Two-dimensional ultrathin MoS2-modified black Ti^3+-TiO2 nanotubes for enhanced photocatalytic water splitting hydrogen production

Two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin MoS2-modified black Ti^3+-TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated using an electrospinning-hydrothermal treatment-reduction method.Bare TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated via electrospinning.Then,2D MoS2 lamellae were grown on the surface of the nanotubes and Ti^3+/Ov ions were introduced by reduction.The photocatalytic performance of the 2D MoS2/Ti^3+-TiO2 nanotubes was^15 times better than that of TiO2.The HER enhancement of the MoS2/Ti^3+-TiO2 nanotubes can be attributed to the Pt-like behavior of 2D MoS2 and the presence of Ti^3+-ions,which facilitated the quick diffusion of the photogenerated electrons to water,reducing the H2 activation barrier.The presence of Ov ions in the nanotubes and their hollow structure increased their solar utilization.

In situ construction of protonated g-C3N4/Ti3C2 MXene Schottky heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

Converting sustainable solar energy into hydrogen energy over semiconductor-based photocatalytic materials provides an alternative to fossil fuel consumption.However,efficient photocatalytic splitting of water to realize carbon-free hydrogen production remains a challenge.Heterojunction photocatalysts with well-defined dimensionality and perfectly matched interfaces are promising for achieving highly efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion.Herein,we report the fabrication of a novel type of protonated graphitic carbon nitride(PCN)/Ti3C2 MXene heterojunctions with strong interfacial interactions.As expected,the two-dimensional(2D)PCN/2D Ti3C2 MXene interface heterojunction achieves a highly improved hydrogen evolution rate(2181μmol∙g‒1)in comparison with bulk g-C3N4(393μmol∙g‒1)and protonated g-C3N4(816μmol∙g‒1).The charge-regulated surfaces of PCN and the accelerated charge transport at the face-to-face 2D/2D Schottky heterojunction interface are the major contributors to the excellent hydrogen evolution performance of the composite photocatalyst.

Nanoheterostructured photocatalysts for improving photocatalytic hydrogen production

Rapid industrialization has accordingly increased the demand for energy.This has resulted in the increasingly severe energy and environmental crises.Hydrogen production,based on the photocatalytic water splitting driven by sunlight,is able to directly convert solar energy into a usable or storable energy resource,which is considered to be an ideal alternative energy source to assist in solving the energy crisis and environmental pollution.Unfortunately,the hydrogen production efficiency of single phase photocatalysts is too low to meet the practical requirements.The construction of heterostructured photocatalyst systems,which are comprised of multiple components or multiple phases,is an efficient method to facilitate the separation of electron‐hole pairs to minimize the energy‐waste,provide more electrons,enhance their redox ability,and hence improve the photocatalytic activity.We summarize the recent progress in the rational design and fabrication of nanoheterostructured photocatalysts.The heterojunction photocatalytic hydrogen generation systems can be divided into type‐I,type‐II,pn‐junction and Z‐scheme junction,according to the differences in the transfer of the photogenerated electrons and holes.Finally,a summary and some of the challenges and prospects for the future development of heterojunction photocatalytic systems are discussed.

Ti_(3)C_(2) MXene co-catalyst assembled with mesoporous TiO_(2) for boosting photocatalytic activity of methyl orange degradation and hydrogen production

Photocatalytic degradation and hydrogen production using solar energy through semiconductor photocatalysts are deemed to be a powerful approach for solving environmental and energy crisis.However,the biggest challenge in photocatalysis is the efficient separation of photo-induced carriers.To this end,we report that the mesoporous TiO_(2)nanoparticles are anchored on highly conductive Ti_(3)C_(2)MXene co-catalyst by electrostatic self-assembly strategy.The constructed mesoporous TiO_(2)/Ti_(3)C_(2)composites display that the mesoporous TiO_(2)nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surface of layer structured Ti_(3)C_(2)nanosheets.More importantly,the as-obtained mesoporous TiO_(2)/Ti_(3)C_(2)composites reveal the significantly enhanced light absorption performance,photo-induced carriers separation and transfer ability,thus boosting the photocatalytic activity.The photocatalytic methyl orange degradation efficiency of mesoporous TiO_(2)/Ti_(3)C_(2)composite with an optimized Ti_(3)C_(2)content(3 wt%)can reach 99.6%within 40 min.The capture experiments of active species confirm that the·O_(2)-and·OH play major role in photocatalytic degradation process.Furthermore,the optimized mesoporous TiO_(2)/Ti_(3)C_(2)composite also shows an excellent photocatalytic H2 production rate of 218.85μmol g^(-1)h^(-1),resulting in a 5.6 times activity as compared with the pristine mesoporous TiO_(2)nanoparticles.This study demonstrates that the MXene family materials can be applied as highly efficient noble-metal-free co-catalysts in the field of photocatalysis.

3D flower-like heterostructured TiO_2@Ni(OH)_2 microspheres for solar photocatalytic hydrogen production

TiO2@Ni(OH)2 core-shell microspheres were synthesized by a facile strategy to obtain a perfect 3D flower-like nanostructure with well-arranged Ni(OH)2 nanoflakes on the surfaces of TiO2 microspheres;this arrangement led to a six-fold enhancement in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The unique p-n type heterostructure not only promotes the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers significantly, but also offers more active sites for photocatalytic hydrogen production. A photocatalytic mechanism is proposed based on the results of electrochemical measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Biomolecule-assisted, cost-effective synthesis of a Zn_(0.9)Cd_(0.1)S solid solution for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light

A series of alloyed Zn‐Cd‐S solid solutions with a cubic zinc blende structure were fabricated hydrothermally with the assistance of L‐cystine under mild conditions.The products were characterized by XRD,TEM,HRTEM,XPS,UV‐vis,and BET techniques,and the photocatalytic performance for the reduction of water to H2on the solid solutions was evaluated in the presence of S2?/SO32?as hole scavengers under visible light illumination.Among all the samples,the highest photocatalytic activity was achieved over Zn0.9Cd0.1S with a rate of4.4mmol h?1g?1,even without a co‐catalyst,which far exceeded that of CdS.Moreover,Zn0.9Cd0.1S displayed excellent anti‐photocorrosion properties during the photoreduction of water into H2.The enhancement in the photocatalytic performance was mainly attributed to the efficient charge transfer in the Zn0.9Cd0.1alloyed structure and the high surface area.This work provides a simple,cost‐effective and green technique,which can be generalized as a rational preparation route for the large‐scale fabrication of metal sulfide photocatalysts.

Air-condition process for scalable fabrication of CdS/ZnS 1D/2D heterojunctions toward efficient and stable photocatalytic hydrogen production

We report the scalable fabrication of CdS/ZnS 1D/2D heterojunctions under ambient air conditions(i.e.,room temperature and atmospheric pressure)in which ZnS nanoparticles are anchored on the surface of CdS nanosheets.The as-formed heterojunctions exhibit a significantly enhanced photocatalytic H_(2) evolution rate of 14.02 mmol h^(-1) g^(-1) when irradiated with visible light,which is~10 and 85 times higher than those of pristine CdS nanosheets and CdS nanoparticles,respectively,and superior to most of the CdS-based photocatalysts reported to date.Furthermore,they provide robust photocatalytic performance with demonstratable stability over 58 h,indicating their potential for practical applications.The formation of 1D/2D heterojunctions not only provides improved exposed active sites that respond to illumination but also provides a rapid pathway to generate photogenerated carriers for efficient separation and transfer through the matrix of single-crystalline CdS nanosheets.In addition,first-principles simulations demonstrate that the existence of rich Zn vacancies increases the energy level of the ZnS valence band maximum to construct type-II and Z-scheme mixed heterojunctions,which plays a critical role in suppressing the recombination of carriers with limited photocorrosion of CdS to enhance photocatalytic behavior.

Production of Hydrogen: Photocatalytic Decomposition of Dimethyl Ether over Metal-Promoted TiO₂Catalysts

The photo-induced vapor-phase decomposition of dimethyl ether was investigated on Pt metals deposited on pure and N-doped TiO2. Infrared spectroscopic measurements revealed that adsorption of dimethyl ether on TiO2 samples underwent partial dissociation to methoxy species. Illumination of the (CH3)2O-TiO2 and (CH3)2O-M/TiO2 systems led to the conversion of methoxy into adsorbed formate. In the case of metal-promoted TiO2 catalysts, CO bonded to the metals was also detected. Pure titania exhibited a very little photoactivity. Deposition of Pt metals on TiO2 markedly enhanced the extent of photocatalytic decomposition of dimethyl ether to give H2 and CO2 as the major products. A small amount of CO and methyl formate was also identified in the products. The most active metal was the Rh followed by Pd, Ir, Pt and Ru. When the bandgap of TiO2 was lowered by N-doping, the photocatalytic activity of metal/TiO2 catalysts appreciably increased. The effect of metals was explained by a better separation of charge carriers induced by illumination and by enhanced electronic interaction between metal nanoparticles and TiO2.

Preparation of ZnO Nanoparticles and Photocatalytic H2 Production Activity from Different Sacrificial Reagent Solutions

ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized via a direct precipitation method followed by a hetero- geneous azeotropic distillation and calcination processes, and then characterized by X-ray power diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and ni- trogen adsorption-desorption measurement. The effects of Pt-loading amount, calcination temperature, and sacrificial reagents on the present ZnO suspension were investigated, photocatalytic H2 evolution efficiency from the The experimental results indicate that ZnO rianoparticles calcined at 400℃ exhibit the best photoactivity for the H2 production in comparison with the samples calcined at 300 and 500℃, and the photoeatalytie H2 production efficiency from a methanol solution is much higher than that from a triethanolamine solution. It can be ascribed to the oxidization of methanol also contributes to the H2 production during the photochemical reaction process. Moreover, the photocatalytic mechanism for the H2 production from the present ZnO suspension system containing methanol solution is also discussed in detail.

Progress in manipulating spin polarization for solar hydrogen production

Photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting using semiconductor materials are effective approaches for converting solar energy into hydrogen fuel.In the past few years,a series of photocatalysts/photoelectrocatalysts have been developed and optimized to achieve efficient solar hydrogen production.Among various optimization strategies,the regulation of spin polarization can tailor the intrinsic optoelectronic properties for retarding charge recombination and enhancing surface reactions,thus improving the solar-to-hydrogen(STH)efficiency.This review presents recent advances in the regulation of spin polarization to enhance spin polarized-dependent solar hydrogen evolution activity.Specifically,spin polarization manipulation strategies of several typical photocatalysts/photoelectrocatalysts(e.g.,metallic oxides,metallic sulfides,non-metallic semiconductors,ferroelectric materials,and chiral molecules)are described.In the end,the critical challenges and perspectives of spin polarization regulation towards future solar energy conversion are briefly provided.

Enhanced photocatalytic H_(2) production performance of CdS hollow spheres using C and Pt as bi-cocatalysts

Photocatalytic H2 production from water splitting is an effective method to solve energy crisis and environmental pollution simultaneously.Herein,carbon@CdS composite hollow spheres(C@CdS-HS)are fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method using porous carbon hollow spheres(C-HS)as the template.The C@CdS-HS shows an excellent photocatalytic H2-generation rate of 20.9 mmol h^(−1) g^(−1)(apparent quantum efficiency of 15.3%at 420 nm),with 1.0 wt%Pt as a cocatalyst under simulated sunlight irradiation;this rate is 69.7,13.9,and 3.9 times higher than that obtained with pure CdS hollow spheres(CdS-HS),C@CdS-HS,and CdS-HS/Pt,respectively.The enhanced photocatalytic H_(2)-evolution activity of C@CdS-HS/Pt is due to the synergistic effect of C and Pt as the bi-cocatalyst.The C-HS serves not only as an active site provider but also as an electron transporter and reservoir.Moreover,C-HS has a strong photothermal effect that is induced by near infrared light,which kinetically accelerates the H_(2)-production reaction.Additionally,the underlying charge transfer pathway and process from CdS to C−HS is revealed.This work highlights the potential application of C-HS-based nanocomposites in solar-to-chemical energy conversion.

A comparison study of alkali metal-doped g-C_3N_4 for visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Photocatalytic hydrogen production based on semiconductor photocatalysts has been considered as one of the most promising strategies to resolve the global energy shortage.Graphitic carbon nitride(g‐C3N4)has been a star visible‐light photocatalyst in this field due to its various advantages.However,pristine g‐C3N4usually exhibits limited activity.Herein,to enhance the performance of g‐C3N4,alkali metal ion(Li+,Na+,or K+)‐doped g‐C3N4are prepared via facile high‐temperature treatment.The prepared samples are characterized and analyzed using the technique of XRD,ICP‐AES,SEM,UV‐vis DRS,BET,XPS,PL,TRPL,photoelectrochemical measurements,photocatalytic tests,etc.The resultant doped photocatalysts show enhanced visible‐light photocatalytic activities for hydrogen production,benefiting from the increased specific surface areas(which provide more active sites),decreased band gaps for extended visible‐light absorption,and improved electronic structures for efficient charge transfer.In particular,because of the optimal tuning of both microstructure and electronic structure,the Na‐doped g‐C3N4shows the most effective utilization of photogenerated electrons during the water reduction process.As a result,the highest photocatalytic performance is achieved over the Na‐doped g‐C3N4photocatalyst(18.7?mol/h),3.7times that of pristine g‐C3N4(5.0?mol/h).This work gives a systematic study for the understanding of doping effect of alkali metals in semiconductor photocatalysis.

CdS-modified one-dimensional g-C_3N_4 porous nanotubes for efficient visible-light photocatalytic conversion

A heterojunction photocatalyst based on porous tubular g-C3N4 decorated with CdS nanoparticles was fabricated by a facile hydrothermal co-deposition method.The one-dimensional porous structure of g-C3N4 provides a higher specific surface area,enhanced light absorption,and better separation and transport performance of charge carriers along the longitudinal direction,all of which synergistically contribute to the superior photocatalytic activity observed.The significantly enhanced catalytic efficiency is also a benefit originating from the fast transfer of photogenerated electrons and holes between g-C3N4 and CdS through a built-in electric field,which was confirmed by investigating the morphology,structure,optical properties,electrochemical properties,and photocatalytic activities.Photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B(RhB)and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction were also carried out to investigate its photocatalytic performance.RhB can be degraded completely within 60 min,and the optimum H2 evolution rate of tubular g-C3N4/CdS composite is as high as 71.6μmol h^–1,which is about 16.3 times higher than that of pure bulk g-C3N4.The as-prepared nanostructure would be suitable for treating environmental pollutants as well as for water splitting.

Recent progress in production and usage of hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide has attracted increasing interest as an environmentally benign and green oxidant that can also be used as a solar fuel in fuel cells.This review focuses on recent progress in production of hydrogen peroxide by solar-light-driven oxidation of water by dioxygen and its usage as a green oxidant and fuel.The photocatalytic production of hydrogen peroxide is made possible by combining the e^(-)and 4e-oxidation of water with the e^(-)reduction of dioxygen using solar energy.The catalytic control of the selectivity of the e^(-)vs.4e-oxidation of water is discussed together with the selectivity of the e^(-)vs.4e-reduction of dioxygen.The combination of the photocatalytic e^(-)oxidation of water and the e^(-)reduction of dioxygen provides the best efficiency because both processes afford hydrogen peroxide.The solar-light-driven hydrogen peroxide production by oxidation of water and by reduction of dioxygen is combined with the catalytic oxidation of substrates with hydrogen peroxides,in which dioxygen is used as the greenest oxidant.

In situ One-Pot Fabrication of MoO3-x Clusters Modified Polymer Carbon Nitride for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Developing low-cost and high-efficient noble-metal-free cocatalysts has been a challenge to achieve economic hydrogen production.In this work,molybdenum oxides(MoO3-x)were in situ loaded on polymer carbon nitride(PCN)via a simple one-pot impregnation-calcination approach.Different from post-impregnation method,intimate coupling interface between high-dispersed ultra-small MoO3-xnanocrystal and PCN was successfully formed during the in situ growth process.The MoO3-x-PCN-X(X=1,2,3,4)photocatalyst without noble platinum(Pt)finally exhibited enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen performance under visible light irradiation(λ>420 nm),with the highest hydrogen evolution rate of 15.6μmol/h,which was more than 3 times that of bulk PCN.Detailed structure-performance revealed that such improvement in visible-light hydrogen production activity originated from the intimate interfacial interaction between high-dispersed ultra-small MoO3-xnanocrystal and polymer carbon nitride as well as efficient charge carriers transfer brought by Schottky junction formed.

Facile synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic H_2-evolution performance of NiS_2-modified g-C_3N_4 photocatalysts

NiS2 is a promising cocatalyst to improve the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 for the production of H2.However,the synthesis of the NiS2 cocatalyst usually requires harsh conditions,which risks destroying the microstructures of the g-C3N4 photocatalysts.In this study,a facile and low-temperature（80 ℃） impregnation method was developed to prepare NiS2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts.First,the g-C3N4 powders were processed by the hydrothermal method in order to introduce oxygen-containing functional groups（such as-OH and-C0NH-） to the surface of g-C3N4.Then,the Ni^2＋ ions could be adsorbed near the g-C3N4 via strong electrostatic interaction between g-C3N4 and Ni^2＋ ions upon the addition of Ni（NO3）2 solution.Finally,NiS2 nanoparticles were formed on the surface of g-C3N4 upon the addition of TAA.It was found that the NiS2 nanoparticles were solidly and homogeneously grafted on the surface of g-C3N4,resulting in greatly improved photocatalytic H2production.When the amount of NiS2 was 3 wt%,the resultant NiS2/g-C3N4 photocatalyst showed the highest H2 evolution rate（116.343 μmol h^-1 g^-1）,which is significantly higher than that of the pure g-C3N4（3 μmol h^-1 g^-1）.Moreover,the results of a recycling test for the NiS2/g-C3N4（3 wt%）sample showed that this sample could maintain a stable and effective photocatalytic H2-evolution performance under visible-light irradiation.Based on the above results,a possible mechanism of the improved photocatalytic performance was proposed for the presented NiS2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts,in which the photogenerated electrons of g-C3N4 can be rapidly transferred to the NiS2 nanoparticles via the close and continuous contact between them;then,the photogenerated electrons rapidly react with H2O adsorbed on the surface of NiS2,which has a surficial metallic character and high catalytic activity,to produce H2.Considering the mild and facile synthesis method,the presented low-cost and highly efficient NiS2-modified g-C3N4 photocatalysts would have great potential for practical use in photocatalytic H2 production.

Rationally construction of atomic-precise interfacial charge transfer channel and strong build-in electric field in nanocluster-based Zscheme heterojunctions with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

The lack of effective charge transfer driving force and channel limits the electron directional migration in nanoclusters(NC)-based heterostructures,resulting in poor photocatalytic performance.Herein,a Z-scheme NC-based heterojunction(Pt1Ag28-BTT/CoP,BTT=1,3,5-benzenetrithiol)with strong internal electric field is constructed via interfacial Co-S bond,which exhibits an absolutely superiority in photocatalytic performance with 24.89 mmol·h^(−1)·g−1 H_(2)production rate,25.77%apparent quantum yield at 420 nm,and~100%activity retention in stability,compared with Pt1Ag28-BDT/CoP(BDT=1,3-benzenedithiol),Ag29-BDT/CoP,and CoP.The enhanced catalytic performance is contributed by the dual modulation strategy of inner core and outer shell of NC,wherein,the center Pt single atom doping regulates the band structure of NC to match well with CoP,builds internal electric field,and then drives photogenerated electrons steering;the accurate surface S modification promotes the formation of Co-S atomic-precise interface channel for further high-efficient Z-scheme charge directional migration.This work opens a new avenue for designing NC-based heterojunction with matchable band structure and valid interfacial charge transfer.

Ferroelectric Oxide Nanocomposites with Trimodal Pore Structure for High Photocatalytic Performance

An effective method to improve the photocatalytic performances of powder catalysts is to use the internal electric field from ferroelectrics to separate photogenerated charge carriers.The design and engineering of a complex hetero-junction with a hierarchical pore structure is highly desirable for the efficient application of ferroelectric materials in photocatalysis.Here,we present a novel strategy using two templates to fabricate PbTiO3/TiO2/carbon(PTC)nanocomposites with a tunable microstructure.A hard SiO2 template combined with an ice template followed by an appropriate pyrolysis procedure introduced trimodal(micro-,meso-,macro-)porosity.The as-prepared PTC nanocomposites with optimal mass ratio exhibited excellent photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical performances.PbTiO3/TiO2 annealed at 900 ℃(PTC-900)showed a MB degradation rate of 0.21 and 0.021 min-1 under UV and visible light irradiation,which are,respectively,7.2 and3 times those of pure PbTiO3.The photocurrent density of the composite catalyst is 1.48 mA cm-2 at the potential of 1.0 V versus saturated calomel electrode,and the rates of hydrogen generation of PTC-900 are as high as 2360 and 9.6 μmol h-1 g-1 under UV and visible light irradiation,respectively.More importantly,the simultaneous application of ultrasound-induced mechanical waves further improved the photocatalytic reactivity.This work serves to improve understanding on the design of ferroelectric/piezoelectric photocatalysts with a hierarchical pore structure and also proposes a widely applicable strategy for the fabrication of high-performance micro-nano/nano-nano structures.

Machine learning aided design of perovskite oxide materials for photocatalytic water splitting

Suffering from the inefficient traditional trial-and-error methods and the huge searching space filled by millions of candidates, discovering new perovskite visible photocatalysts with higher hydrogen production rate(RH_(2)) still remains a challenge in the field of photocatalytic water splitting(PWS). Herein, we established structural-property models targeted to RH_(2) and the proper bandgap(Eg) via machine learning(ML) technology to accelerate the discovery of efficient perovskite photocatalysts for PWS. The Pearson correlation coefficients(R) of leave-one-out cross validation(LOOCV) were adopted to compare the performances of different algorithms including gradient boosting regression(GBR), support vector regression(SVR), backpropagation artificial neural network(BPANN), and random forest(RF). It was found that the BPANN model showed the highest R values from LOOCV and testing data of 0.9897 and 0.9740 for RH_(2),while the GBR model had the best values of 0.9290 and 0.9207 for Eg. Furtherly, 14 potential PWS perovskite candidates were screened out from 30,000 ABO3-type perovskite structures under the criteria of structural stability, Eg, conduction band energy, valence band energy and RH_(2). The average RH_(2) of these14 perovskites is 6.4% higher than the highest value in the training data set. Moreover, the online web servers were developed to share our prediction models, which could be accessible in http://materialsdata-mining.com/ocpmdm/material_api/ahfga3d9puqlknig(E_g prediction) and http://materials-datamining.com/ocpmdm/material_api/i0 ucuyn3 wsd14940(RH_(2) prediction).

Facile construction of highly efficient MOF-based Pd@UiO-66-NH_(2)@ZnIn_(2)S_(4)flower-like nanocomposites for visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production

Construction of metal-organic-frame works-based composite photocatalysts has attracted much attention for the reasonable band gap and high surface areas to improve the photocatalytic activity.In this study,the ternary heterojunction Pd@UiO-66-NH_(2)@ZnIn_(2)S_(4)nanocomposites were facilely prepared for the first time by a two-step method.The visible-light-promoted hydrogen production rate of 0.3%Pd@UiO-66-NH_(2)@ZnIn_(2)S_(4)reaches up to 5.26 mmol g^(-1)h^(-1),which is evidently much higher than pure UiO-66-NH_(2),ZnIn_(2)S_(4)and binary UiO-66-NH_(2)/ZnIn_(2)S_(4)composites.Such a huge improvement in the photocatalytic performance is mainly attributed to the matched band gap of ZnIn_(2)S_(4)and UiO-66-NH_(2),and the introduction of Pd NPs into photocatalysts that broaden spectral response range and promote the photon induced charge carrier separation.This work may provide a feasible approach for the design and construction of metal-organic-frameworks-based photocatalytic materials.