Boosting Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production through Sensitizing TiO via Novel Nanoclusters.

Improving the light utilization and electron-hole separation efficiency plays a central role in photocatalysis for converting light energy to hydrogen energy. Herein, for the first time, a stable, highly dispersible discrete T4 [CdInSe] cluster is developed as a novel photosensitizer to sensitize TiO for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Compared with pristine TiO (near zero) and the T4 clusters (19.

Enhancing photocatalytic H evolution on InS/mesoporous TiO nanocomposites via one-pot microwave-assisted synthesis using an ionic liquid.

Charge transfer and surface photocatalytic reactions are two crucial factors that determine the efficiency of photocatalysts in converting light energy to hydrogen energy. Herein, a fast and green strategy composed of a one-pot microwave-assisted solvothermal synthesis followed by a heat treatment process is developed for synthesizing InS/mesoporous TiO nanocomposites, using a mixture of tetra-butyl titanate, HO, In-S-ionic liquid precursor solution (In-S-ILs) and [Bmim]Cl as the reactants. The ionic liquid cations act not only as a microwave absorbent during the solvothermal process, but also as a morphology-controlling agent via a dissolution-recrystallization process, leading to the formation of nanocomposites consisting of small and uniform sized InS and mesoporous TiO.

Soluble Supertetrahedral Chalcogenido T4 Clusters: High Stability and Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Activities.

The discrete supertetrahedral chalcogenido T n clusters can be regarded as a type of quantum dot (QD) with precise structure and uniform size. They were commonly studied in the solid state because of their poor solubility or highly negative charge that leads to instability in common solvents. These drawbacks limit their potential applications as efficient photocatalysts.

Two novel selenidostannates from mixed structure-directing systems: the large ten-membered ring of [Sn3Se4] semicubes and the 3D [Sn4Se9]n(2n-) with multi-channels.

Ionothermal syntheses, characterization and properties of two selenidostannate compounds with two- or three-dimensional (D) skeletons by utilizing the synergistic structure-directing effects of the ionic liquid (IL) [Bmmim]Cl (Bmmim = 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium) and in-situ generated metal-amine complexes (MACs), namely, 2D-(Bmmim)2[Ni(teta)(en)][Sn3Se7]2 (1, teta = triethylenetetramine, en = ethylenediamine) and 3D-(Bmmim)1.5(dienH)0.5Ni(dien)2[Sn4Se9]2 (2, dien = diethylenetriamine) are presented.

Synthesizing 2D and 3D Selenidostannates in Ionic Liquids: The Synergistic Structure-Directing Effects of Ionic Liquids and Metal-Amine Complexes.

Presented are the ionothermal syntheses, characterizations, and properties of a series of two- and three-dimensional selenidostannate compounds synergistically directed by metal-amine complex (MAC) cations and ionic liquids (ILs) of [Bmmim]Cl (Bmmim=1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium). Four selenidostannates, namely, 2D-(Bmmim)3 [Ni(en)3 ]2 [Sn9 Se21 ]Cl (1, en=ethylenediamine), 2D-(Bmmim)8 [Ni2 (teta)2 (μ-teta)]Sn18 Se42 (2, teta=triethylenetetramine), 2D-(Bmmim)4 [Ni(tepa)Cl]2 [Ni(tepa)Sn12 Se28 ] (3, tepa=tetraethylenepentamine), and 3D-(Bmmim)2 [Ni(1,2-pda)3 ]Sn8 Se18 (4, 1,2-pda=1,2-diaminopropane), were obtained. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that compounds 1 and 2 possess a lamellar anionic [Sn3 Se7 ]n (2n-) structure comprising distinct eight-membered ring units, whereas 3 features a MAC-decorated anionic [Ni(tepa)Sn12 Se28 ]n (6n-) layered structure.