skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: Defective Ultrathin ZnIn 2 S 4 for Photoreductive Deuteration of Carbonyls Using D 2 O as the Deuterium Source
Abstract Deuterium (D) labeling is of great value in organic synthesis, pharmaceutical industry, and materials science. However, the state‐of‐the‐art deuteration methods generally require noble metal catalysts, expensive deuterium sources, or harsh reaction conditions. Herein, noble metal‐free and ultrathin ZnIn2S4(ZIS) is reported as an effective photocatalyst for visible light‐driven reductive deuteration of carbonyls to produce deuterated alcohols using heavy water (D2O) as the sole deuterium source. Defective two‐dimensional ZIS nanosheets (D‐ZIS) are prepared in a surfactant assisted bottom‐up route exhibited much enhanced performance than the pristine ZIS counterpart. A systematic study is carried out to elucidate the contributing factors and it is found that the in situ surfactant modification enabled D‐ZIS to expose more defect sites for charge carrier separation and active D‐species generation, as well as high specific surface area, all of which are beneficial for the desirable deuteration reaction. This work highlights the great potential in developing low‐cost semiconductor‐based photocatalysts for organic deuteration in D2O, circumventing expensive deuterium reagents and harsh conditions.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1955358 1955336
PAR ID:
10366683
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Advanced Science
Volume:
9
Issue:
3
ISSN:
2198-3844
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. The synthesis and characterization of an iridium polyhydride complex ( Ir-H4 ) supported by an electron-rich PCP framework is described. This complex readily loses molecular hydrogen allowing for rapid room temperature hydrogen isotope exchange (HIE) at the hydridic positions and the α-C–H site of the ligand with deuterated solvents such as benzene-d 6 , toluene-d 8 and THF-d 8 . The removal of 1–2 equivalents of molecular H 2 forms unsaturated iridium carbene trihydride ( Ir-H3 ) or monohydride ( Ir-H ) compounds that are able to create further unsaturation by reversibly transferring a hydride to the ligand carbene carbon. These species are highly active hydrogen isotope exchange (HIE) catalysts using C 6 D 6 or D 2 O as deuterium sources for the deuteration of a variety of substrates. By modifying conditions to influence the Ir-Hn speciation, deuteration levels can range from near exhaustive to selective only for sterically accessible sites. Preparative level deuterations of select substrates were performed allowing for procurement of >95% deuterated compounds in excellent isolated yields; the catalyst can be regenerated by treatment of residues with H 2 and is still active for further reactions. 
    more » « less
  2. Abstract The reduction of dioxygen to produce selectively H2O2or H2O is crucial in various fields. While platinum‐based materials excel in 4H+/4eoxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis, cost and resource limitations drive the search for cost‐effective and abundant transition metal catalysts. It is thus of great importance to understand how the selectivity and efficiency of 3d‐metal ORR catalysts can be tuned. In this context, we report on a Co complex supported by a bisthiolate N2S2‐donor ligand acting as a homogeneous ORR catalyst in acetonitrile solutions both in the presence of a one‐electron reducing agent (selectivity for H2O of 93 % and TOFi=3 000 h−1) and under electrochemically‐assisted conditions (0.81 V <η<1.10 V, selectivity for H2O between 85 % and 95 %). Interestingly, such a predominant 4H+/4epathway for Co‐based ORR catalysts is rare, highlighting the key role of the thiolate donor ligand. Besides, the selectivity of this Co catalyst under chemical ORR conditions is inverse with respect to the Mn and Fe catalysts supported by the same ligand, which evidences the impact of the nature of the metal ion on the ORR selectivity. 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract High quality dielectric‐semiconductor interfaces are critical for reliable high‐performance transistors. This paper reports the in situ metal–organic chemical vapor deposition of Al2O3on β‐Ga2O3as a potentially better alternative to the most commonly used atomic layer deposition (ALD). The growth of Al2O3is performed in the same reactor as Ga2O3using trimethylaluminum and O2as precursors without breaking the vacuum at a growth temperature of 600 °C. The fast and slow near interface traps at the Al2O3/β‐Ga2O3interface are identified and quantified using stressed capacitance–voltage (CV) measurements on metal oxide semiconductor capacitor (MOSCAP) structures. The density of shallow and deep level initially filled traps (Dit) are measured using ultraviolet‐assisted CV technique. The average Ditfor the MOSCAP is determined to be 6.4×1011cm−2eV−1. The conduction band offset of the Al2O3/ Ga2O3interface is also determined from CV measurements and found out to be 1.7 eV which is in close agreement with the existing literature reports of ALD Al2O3/Ga2O3interface. The current–voltage characteristics are also analyzed and the average breakdown field is extracted to be approximately 5.8 MV cm−1. This in situ Al2O3dielectric on β‐Ga2O3with improved dielectric properties can enable Ga2O3‐based high‐performance devices. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract A direct electrosynthesis of H2O2from either O2or H2O is an attractive strategy to replace the energy‐intensive industrial anthraquinone process. Two‐electron water oxidation reaction (2e‐WOR) offers several advantages over the oxygen reduction reaction such as better mass transfer due to the absence of gas‐phase reactants. However, 2e‐WOR is a more challenging and less studied process with only a handful of metal oxides exhibiting reasonable activity/selectivity properties. Herein, we employ density‐functional‐theory calculations to screen a variety of metal‐nitrogen‐graphene structures for 2e‐WOR. As a consequence of scaling between the adsorption energies of reaction intermediates, we determine a linear relation between selectivities for the first and second reaction steps of 2e‐WOR, viz. that if selectivity toward adsorbed OH is improved, then selectivity toward H2O2at the subsequent step is decreased. We also find that selectivity and activity are linearly scaled in such a way that a higher activity (i. e., a lower overpotential) leads to a lower selectivity for the H2O2formation step. Based on the obtained results several chemistries, e. g., containing NiNx−C moieties, are predicted to rival the best‐performing metal oxides such as ZnO and CaSnO3in terms of combination of their activity/selectivity characteristics for 2e‐WOR. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract The enhanced safety, superior energy, and power density of rechargeable metal‐air batteries make them ideal energy storage systems for application in energy grids and electric vehicles. However, the absence of a cost‐effective and stable bifunctional catalyst that can replace expensive platinum (Pt)‐based catalyst to promote oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the air cathode hinders their broader adaptation. Here, it is demonstrated that Tin (Sn) doped β‐gallium oxide (β‐Ga2O3) in the bulk form can efficiently catalyze ORR and OER and, hence, be applied as the cathode in Zn‐air batteries. The Sn‐doped β‐Ga2O3sample with 15% Sn (Snx=0.15‐Ga2O3) displayed exceptional catalytic activity for a bulk, non‐noble metal‐based catalyst. When used as a cathode, the excellent electrocatalytic bifunctional activity of Snx=0.15‐Ga2O3leads to a prototype Zn‐air battery with a high‐power density of 138 mW cm−2and improved cycling stability compared to devices with benchmark Pt‐based cathode. The combined experimental and theoretical exploration revealed that the Lewis acid sites in β‐Ga2O3aid in regulating the electron density distribution on the Sn‐doped sites, optimize the adsorption energies of reaction intermediates, and facilitate the formation of critical reaction intermediate (O*), leading to enhanced electrocatalytic activity. 
    more » « less