Direct Z-scheme ZnIn2S4@MoO3 heterojunction for efficient photodegradation of tetracycline hydrochloride under visible light irradiation

Engineering the abundant phase interface in hybrid materials for high electrocatalytic activity is an effective strategy to enhance the electrochemical performance. In this work, Ni-MOF/Ox-MOF is constructed through the “growth of MOF on MOF” strategy. Following with in-situ conformal transformation in alkaline solutions, Ni-MOF/LDH heterostructures are fabricated, which exhibit excellent water oxidation activity owing to the high surface area of Ni-MOF substrate and the well-tailored phase interfaces. In addition, the high stability of Ni-MOF/LDH is demonstrated in a Zn-air battery. In-situ Raman technique identifies that the Ni centers are the true active sites during water oxidation. DFT calculations demonstrate that the charge transfer and the conductivity at the Ni-MOF/LDH interfaces is highly enhanced. This work provides an efficient method of fabricating MOF/LDH heterostructures with optimized phase interfaces and offers new insights into OER.

In-situ generated Ni-MOF/LDH heterostructures with abundant phase interfaces for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

Polycrystalline SnSx nanofilm enables CO2 electroreduction to formate with high current density.

Recent advancement and future challenges of photothermal catalysis for VOCs elimination: From catalyst design to applications

The global energy crisis is increasing the demand for innovative materials with high purity and functionality for the development of clean energy production and storage. The development of novel photo- and electrocatalysts significantly depends on synthetic techniques that facilitate the production of tailored advanced nanomaterials. The emerging use of pulsed laser in liquid synthesis has attracted immense interest as an effective synthetic technology with several advantages over conventional chemical and physical synthetic routes, including the fine-tuning of size, composition, surface, and crystalline structures, and defect densities and is associated with the catalytic, electronic, thermal, optical, and mechanical properties of the produced nanomaterials. Herein, we present an overview of the fundamental understanding and importance of the pulsed laser process, namely various roles and mechanisms involved in the production of various types of nanomaterials, such as metal nanoparticles, oxides, non-oxides, and carbon-based materials. We mainly cover the advancement of photo- and electrocatalytic nanomaterials via pulsed laser-assisted technologies with detailed mechanistic insights and structural optimization along with effective catalytic performances in various energy and environmental remediation processes. Finally, the future directions and challenges of pulsed laser techniques are briefly underlined. This review can exert practical guidance for the future design and fabrication of innovative pulsed laser-induced nanomaterials with fascinating properties for advanced catalysis applications. 

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Fundamentals and comprehensive insights on pulsed laser synthesis of advanced materials for diverse photo- and electrocatalytic applications

For efficient conversion from solar energy to hydrogen energy, the integrated system between light absorbing unit and water splitting unit is in the spotlight. Herein, we presented a bifunctional Ni@NCNTs/NF-L as both photothermal conversion layer integrated with thermoelectric generator (TE) and efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalyst to reducing the potential, realizing the integration system for overall water splitting. The Ni nanoparticles embedded into N-doped carbon nanotubes (Ni@NCNTs/NF-L) with various patterns are prepared by controllable laser processing and gas-solid calcination reaction. Furthermore, iron nickel oxides nanoparticles on NiFe alloys foil (NiFe-L) are obtained by laser ablation, which are applied for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrode to establish two electrode electrolyzer of (−) Ni@NCNTs/NF-L/TE // NiFe-L (+) for overall water splitting. Integrating with one TE, the voltage of water splitting at the current-density of 50 mA cm−2 reduced from 1.947 V to 1.213 V under the standard AM 1.5 G illumination. The integrated thermoelectric device plays a doubtless role to realize solar energy driving overall water splitting with integration and patterning fabrication in large-scale.

Laser patterned and bifunctional Ni@N-doped carbon nanotubes as electrocatalyst and photothermal conversion layer for water splitting driven by thermoelectric device

Synthesis of CdS/MoS2 Nanooctahedrons Heterostructure with a Tight Interface for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Evolution and Biomass Upgrading

Formate synthesis by CO2 electroreduction (CO2RR) has been considered as a promising strategy for mitigating the excessive CO2. Here, we synthesize Cu6Sn5 alloy on Sn foil (Cu6Sn5/Sn) and gas diffusion electrode (GDE) using laser irradiation. Cu6Sn5/Sn exhibits high formate faradaic efficiency (FEformate) of 87.2% and remains stable at 28.69 mA cm−2 over 14 h. Further, with the help of laser drilling, the channeled Cu6Sn5/Sn used directly as GDE shows increased current density and FEformate (118 mA cm−2 and 86.69%) in flow cell. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the high performance of Cu6Sn5/Sn benefits from the appropriate binding energy of the key intermediates *OCHO. Meanwhile, COMSOL simulation results of CO2 concentration and electric field distribution combined with the results of kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) prove that CO2RR prefers to occur around the channels of electrode. More importantly, this laser irradiation method is also available to synthesize other alloy electrocatalysts.

Yijie Wang

Papers

Laser patterned and bifunctional Ni@N-doped carbon nanotubes as electrocatalyst and photothermal conversion layer for water splitting driven by thermoelectric device

Synthesis of CdS/MoS2 Nanooctahedrons Heterostructure with a Tight Interface for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Evolution and Biomass Upgrading

Laser-fabricated Channeled Cu6Sn5/Sn as Electrocatalyst and Gas Diffusion Electrode for Efficient CO2 Electroreduction to Formate