Geoffrey I. N. Waterhouse

The effect of gold loading and particle size on photocatalytic hydrogen production from ethanol over Au/TiO2 nanoparticles

Catalytic hydrogen production from renewables is a promising method for providing energy carriers in the near future. Photocatalysts capable of promoting this reaction are often composed of noble metal nanoparticles deposited on a semiconductor. The most promising semiconductor at present is TiO₂. The successful design of these catalysts relies on a thorough understanding of the role of the noble metal particle size and the TiO₂ polymorph. Here we demonstrate that Au particles in the size range 3-30 nm on TiO₂ are very active in hydrogen production from ethanol. It was found that Au particles of similar size on anatase nanoparticles delivered a rate two orders of magnitude higher than that recorded for Au on rutile nanoparticles. Surprisingly, it was also found that Au particle size does not affect the photoreaction rate over the 3-12 nm range. The high hydrogen yield observed makes these catalysts promising materials for solar conversion.

A general thermolabile protecting group strategy for organocatalytic metal-organic frameworks.

We present a general strategy for incorporating organocatalytic moieties into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The organocatalytic units are protected by a thermolabile protecting group during MOF synthesis and then unveiled by a simple postsynthetic heating step. The strategy is exemplified using a thermolabile tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) protecting group for a proline moiety, the removal of which endows the resulting cubic zinc(II) IRMOF with catalytic activity for asymmetric aldol reactions. The bulky Boc groups also prevent framework interpenetration, producing open MOFs that can admit relatively large substrates.

Well‐Dispersed ZIF‐Derived Co,N‐Co‐doped Carbon Nanoframes through Mesoporous‐Silica‐Protected Calcination as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts

A well-dispersed Co,N co-doped carbon nanoframework (Co,N-CNF) with hierarchically porous structure is successfully synthesized from zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) precursors via a mesoporous-silica-protected calcination strategy. By preventing the irreversible fusion and aggregation during the high-temperature pyrolysis step with this protection strategy, the Co,N-CNF exhibits comparable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic activity to that of commercial Pt catalysts with the same loading.

Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Nanosheets Templated from g-C3N4 as Metal-Free Electrocatalysts for Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanosheets (N-CNS) are synthesized by hydrothermal carbon coating of g-C3 N4 nanosheets followed by high-temperature treatment in N2 . g-C3 N4 serves as a template, nitrogen source, and porogen in the synthesis. This approach yields N-CNS with a high nitrogen content and comparable oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activities to commercial Pt/C catalysts in alkaline media.

The thermal decomposition of silver (I, III) oxide: A combined XRD, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic study

FT-IR and Raman spectra for polycrystalline powders of silver (I, III) oxide, AgO, and silver (I) oxide, Ag2O, are reported. The vibrational spectra for each oxide are discussed in relation to its crystal structure, and were found to be consistent with factor group analysis predictions. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy, in conjunction with powder XRD, were also used to follow the thermal decomposition of AgO powder in air. Supplementary studies employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and temperature programmed reaction (TPR), provided additional information relevant to the decomposition process. In agreement with mechanisms previously reported, AgO was thermally reduced to metallic silver ia two non-reversible steps, with the intermediate formation of Ag2O. The transformation of AgO to Ag2O occurred with heating in the 373–473 K region, while the product of this reaction remained stable to temperatures in excess of 623 K. Complete thermal decomposition of the Ag2O intermediate to Ag and O2 occurred at 673 K.

Alkali-Assisted Synthesis of Nitrogen Deficient Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Tunable Band Structures for Efficient Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution

A facile synthetic strategy for nitrogen-deficient graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 Nx ) is established, involving a simple alkali-assisted thermal polymerization of urea, melamine, or thiourea. In situ introduced nitrogen vacancies significantly redshift the absorption edge of g-C3 Nx , with the defect concentration depending on the alkali to nitrogen precursor ratio. The g-C3 Nx products show superior visible-light photocatalytic performance compared to pristine g-C3 N4 .

Smart Utilization of Carbon Dots in Semiconductor Photocatalysis

Efficient capture of solar energy will be critical to meeting the energy needs of the future. Semiconductor photocatalysis is expected to make an important contribution in this regard, delivering both energy carriers (especially H2 ) and valuable chemical feedstocks under direct sunlight. Over the past few years, carbon dots (CDs) have emerged as a promising new class of metal-free photocatalyst, displaying semiconductor-like photoelectric properties and showing excellent performance in a wide variety of photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic applications owing to their ease of synthesis, unique structure, adjustable composition, ease of surface functionalization, outstanding electron-transfer efficiency and tunable light-harvesting range (from deep UV to the near-infrared). Here, recent advances in the rational design of CDs-based photocatalysts are highlighted and their applications in photocatalytic environmental remediation, water splitting into hydrogen, CO2 reduction, and organic synthesis are discussed.

Defect‐Rich Ultrathin ZnAl‐Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets for Efficient Photoreduction of CO2 to CO with Water

Defect-rich ultrathin ZnAl-layered double hydroxide nanosheets are successfully prepared. Under UV-vis irradiation, these nanosheets are superior efficient catalysts for the photoreduction of CO2 to CO with water. The formed oxygen vacancies lead to the formation of coordinatively unsaturated Zn(+) centers within the nanosheets, responsible for the very high photocatalytic activities.

Ultrafine NiO Nanosheets Stabilized by TiO2 from Monolayer NiTi-LDH Precursors: An Active Water Oxidation Electrocatalyst

Faceted NiO nanoparticles preferentially exposing high surface energy planes demand attention due to their excellent electrocatalytic properties. However, the activity of faceted NiO nanoparticles generally remains suboptimal due to their large lateral size and thickness, which severely limits the availability of coordinatively unsaturated active reactive edge and corner sites. Here, ultrafine NiO nanosheets with a platelet size of ∼4.0 nm and thickness (∼1.1 nm) stabilized by TiO2 were successfully prepared by calcination of a monolayer layered double hydroxide precursor. The ultrafine NiO nanosheets displayed outstanding performance in electrochemical water oxidation due to a high proportion of reactive NiO {110} facets, intrinsic Ni(3+) and Ti(3+) sites, and abundant interfaces, which act synergistically to promote H2O adsorption and facilitate charge-transfer.

High surface area polypyrrole scaffolds for tunable drug delivery

Intrinsically conducting polymers such as polypyrrole (PPy) are viable platforms for efficient drug delivery, where release rates can be tuned by external electrical stimulus. In this study, the successful fabrication of 3-dimensionally ordered macroporous PPy inverse opal thin films is described, and the viability of such films for controlled drug release evaluated in vitro. The PPy inverse opal thin films were obtained by electropolymerization of PPy through the interstitial voids of a colloidal crystal template composed of poly(methyl methacrylate) colloids of diameter ∼430 nm. Chemical etching of the template yielded macroporous PPy inverse opal scaffolds. The model drug risperidone was loaded into the PPy inverse opal films, and then entrapped by electropolymerization of a non-porous PPy overlayer. The morphology and chemical composition of the PPy scaffolds were evaluated by SEM and FTIR spectroscopy, respectively. The high surface area PPy inverse opal scaffolds exhibited enhanced drug loading and releasing capabilities compared to conventional non-porous PPy films. Drug release profiles could be modified by applying electrical stimulus, which caused actuation of the porous polypyrrole films. The proposed delivery system may find use as an implantable device where drug release can be electrically tuned according to patient requirements.