Various kinds of amorphous materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, metal oxides, and metal phosphates, have demonstrated superior electrocatalytic performance compared with their crystalline counterparts. Compared to other materials for electrocatalysis, noble metals exhibit intrinsically high activity and excellent durability. However...
The heterogenization of photocatalytic molecules typically enhances stability at the expense of activity. Therefore, a new approach to stabilizing molecular catalysts without compromising their original catalytic features is highly desired. In this study, we found that Zr-based metal-organic polyhedra (MOP) stabilized the photocatalytic compound Re...
Goethite (alpha-FeOOH), thermodynamically the most stable phase among various iron (oxy)hydroxides, is getting attention as an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst due to its terrestrial abundance. But goethite suffers from an inferior catalytic activity like other iron-based oxides. To enhance its catalytic performance, doping has been applied...
In-depth understanding and rational manipulation of the electron transfer process and molecule diffusion process are critical to promote the overall photocatalytic efficiency. In our study, [email protected] photocatalysts that embody graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) core and amorphous titania (a-TiO2) nanoshell are prepared to elucidate and coordinate the ...
In-depth understanding and rational manipulation of the electron transfer process and molecule diffusion process are critical to promote the overall photocatalytic efficiency. In our study, [email protected] photocatalysts that embody graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) core and amorphous titania (a-TiO2) nanoshell are prepared to elucidate and coordinate the ...
Oxygen vacancies are ubiquitous in metal oxides and critical to performance, yet the impact of these states upon charge carrier dynamics important for photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic applications, remains contentious and poorly understood. A key challenge is the unambiguous identification of spectroscopic fingerprints which can be used to t...
The flat band potential is one of the key characteristics of photoelectrode performance. However, its determination on nanostructured materials is associated with considerable uncertainty. The complexity, applicability and pitfalls associated with the four most common experimental techniques used for evaluating flat band potentials, are illustrated...
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Photosystem II (PSII), the light-driven water/plastoquinone photooxidoreductase, is of central importance in the planetary energy cycle. The product of the reaction, plastohydroquinone (PQH2), is released into the membrane from the QB site, where it is formed. A plastoquinone (PQ) from the membrane pool then binds into the QB site. Despite their fu...
Published in The journal of physical chemistry letters
In metal oxide-based photoelectrochemical devices, the spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes is typically attributed to band-bending at the oxide/electrolyte interface. However, direct evidence of such band-bending impacting upon charge carrier lifetimes has been very limited to date. Herein we use ultrafast spectroscopy to track...
Published in The journal of physical chemistry. A
Heterogenization of RuL3 complexes on a support with proper anchor points provides a route toward design of green catalysts. In this paper, Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes are investigated with the aim to unravel the influence on the photocatalytic properties of varying nitrogen content in the ligands and of embedding the complex in a triazine-based c...
