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Recent years have witnessed increasing interest in the solution‐phase synthesis of atomically precise thiolate‐protected gold clusters (Aux); nonetheless, research on the photocatalytic properties of Aux–semiconductor nanocomposites is still in its infancy. In this work, recently developed glutathione‐capped gold clusters and highly ordered nanoporous layer‐covered TiO2 nanotube arrays (NP‐TNTAs)...
Glutathione‐capped gold clusters and highly ordered nanoporous layer‐covered TiO2 nanotube arrays (NP‐TNTAs) are employed as nanobuilding blocks for a well‐defined Au/NP‐TNTA heterostructure via electrostatic self‐assembly. On page 554, B. Liu and co‐workers show how tailor‐made Au clusters are evenly distributed on the interior and exterior surfaces of the framework. Versatile photocatalytic performances...
Photosynthesis that occurs in plants involves both the oxidation of water and the reduction of carbon dioxide. Plants carry out these reactions with ease, by involving electron‐transport chains. In this article, hydrogen generation by the reduction of water in the laboratory by using semiconductor nanostructures through artificial photosynthesis is examined. Dye‐sensitized photochemical generation...
Utilization of visible and near‐infrared light has always been the pursuit of photocatalysis research. In this article, an approach is developed to integrate dual plasmonic nanostructures with TiO2 semiconductor nanosheets for photocatalytic hydrogen production in visible and near‐infrared spectral regions. Specifically, the Au nanocubes and nanocages used in this work can harvest visible and near‐infrared...
Excellent photoelectrochemical performance of bismuth vanadate in water splitting is achieved by coupling with graphene sheets. On page 5295, R. Amal, S. C. Smith, Y. H. Ng, and co‐workers, demonstrate the ability to achieve efficient interfacial charge transfer between bismuth vanadate and graphene sheets by modulating the exposure extent of {010}/{110} facets of bismuth vanadate. The overall photoactivity...
Efficient interfacial charge transfer is essential in graphene‐based semiconductors to realize their superior photoactivity. However, little is known about the factors (for example, semiconductor morphology) governing the charge interaction. Here, it is demonstrated that the electron transfer efficacy in reduced graphene oxide‐bismuth oxide (RGO/BiVO4) composite is improved as the relative exposure...
A series of rod‐like porous graphitic‐carbon nitrides (short as CNs) with enhanced in‐plane ordering have been fabricated through self‐assembled heptazine hydrate precursors for the first time. By controlling the calcination of the preformed precursors with different temperature‐rising rates, the resulted CNs (SAHEP‐CNs‐1) with the most ordered and least stacked graphitic planar are showing a tremendously...
The assembly of melamine and 2,5‐dihydroxy‐1,4‐benzoquinone results in new “sheet‐like” supramolecular crystals that by controlled thermal condensation can be converted to photoactive materials at relativity low temperatures. The condensation temperature alters the materials properties from polymer‐like to carbon materials alongside their morphology and elemental ratio. This new method opens the possibility...
Rational design and development of new‐generation photocatalysts with high hydrogen evolution activity is recognized as an effective strategy to settle energy crisis. To this regard, hybrid photocatalysts of Au quantum dots embedded in rimous cadmium sulfide nanospheres are synthesized by using a simple hydrothermal process followed by photoreduction. The rimous cadmium sulfide nanospheres with rough...
Introducing heterojunction is an effective way for improving the intrinsic photocatalytic activity of a graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) semiconductor. These heterostructures are mostly introduced by interfacing GCN with foreign materials that normally have entirely different physicochemical properties and show unfavorable compatibility, thus resulting in a limited improvement of the photocatalytic...
In article number 1602947, Yi‐Jun Xu and co‐workers report progressive harvesting of visible‐to‐near infrared light by designing Au nanorods and metal nanoparticles co‐decorated one‐dimension CdS nanowires ensembles. They show that the fine control of a series of microscopic factors, including interfacial interaction, morphology optimization and co‐catalyst strategy in such ensembles, can result in...
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)‐mediated photocatalysis without the bandgap limitations of traditional semiconductor has aroused significant attention in solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion. However, the photocatalytic efficiency barely initiated by the SPR effects is still challenged by the low concentration and ineffective extraction of energetic hot electrons, slow charge migration rates, random...
Materials with controllable multifunctional abilities for optical imaging (OI) and magnetic resonant imaging (MRI) that also can be used in photodynamic therapy are very interesting for future applications. Mesoporous TiO2 sub‐micrometer particles are doped with gadolinium to improve photoluminescence functionality and spin relaxation for MRI, with the added benefit of enhanced generation of reactive...
Porous nanostructured materials are demonstrated to be very promising in catalysis due to their well accessible active sites. Thermally stable metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) as hard templates are successfully utilized to afford porous metal oxides and subsequently metal sulfides by a nanocasting method. The resultant metal oxides/sulfides show considerable Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface areas,...
Exfoliation of layered bulk g‐C3N4 (CNB) to thin g‐C3N4 sheets in nanodomains has attracted much attention in photocatalysis because of the intriguing properties of nanoscaled g‐C3N4. This study shows that carbon‐rich g‐C3N4 nanosheets (CNSC) can be easily prepared by self‐modification of polymeric melon units through successively thermally treating bulk g‐C3N4 in an air and N2 atmosphere. The prepared...
Integration of plasmonic metal and cocatalyst with semiconductor is a promising approach to simultaneously optimize the generation, transfer, and consumption of photoinduced charge carriers for high‐performance photocatalysis. The photocatalytic activities of the designed hybrid structures are greatly determined by the efficiencies of charge transfer across the interfaces between different components...
In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allows one to investigate nanostructures at high spatial resolution in response to external stimuli, such as heat, electrical current, mechanical force and light. This review exclusively focuses on the optical, optoelectronic and photocatalytic studies inside TEM. With the development of TEMs and specialized TEM holders that include in situ illumination...
In article 1701964, Xiao Tang, Guozhong Cao, and co‐workers discover the special microstructure evolution of TiO2 in a 4 °C aqueous solution, from initially aperiodic 2D atom‐networks gradually grown into large‐size anatase nanosheets. The resultant TiO2 nanosheets demonstrate remarkably enhanced photocatalysis and surface activities to spontaneously activate visible light driven photocatalytic reduction...
TiO2 nanosheets have continuously been intriguing due to their high surface activities as photocatalyst but still challenging to synthesis large‐scale 2D nanostructures. A special microstructure evolution of TiO2, ripening in aqueous solution at low temperature (≈4 °C), is found for the first time, i.e., from the initial aperiodic atom‐networks gradually into low crystallized continuous spongy structure...
In artificial photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, effective incident photon absorption and a high‐charge recombination rate are crucial factors influencing the overall efficiency. Herein, a traditional solid‐state synthesis is used to obtain, for the first time, novel samples of few‐layered g‐C3N4 with vertically aligned MoS2 loading (MoS2/C3N4). Thiourea and layered MoO3 are chosen as precursors,...
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