Metavalently bonded tellurides: the essence of improved thermoelectric performance in elemental Te.

Elemental Te is important for semiconductor applications including thermoelectric energy conversion. Introducing dopants such as As, Sb, and Bi has been proven critical for improving its thermoelectric performance. However, the remarkably low solubility of these elements in Te raises questions about the mechanism with which these dopants can improve the thermoelectric properties.

Polydopamine/defective ultrathin mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets as Z-scheme organic assembly for robust photothermal-photocatalytic performance.

Polydopamine/defective ultrathin mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (PDA/DCN) Z-scheme organic assembly is fabricated through high-temperature surface hydrogenation and ultrasonic freeze-dried strategies. PDA could be anchored on the surface of DCN with adequate N-vacancy defects firmly via π-π interactions, forming Z-scheme heterogenous structure for promoting charge separation. The visible and near-infrared light driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate is up to 3420 μmol h g, and the removal ratio of organic contaminant methylene blue is up to 98% within 70 min, which is several times higher than that of pristine graphitic carbon nitride and DCN.

Surface defects induced charge imbalance for boosting charge separation and solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Low charge separation efficiency of semiconductor materials is the main obstacle for high-performance photocatalyst. Herein, we report surface defects engineered uniform mesoporous TiO nanospheres (DMTNSs) through surfactant-mediated self-assembly solvothermal approach combined with hydrogenation strategy to promote charge separation. The surface defects induced charge imbalance result in the formation of built-in field, which can promote photogenerated charge separation efficiently and be confirmed by experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Surface engineering of mesoporous anatase titanium dioxide nanotubes for rapid spatial charge separation on horizontal-vertical dimensions and efficient solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

The low charge separation efficiency and sunlight utilisation of traditional titanium dioxide (TiO) nanoparticle photocatalysts greatly limit their applications. Herein, one-dimensional (1D) mesoporous anatase TiO nanotubes with engineered surface defects are fabricated using a combination of simple solvothermal synthesis and high-temperature surface hydrogenation strategy. The obtained mesoporous anatase TiO nanotubes with mesopores in the nanotube walls and a specific surface area of 110 m g decrease the bandgap from 3.

Ferrate(VI): a novel oxidant for degradation of cationic surfactant - cetylpyridinium bromide.

Ferrate(VI) is an efficient multi-functional water treatment reagent that has several novel properties, such as strong oxidation, absorption, flocculation, disinfection and deodorization. The removal of cationic surfactants based on ferrate (K2FeO4) was performed in the case of cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB). The influence of operating variables on the mineralization efficiency was studied as a function of ferrate dosage, initial pH and reaction time.