Showing papers by "Jinfeng Zhang published in 2017"

Hollow Iron–Vanadium Composite Spheres: A Highly Efficient Iron‐Based Water Oxidation Electrocatalyst without the Need for Nickel or Cobalt

Abstract: Noble-metal-free bimetal-based electrocatalysts have shown high efficiency for water oxidation. Ni and/or Co in these electrocatalysts are essential to provide a conductive, high-surface area and a chemically stable host. However, the necessity of Ni or Co limits the scope of low-cost electrocatalysts. Herein, we report a hierarchical hollow FeV composite, which is Ni- and Co-free and highly efficient for electrocatalytic water oxidation with low overpotential 390 mV (10 mA cm−2 catalytic current density), low Tafel slope of 36.7 mV dec−1, and a considerable durability. This work provides a novel and efficient catalyst, and greatly expands the scope of low-cost Fe-based electrocatalysts for water splitting without need of Ni or Co.

Solvothermal synthesis of CdIn 2 S 4 photocatalyst for selective photosynthesis of organic aromatic compounds under visible light

Abstract: Ternary chalcogenide semiconductor, cadmium indium sulfide (CdIn2S4), was prepared by a simple solvothermal method using ethylene glycol as a solvent, as well as indium chloride tetrahydrate (InCl3 .4H2O), cadmium nitrate tetrahydrate [Cd(NO3)2 .4H2O], and thiacetamide (TAA) as precursors. The resulted sample was subject to a series of characterizations. It is the first time to use CdIn2S4 sample as a visible light-driven photocatalyst for simultaneous selective redox transformation of organic aromatic compounds. The results indicate that the as-synthesized CdIn2S4 photocatalyst not only has excellent photocatalytic performance compared with pure In2S3 and CdS for the selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols in an oxygen environment, but also shows high photocatalytic redox activities under nitrogen atmosphere. A possible mechanism for the photocatalytic redox reaction in the coupled system was proposed. It is hoped that our current work could extend the applications of CdIn2S4 photocatalyst and provide new insights for selective transformations of organic compounds.

Controllable synthesis of inorganic–organic Zn1−xCdxS-DETA solid solution nanoflowers and their enhanced visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen-production performance

Abstract: Sustainable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) of water splitting has been utilized to solve the serious environmental pollution and energy shortage problems over the last decade. Inorganic–organic hybrid materials could combine the organic molecules and functional inorganic blocks into unique materials through complicated physical and chemical interactions. In this paper, diethylenetriamine (DETA) was used as an organic molecule template for the synthesis of inorganic–organic Zn1−xCdxS-DETA solid solution nanoflowers (NFs) at very low temperature. The obtained Zn0.2Cd0.8S-DETA NFs exhibited the highest H2 production rate (12 718 μmol g−1 h−1), which is 1.75 times as high as that of CdS-DETA. The suitable conduction band potential and excellent visible-light absorption of Zn0.2Cd0.8S-DETA solid solution NFs are closely related to the excellent PHE activity. Furthermore, the calculation on the electronic structure provides a new understanding of the band-gap shifts of the Zn1−xCdxS-DETA solid solution hybrids and the design of novel structural photocatalysts.