Anatase TiO(2) single crystals with exposed {001} and {110} facets have been successfully synthesized using a modified hydrothermal technique in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and hydrofluoric acid solution; these single crystals exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activities for degradation of Methylene Blue dye under ultraviolet light irradiation.

Flower-like TiO(2) nanostructures with exposed {001} facets were synthesized by a low-temperature hydrothermal process from Ti powders for the first time, and they exhibited enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye under ultraviolet light irradiation.

Over the past decades, various photocatalysts have been developed and great progress has been achieved in the field of solar‐driven photocatalytic water splitting. However, the lack of an accurate and comprehensive evaluation method greatly hinders the meaningful comparison between different systems and becomes a serious impediment for the development of photocatalysts. Although many researchers are aware of this, there has been little work in this area. In this Viewpoint, we first analyze the insufficiencies of the existing evaluation methods and then make preliminary suggestions, aiming to stimulate discussion in the research community and hopefully lead to a widely accepted and authoritative evaluation system to assess photocatalyst performance.

The adsorption of glycine on a well-characterized silica surface was investigated at the molecular level by means of solid-state 13 C and 15 N NMR spectroscopy, combined with macroscopic level information such as adsorption isotherms, pH dependence, or TGA. At least three different forms of glycine were observed and could be distinguished on the basis of their NMR properties: two bulk crystalline forms (R-and β-glycine, both containing the amino acid in the zwitterionic form) and a molecularly adsorbed glycine species. The latter is formed by adsorption of zwitterionic glycine to the silica surface through the formation of cooperative hydrogen-bond networks in a kind of molecular recognition phenomenon, yielding a glycine/surface adduct. In addition, crystallites of metastable β-glycine nucleate at the silica/solution interface already during the initial adsorption, in a phenomenon of surface-induced precipitation. On γ-alumina, glycine does not form well-defined adducts but may coordinate the Al 3+ ions upon thermal activation.

Ultrasmall CoP nanoparticle (NP) is successfully synthesized and first introduced as an efficient and robust cocatalyst for photocatalytic FA dehydrogenation. The H 2 production rate can reach up to 182 G 12.5 mmol$mg À1 $hr À1 and exceed the classical noble-metal catalysts. The system also has excellent selectivity (>99.5%) and stability (>7 days). DFT simulation and experimental results indicate that CoP needs lower H 2 desorption energy compared with noble-metal Pt in the H 2 production process.

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Solar energy is an inexhaustible renewable energy source. Among the various methods for solar energy conversion, photocatalytic hydrogen (H 2 ) production is considered as one of the most promising ways. Since Fujishima pioneered this field in 1972, photocatalytic water splitting to produce H 2 has received widespread attention. Up to now, abundant semiconductor materials have been explored as photocatalysts for pure water splitting to produce H 2 . However, photocatalytic seawater splitting is more in line with the concept of sustainable development, which can greatly alleviate the problem of limited freshwater resource. At present, only few studies have focused on the process of H 2 production by photocatalytic seawater splitting due to the complex composition of seawater and lack of suitable photocatalysts. In this review, we outline the most recent advances in photocatalytic seawater splitting. In particular, we introduce the H 2 production photocatalysts, underlying mechanism of ions in seawater on photocatalytic seawater splitting, current challenges and future potential advances for this exciting field.

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