral range.

Shining light on CO: from materials discovery to photocatalyst, photoreactor and process engineering.

Heterogeneous catalysis, a process in which the reaction of gaseous or liquid chemical reagents is facilitated at the surface of a solid material, is responsible for the majority of industrial-scale chemical and fuel production reactions. The energy required to drive these reactions has historically been derived from the combustion of non-renewable fossil fuels and carries an unavoidably large carbon footprint. More recently, the development of environmentally responsible and sustainable chemical industries is increasingly motivated by greenhouse gas-induced climate change, thus creating demand for eco-friendly heterogeneous catalytic processes.

Black indium oxide a photothermal CO hydrogenation catalyst.

Nanostructured forms of stoichiometric InO are proving to be efficacious catalysts for the gas-phase hydrogenation of CO. These conversions can be facilitated using either heat or light; however, until now, the limited optical absorption intensity evidenced by the pale-yellow color of InO has prevented the use of both together. To take advantage of the heat and light content of solar energy, it would be advantageous to make indium oxide black.

Nickel@Siloxene catalytic nanosheets for high-performance CO methanation.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are of considerable interest for catalyzing the heterogeneous conversion of CO to synthetic fuels. In this regard, 2D siloxene nanosheets, have escaped thorough exploration, despite being composed of earth-abundant elements. Herein we demonstrate the remarkable catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability of a nickel@siloxene nanocomposite; it is found that this promising catalytic performance is highly sensitive to the location of the nickel component, being on either the interior or the exterior of adjacent siloxene nanosheets.

Polymorph selection towards photocatalytic gaseous CO hydrogenation.

Titanium dioxide is the only known material that can enable gas-phase CO photocatalysis in its anatase and rutile polymorphic forms. Materials engineering of polymorphism provides a useful strategy for optimizing the performance metrics of a photocatalyst. In this paper, it is shown that the less well known rhombohedral polymorph of indium sesquioxide, like its well-documented cubic polymorph, is a CO hydrogenation photocatalyst for the production of CHOH and CO.

A highly stable indium based metal organic framework for efficient arsenic removal from water.

A new porous indium metal organic framework namely (AUBM-1) was successfully synthesized via a solvothermal reaction of pyromellitic acid and indium chloride. Single crystal X-ray analysis revealed the formation of a 3D framework with a pts topology. The resulting MOF structure showed high chemical stability at different pH values.

Heterogeneous reduction of carbon dioxide by hydride-terminated silicon nanocrystals.

Silicon constitutes 28% of the earth's mass. Its high abundance, lack of toxicity and low cost coupled with its electrical and optical properties, make silicon unique among the semiconductors for converting sunlight into electricity. In the quest for semiconductors that can make chemicals and fuels from sunlight and carbon dioxide, unfortunately the best performers are invariably made from rare and expensive elements.