The Character of Photo-electrochemistry of Palladium Implanted TiO_2 Nano-crystalline Electrode

A new electrode was prepared by using Pd implanted into nano-crystalline TiO2 and the character of photo-electrochemistry of implanted electrodes was investigated. The energy band structure of nano-crystalline TiO2 has not changed after implantation with Pd. The photo-current (i(ph)) of palladium implanted TiO2 nano-crystalline electrode is larger than that of pure TiO2 nanocrystalline electrode.

Solar fuel production through concentrating light irradiation

The climate crisis necessitates the development of non-fossil energy sources.Harnessing solar energy for fuel production shows promise and offers the potential to utilize existing energy infrastructure.However,solar fuel production is in its early stages of development,constrained by low conversion efficiency and challenges in scaling up production.Concentrated solar energy(CSE)technology has matured alongside the rapid growth of solar thermal power plants.This review provides an overview of current CSE methods and solar fuel production,analyzes their integration compatibility,and delves into the theoretical mechanisms by which CSE impacts solar energy conversion efficiency and product selectivity in the context of photo-electrochemistry,thermochemistry,and photo-thermal co-catalysis for solar fuel production.The review also summarizes approaches to studying the photoelectric and photothermal effects of CSE.Lastly,it explores emerging novel CSE technology methods in the field of solar fuel production.

Photo-enhanced rechargeable high-energy-density metal batteries for solar energy conversion and storage

Solar energy is considered the most promising renewable energy source.Solar cells can harvest and convert solar energy into electrical energy,which needs to be stored as chemical energy,thereby realizing a balanced supply and demand for energy.As energy storage devices for this purpose,newly developed photo-enhanced rechargeable metal batteries,through the internal integration of photovoltaic technology and high-energy-density metal batteries in a single device,can simplify device configuration,lower costs,and reduce external energy loss.This review focuses on recent progress regarding the working principles,device architectures,and performances of various closed-type and open-type photo-enhanced rechargeable devices based on metal batteries,including Li/Zn-ion,Li-S,and Li/Zn-I_(2),and Li/Zn-O_(2)/air,Li-CO_(2),and Na-O_(2) batteries.In addition to provide a fundamental understanding of photo-enhanced rechargeable devices,key challenges and possible strategies are also discussed.Finally,some perspectives are provided for further enhancing the overall performance of the proposed devices.

Visible Light-Induced Photocatalysis on Carbon Nitride Deposited Titanium Dioxide： Hydrogen Production from Sacrificial Aqueous Solutions

Carbon and nitrogen species-involved TiO2 （CN-TiO2） were systematically synthesized by thermal condensa- tion of cyanuric acid on the TiO2 surface. And the photocatalytic reactions for H2 production from sacrificial aque- ous solutions were performed on several CN-TiO2 photocatalyst under visible-light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the CN-TiO2 was influenced by total amounts of carbon and nitrogen species, and the preferable activity was ten times higher than that of pristine carbon nitride. Here, the states of the CN-TiO2 photocatalyst were charac- terized by XPS, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy as well as DFT calculations. The photo-electrochemical measure- ments confirmed that the enhancement of H2 production is associated with effective charge separation under photo- excitation of highly dispersed carbon nitride on the TiO2 surface.

Quaternary Selenophosphate Cs_(2)ZnP_(2)Se_(6)Featuring Unique One-dimensional Chains and Exhibiting Remarkable Photo-electrochemical Response

New functional materials of metal chalcophosphates have been receiving increasing attention due to their wide structural diversity and technologically promising properties.In this work,a quaternary selenophosphate,Cs_(2)ZnP_(2)Se_(6),has been successfully prepared by the high-temperature solid state reactions with a modified reactive CsCl flux.Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses show that Cs2ZnP2Se6 crystallizes in triclinic space group P1^(-)with a=7.66000(10),b=7.712(7),c=12.7599(3)Å,α=96.911(18)°,β=104.367(14)°,γ=109.276(13)°,V=672.16Å^(3)and Z=2.The major structure feature is the one-dimensional(1D)chain comprised of alternating units of tetrahedrally coordinated Zn^(2+)ions to the ethane-like[P_(2)Se_(6)]^(4–)units,in which counterbalanced Cs cations are accommodated.Significantly,photo-electrochemical measurement indicated that the title compound was photo-responsive under visible-light illumination.Moreover,the optical gap of 2.67 eV for Cs_(2)ZnP_(2)Se_(6)was deduced from the UV/Vis reflectance spectroscopy and theoretical calculation shows an indirect band gap with an electronic transfer excitation of Se-4p to Zn-3d/4p and P-3p orbitals.This work presents not only a novel potential application of metal chalcophosphates,but also a facile approach to prepare alkali metal-containing chalcogenides.