Single-atom Cu anchored catalysts for photocatalytic renewable H2 production with a quantum efficiency of 56%

Abstract

Single-atom catalysts anchoring offers a desirable pathway for efficiency maximization and cost-saving for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. However, the single-atoms loading amount is always within 0.5% in most of the reported due to the agglomeration at higher loading concentrations. In this work, the highly dispersed and large loading amount (>1 wt%) of copper single-atoms were achieved on TiO2, exhibiting the H2 evolution rate of 101.7 mmol g−1 h−1 under simulated solar light irradiation, which is higher than other photocatalysts reported, in addition to the excellent stability as proved after storing 380 days. More importantly, it exhibits an apparent quantum efficiency of 56% at 365 nm, a significant breakthrough in this field. The highly dispersed and large amount of Cu single-atoms incorporation on TiO2 enables the efficient electron transfer via Cu2+-Cu+ process. The present approach paves the way to design advanced materials for remarkable photocatalytic activity and durability.

Hollow Nanoboxes Cu2‐xS@ZnIn2S4 Core‐Shell S‐Scheme Heterojunction with Broad‐Spectrum Response and Enhanced Photothermal‐Photocatalytic Performance

“…However, it has also resulted in a slew of environmental issues, including pollution and a scarcity of resources. [ 1–8 ] As a result, enhancing environmental quality is crucial for human growth. [ 9 ] Photocatalytic technology has advanced fast in recent years to create renewable and clean energy from solar energy while also degrading pollutants in the environment, and it is now regarded as a viable solution to the dilemma.…”

“…However, it has also resulted in a slew of environmental issues, including pollution and a scarcity of resources. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] As a Because they have enough free electrons to support the visible and NIR areas, noble metal materials like gold and silver are the most widely employed materials in localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) research. [25] By turning light energy into thermal energy, LSPR can be employed as an extra energy input to improve photocatalytic performance.…”

Simultaneously enhancing the photocatalytic and photothermal effect of NH2-MIL-125-GO-Pt ternary heterojunction for rapid therapy of bacteria-infected wounds

“…4 J, and electron accumulation (red area) and depletion (blue area) reveal the charge distribution state of the whole system. There was electron accumulation between Pt nanoparticles and MOF, the surface of Pt nanoparticles was negatively charged, while MOF and GO were in a state of loss of electrons and were positively charged, indicating that a built-in electric field could be formed between Pt, MOF and GO, which was beneficial to the separation of electron-hole pairs for the entire system [ 37 , 38 ]. The work function (Φ) was calculated using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) spectroscopy ( Fig.…”

New Insight on Carbon Dioxide‐Mediated Hydrogen Production**

“…One of the most important recent works describes a very active photocatalyst based on modified TiO 2 with 1.5 % by mass of copper, which shows the hydrogen evolution rate of 101.7 mmol ⋅ g −1 ⋅ h −1 under simulated solar light irradiation, which is the highest among those described so far in the literature. [5] The stability of the activity for 380 days with an apparent quantum efficiency of 56 % at 365 nm was also proven.…”

“…Reaction (5) dominates at pH less than 8.3, reaction ( 6) takes place at pH between 6-10, while reaction ( 7) takes place at pH from 8.3 to 11.…”