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CO2 photoreduction to C1/C1+ energized molecules is a key reaction of solar fuel technologies. Building heterojunctions can enhance photocatalysts performance, by facilitating charge transfer between two heterojunction phases. The material parameters that control this charge transfer remain unclear. Here, it is hypothesized that governing factors for CO2 photoreduction in gas phase are: i) a large...
In article number 1805473, Camille Petit and co‐workers provide directions to design heterojunctions for solar fuel production. A heterojunction formed of TiO2 nanofibers is shown decorated with metal–organic framework particles. The controlled morphology, obtained via an in‐situ process, enhances charge transfer and CO2 photoreduction.
The development of functional microstructures with designed hierarchical and complex morphologies and large free active surfaces offers new potential for improvement of the pristine microstructures properties by the synergistic combination of microscopic as well as nanoscopic effects. In this contribution, dedicated methods of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) including tomography are used to...
2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are drawing intense attention in heterogenous photocatalysis due to their porous, crystalline, and tailor‐made structures. For highly efficient solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion, revealing and modulating active centers in the skeletons of COFs are of great importance but encounter severe challenges. Herein, it is demonstrated that cyano conjugation on a typical...
Many substances in nature show radiated topological structure and possess excellent bio‐adhesion ability. Herein, regulating the topological structure of Zn2GeO4:Mn persistent phosphors is achieved with a molecular coordination method. The morphology of the Zn2GeO4:Mn phosphors is well‐tuned from nanorods to radiated dendrites by changing the coordination capability of the surface ligand. Due to the...
Copper/Zinc Dopants
In article number 2102178, Sheng Xue, Wenting Wu, and co‐workers demonstrate that the ‐Cu‐O‐Zn‐ bimetallic doping carbon dots process both catalase and superoxide dismutase activities under high temperature and acidic conditions, exhibiting sufficient in vitro ROS scavenging ability and cardiomyocyte protective effect. This bimetallic system synergistically boosts the electron...
Enzyme‐mimicking nanomaterials for antioxidative therapy is a promising star to treat more than 200 diseases or control their progressions through scavenging excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as O2•− and H2O2. However, they can inversely produce stronger ROS (e.g., •OH) under many disease conditions (e.g., low pH for myocardial ischemia). Herein, a biocompatible ‐Cu‐O‐Zn‐ bimetallic covalent...
The sustainable light can generate reduction and oxidation centers in situ through the generation of photoexcited electrons and holes in the presence of photocatalyst. However, the photoexcited electrons and holes have huge Coulombic attraction and high exciton binding energy due to the weak screening effect and dielectric properties in many low‐dimensional conjugated polymers, such as carbon nitride...
Limited levels of UV exposure can be beneficial to the human body. However, the UV radiation present in the atmosphere can be damaging if levels of exposure exceed safe limits which depend on the individual the skin color. Hence, UV photochromic materials that respond to UV light by changing their color are powerful tools to sense radiation safety limits. Photochromic materials comprise either organic...
Mixed‐dimensional heterostructures (MDHs), which combine nanomaterials of different dimensionalities deliver on the promise to bypass intrinsic limitations of a given low‐dimensional material. Here, a strategy to engineer MDHs between two low‐dimensional materials by curvature‐complementary self‐assembly is described. CdSe nanotubes rolled from 2D nanosheets and 1D CdSe nanorods, with negative and...
Over the past few decades, graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) has arisen much attention as a promising candidate for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) owing to its low cost and visible light response ability. However, the unsatisfied HER performance originated from the strong charge recombination of g‐C3N4 severely inhibits the further large‐scale application of g‐C3N4. In this case,...
Solar‐driven CO2 reaction with water oxidation into alcohols represents a promising approach to achieve real artificial photosynthesis. However, rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers seriously restricts the development of artificial photosynthesis. Herein, a facile method is explored to construct low‐cost Z‐Scheme heterostructure Cu2O/polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) by in situ growth of Cu...
Rational phase engineering of reduction cocatalyst offers a promising route to modulate the photocatalytic activity and selectivity in the conversion of CO2 to chemical feedstocks. However, it remains a great challenge to choose a suitable phase given that high‐crystallinity phase is more conducive to the charge transfer and separation, while amorphous phase is more favorable for the adsorption and...
Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) is a kind of ideal metal‐free photocatalysts for artificial photosynthesis. At present, pristine g‐C3N4 suffers from small specific surface area, poor light absorption at longer wavelengths, low charge migration rate, and a high recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which significantly limit its performance. Among a myriad of modification strategies,...
Recently, heterogeneous photocatalysts have achieved much interest on account of their great potential applications in resolving many tough energy and environmental troubles around the world through an ecologically sustainable way. Heterogeneous nanocomposites composed of graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) and carbon dots (CDs) possess broad spectrum absorption, appropriate electronic band structures,...
Point‐Defect Engineering
Solar energy is an abundant source of renewable energy, which can be harnessed via photocatalysis. Of which, point‐defect engineering is a robust strategy to tune physico‐chemical properties of graphitic carbon nitride toward enhanced photocatalytic H2O splitting, CO2 and N2 reduction. A comprehensive review is presented by Wee‐Jun Ong and co‐workers in article number 2006851...
Energy shortages and greenhouse effects are two unavoidable problems that need to be solved. Photocatalytically converting CO2 into a series of valuable chemicals is considered to be an effective means of solving the above dilemmas. Among these photocatalysts, the utilization of black phosphorus for CO2 photocatalytic reduction deserves a lightspot not only for its excellent catalytic activity through...
Photocatalysis offers a sustainable strategy for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, which is an essential oxidant and emerging energy carrier in modern chemical industry. The development of polymer‐based photocatalysts to produce H2O2 has great potential but is limited by lower efficiency due to the limitation of light utilization and the low charge separation efficiency. Herein, a series of monodispersed...
Monolithic aerogels composed of crystalline nanoparticles enable photocatalysis in three dimensions, but they suffer from low mechanical stability and it is difficult to produce them with complex geometries. Here, an approach to control the geometry of the photocatalysts to optimize their photocatalytic performance by introducing carefully designed 3D printed polymeric scaffolds into the aerogel monoliths...
In the present work the authors show that anodic TiO2 nanotubes (NT) show excellent harvesting properties for Pt single atoms (Pt SAs) from highly dilute Pt solutions. The tube walls of anodic nanotubes, after adequate annealing to anatase, provide ample of suitable trapping sites—that is, surface Ti3+‐Ov (Ov: oxygen vacancy) defects that are highly effective to extract and accumulate Pt in the form...