Jiayue Hu

CuI as Hole-Transport Channel for Enhancing Photoelectrocatalytic Activity by Constructing CuI/BiOI Heterojunction

In this paper, CuI, as a typical hole-transport channel, was used to construct a high-performance visible-light-driven CuI/BiOI heterostructure for photoelectrocatalytic applications. The heterostructure combines the broad visible absorption of BiOI and high hole mobility of CuI. Compared to pure BiOI, the CuI/BiOI heterostructure exhibited distinctly enhanced photoelectrocatalytic performance for the oxidation of methanol and organic pollutants under visible-light irradiation. The photogenerated electron-hole pairs of the excited BiOI can be separated efficiently through CuI, in which the CuI acts as a superior hole-transport channel to improve photoelectrocatalytic oxidization of methanol and organic pollutants. The outstanding photoelectrocatalytic activity shows that the p-type CuI works as a promising hole-transport channel to improve the photocatalytic performance of traditional semiconductors.

Plasmon enhanced electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol and organic contaminants on gold/copper iodide composites under visible light irradiation

In this paper, plasmonic photoelectroncatalyst of gold/copper iodide (Au/CuI) was synthesized and fully characterized. Compared to traditional electrocatalytic procedure under dark condition, the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) activities of Au/CuI towards ethanol oxidation and organic pollutant degradation were distinctly enhanced under visible light irradiation. The advantages of the PEC process were investigated by photocurrent responses, linear sweep voltammetry, chronoamperometric and chronopotentiometry curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy spectra. Finally, the mechanism of plasmon enhanced PEC performance in ethanol oxidation and organic contaminant degradation under visible light irradiation was proposed. The current studies open a new possibility in the application of ethanol oxidation and organic contaminant degradation by using plasmonic photoelectrocatalysts under visible light irradiation.

Visible light-enhanced electrocatalytic alcohol oxidation based on two dimensional Pt-BiOBr nanocomposite

Photoelectrocatalytic oxidation based on noble/semiconductor has been a renewed interest in the past decades. The lack of high-performance semiconductor support remains a challenge for the harvesting and conversion of solar energy. Here, we report the syntheses of two dimensional (2D) BiOBr nanosheets with the superiorities of suitable band gaps, nontoxic, corrosion resistant and so on. These features enable them unprecedented performance for acting as the visible-light-driven support towards alcohol oxidation. Firstly, the pure BiOBr nanosheet has negligible activity towards alcohol oxidation. After the deposition of Pt nanoparticles (NPs), the as-prepared Pt-BiOBr composites show superior electrocatalytic activities towards ethanol and methanol oxidation reaction under visible light irradiation, with the mass activities of 929.8 mA mg-1Pt and 751.7 mA mg-1Pt, 6.0 and 28.4-fold enhancements than those under dark condition, respectively. The great enhancement in the photoelectrocatalytic performances can be attributed to the unique 2D nanostructure, synergistic and photocatalytic effects. This work may pave up a new route for designing the desirable semiconductor supports for the decoration of the noble metal catalysts, showing significant promise for the application of fuel cells.

One-pot fabrication of Nitrogen-doped graphene supported binary palladium-sliver nanocapsules enable efficient ethylene glycol electrocatalysis

Fuel cells hold great potential of replacing traditional fossil fuel to alleviate the energy crisis and increasing environmental concerns. Although great progresses have been achieved over decades, the sluggish reaction kinetics and poor durability of electrocatalysts in fuel cells have been the decisive bottleneck that limited their practical applications. Herein, we focus on the design and development of cost-efficient anode electrocatalysts for fuel cells and report the successful creation of an advanced class of N-doped graphene (NG) supported binary PdAg nanocapsules (PdAg NCPs). The well-defined nanocatalysts with highly open structure exhibit greatly improved electrocatalytic performances for ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR). In particular, the optimized PdAg NCPs/NG show the mass and specific activities of 6118.3 mA mg-1 and 13.8 mA cm-2, which are 5.8 and 6.9 times larger than those of the commercial Pd/C catalysts, respectively. More importantly, such PdAg NCPs/NG can also maintain at least 500 potential cycles with limited catalytic activity attenuation, showing an advanced class of electrocatalysts for fuel cells.

Enhanced electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media over Pt on a 2D BiVO4-modified electrode under visible light irradiation

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4), as a typical visible-light-activated semiconductor, has attracted much attention in water oxidation. In this paper, we extend it to be a visible-light responsive support for the application of electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). Firstly, two dimensional (2D) BiVO4 nanosheets were synthesized, and then worked as the support for the decoration of Pt nanoparticles. Pt nanoparticles of ultra-small size with an average diameter of 3.5 nm were well dispersed on the surface of as-synthesized 2D BiVO4 nanosheets. By using the as-prepared Pt–BiVO4 as a working electrode, 2.7 folds enhanced catalytic activity for the EOR were achieved under visible light irradiation compared to that under dark conditions. The synergistic effect of photocatalysis and electrocatalysis together with the 2D structure of BiVO4 result in the improvement of the catalytic performance.