Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Photoelectrochemical Alcohol Oxidation Enhanced by Nickel-Based Cocatalysts.

Using biomass oxidation reactions instead of water oxidation reactions is optimal for accomplishing biomass conversion and effective hydrogen generation. Here, we report that α-FeO photoanodes with a NiOOH cocatalyst exhibit excellent performance for photoelectrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The conversion efficiency for HMF reaches 98.

Optically selective catalyst design with minimized thermal emission for facilitating photothermal catalysis.

Converting solar energy into fuels is pursued as an attractive route to reduce dependence on fossil fuel. In this context, photothermal catalysis is a very promising approach through converting photons into heat to drive catalytic reactions. There are mainly three key factors that govern the photothermal catalysis performance: maximized solar absorption, minimized thermal emission and excellent catalytic property of catalyst.

Continuous strain tuning of oxygen evolution catalysts with anisotropic thermal expansion.

Compressive strain, downshifting the d-band center of transition metal oxides, is an effective way to accelerate the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for water electrolysis. Here, we find that anisotropic thermal expansion can produce compressive strains of the IrO octahedron in SrIrO catalyst, thus downshifting its d-band center. Different from the previous strategies to create constant strains in the crystals, the thermal-triggered compressive strains can be real-timely tuned by varying temperature.

Spatial Decoupling of Redox Chemistry for Efficient and Highly Selective Amine Photoconversion to Imines.

Light-driven primary amine oxidation to imines integrated with H production presents a promising means to simultaneous production of high-value-added fine chemicals and clean fuels. Yet, the effectiveness of this strategy is generally limited by the poor charge separation of photocatalysts and uncontrolled hydrogenation of imines to secondary amines. Herein, a spatial decoupling strategy is proposed to isolate redox chemistry at distinct sites of photocatalysts, and CoP core-ZnInS shell (CoP@ZnInS) coaxial nanorods are assembled as the proof-of-concept photocatalyst.

Narrowing the band gap and suppressing electron-hole recombination in β-FeO by chlorine doping.

The effects of halogen (F, Cl, Br, I, and At) doping in the direct-band-gap β-FeO semiconductor on its band structures and electron-hole recombination have been investigated by density functional theory. Doping Br, I, and At in β-FeO leads to transformation from a direct-band-gap semiconductor to an indirect-band-gap semiconductor because their atomic radii are too large; however, F- and Cl-doped β-FeO remain as direct-band-gap semiconductors. Due to the deep impurity states of the F dopant, this study focuses on the effects of the Cl dopant on the band structures of β-FeO.

Cu NPs-embedded cross-linked microporous 3D reduced graphene hydrogels as photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution.

Three-dimensionally (3D) structured Cu nanoparticles (NPs)-embedded graphene hydrogels were synthesized from inexpensive graphite and low-cost copper acetate by a novel self-assembly and in-situ slow-release photoreduction method. The cross-linked microporous 3D reduced graphene oxide framework ensures full contact of the photocatalyst with water and promotes electron transfer. The EDA-reduced Cu-rGH hydrogel with an 11.