Progress and prospects of photocatalytic conversion of low-concentration NOx

NOx can cause severe environmental problems such as acid rain and photochemical smog,endangering human health and the living environment.Among them,NO pollution accounts for about 95%.NO can exist stably in the air for a long time when the concentration is lower than the ppm level.Therefore,the conversion of low concentration of NO has attracted more and more attention.However,traditional physical or chemical methods are difficult to deal with low concentration of NO,having high requirements on equipment and being not cost‐effective.Semiconductor photocatalytic technology can convert low concentration of NO into non‐toxic products and reduce its harm.This work briefly surveys the commonly used materials,modification methods,and mechanisms for semiconductor photocatalytic conversion of low concentration of NO.In addition,the challenges and prospects of ppb level of NO treatment are also discussed,aiming to promote the development of semiconductor photocatalytic conversion of NO.

1T′‐MoTe_(2) monolayer:A promising two‐dimensional catalyst for the electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide

The direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2))via a two‐electron oxygen reduction reaction(2e‐ORR)in acidic media has emerged as a green process for the production of this valuable chemical.However,such an approach employs expensive noble‐metal‐based electrocatalysts,which severely undermines its feasibility when implemented on an industrial scale.Herein,based on density functional theory computations and microkinetic modeling,we demonstrate that a novel two‐dimensional(2D)material,namely a 1T′‐MoTe_(2)monolayer,can serve as an efficient non‐precious electrocatalyst to facilitate the 2e‐ORR.The 1T′‐MoTe_(2)monolayer is a stable 2D crystal that can be easily produced through exfoliation techniques.The surface‐exposed Te sites of the 1T′‐MoTe_(2)monolayer exhibit a favorable OOH*binding energy of 4.24 eV,resulting in a rather high basal plane activity toward the 2e‐ORR.Importantly,kinetic computations indicate that the 1T'‐MoTe_(2)monolayer preferentially promotes the formation of H_(2)O_(2)over the competing four‐electron ORR step.These desirable characteristics render 1T′‐MoTe_(2)a promising candidate for catalyzing the electrochemical reduction of O_(2)to H_(2)O_(2).

Single-atom rhodium anchored on S-doped black phosphorene as a promising bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

Superior bifunctional electrocatalysts with ultra-high stability and excellent efficiency are crucial to boost the oxygen evolution reaction(OER) and the hydrogen evolution reduction(HER) in the overall water splitting(OWS) for the sustainable production of clean fuels. Herein, comprehensive density functional theory(DFT) computations were performed to explore the potential of several single transition metal(TM) atoms anchored on various S-doped black phosphorenes(TM/Snx-BP) for bifunctional OWS electrocatalysis. The results revealed that these candidates display good stability, excellent electrical conductivity, and diverse spin moments. Furthermore, the Rh/S12-BP catalyst was identified as an eligible bifunctional catalyst for OWS process due to the low overpotentials for OER(0.43 V) and HER(0.02 V), in which Rh and its adjacent P atoms were identified as the active sites. Based on the computed Gibbs free energies of OH~*, O~*, OOH~* and H~*, the corresponding volcano plots for OER and HER were established.Interestingly, the spin moments and the charge distribution of the active sites determine the catalytic trends of OER and HER. Our findings not only propose a promising bifunctional catalyst for OWS, but also widen the potential application of BP in electrocatalysis.