The effect of rare earth (RE) single atoms on photocatalytic activity is very complex due to its special electronic configuration, which leads to few reports on the RE single atoms. Here, Dy3+single atom composite photocatalysts are successfully constructed based on both the special role of Dy3+and the special advantages of CdS/g‐C3N4heterojunction in the field of photocatalysis. The results show that an efficient way of electron transfer is provided to promote charge separation, and the dual functions of CO2molecular activation of rare‐earth single atom and 4
Metal oxides, as one of the mostly abundant and widely utilized materials, are extensively investigated and applied in environmental remediation and protection, and in energy conversion and storage. Most of these diverse applications are the result of a large diversity of the electronic states of metal oxides. Noticeably, however, many metal oxides present obstacles for applications in catalysis, mainly due to the lack of efficient active sites with desired electronic states. Here, the fabrication of single‐tungsten‐atom‐oxide (STAO) is demonstrated, in which the metal oxide's volume reaches its minimum as a unit cell. The catalytic mechanism in the STAO is determined by a new single‐site physics mechanism, named as quasi‐atom physics. The photogenerated electron transfer process is enabled by an electron in the spin‐up channel excited from the highest occupied molecular orbital to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital +1 state, which can only occur in STAO with W5+. STAO results in a record‐high and stable sunlight photocatalytic degradation rate of 0.24 s−1, which exceeds the rates of available photocatalysts by two orders of magnitude. The fabrication of STAO and its unique quasi‐atom photocatalytic mechanism lays new ground for achieving novel physical and chemical properties using single‐metal‐atom oxides (SMAO).
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10460043
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials
- Volume:
- 31
- Issue:
- 52
- ISSN:
- 0935-9648
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
Abstract f levels as electron transport bridge are fully exploited. It is exciting that under visible‐light irradiation, the catalytic performance of CdS:Dy3+/g‐C3N4is≈ 6.9 times higher than that of pure g‐C3N4. The catalytic performance of CdS:Dy3+and CdS:Dy3+/g‐C3N4are≈ 7 and≈ 13.7 times higher than those of pure CdS, respectively. Besides, not all RE ions are suitable for charge transfer bridges, which is not only related to the 4f levels of RE ions but also related to the bandgap structure of CdS and g‐C3N4. The pattern of combining single‐atom catalysis and heterojunction opens up new methods for enhancing photocatalytic activity. -
Extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light sources based on high harmonic generation are enabling the development of novel spectroscopic methods to help advance the frontiers of ultrafast science and technology. In this account we discuss the development of XUV-RA spectroscopy at near grazing incident reflection geometry and highlight recent applications of this method to study ultrafast electron dynamics at surfaces. Measuring core-to-valence transitions with broadband, femtosecond pulses of XUV light extends the benefits of x-ray absorption spectroscopy to a laboratory tabletop by providing a chemical fingerprint of materials, including the ability to resolve individual elements with sensitivity to oxidation state, spin state, carrier polarity, and coordination geometry. Combining this chemical state sensitivity with femtosecond time resolution provides new insight into the material properties that govern charge carrier dynamics in complex materials. It is well known that surface dynamics differ significantly from equivalent processes in bulk materials, and that charge separation, trapping, transport, and recombination occurring uniquely at surfaces governs the efficiency of numerous technologically relevant processes spanning photocatalysis, photovoltaics, and information storage and processing. Importantly, XUV-RA spectroscopy at near grazing angle is also surface sensitive with a probe depth of 3 nm, providing a new window into electronic and structural dynamics at surfaces and interfaces. Here we highlight the unique capabilities and recent applications of XUVRA spectroscopy to study photo-induced surface dynamics in metal oxide semiconductors, including photocatalytic oxides (Fe2O3, Co3O4 NiO, and CuFeO2) as well as photoswitchable magnetic oxide (CoFe2O4). We first compare the ultrafast electron self-trapping rates via small polaron formation at the surface and bulk of Fe2O3 where we note that the energetics and kinetics of this process differ significantly at the surface. Additionally, we demonstrate the ability to systematically tune this kinetics by molecular functionalization, thereby, providing a route to control carrier transport at surfaces. We also measure the spectral signatures of charge transfer excitons with site specific localization of both electrons and holes in a series of transition metal oxide semiconductors (Fe2O3, NiO, Co3O4). The presence of valence band holes probed at the oxygen L1-edge confirms a direct relationship between the metal-oxygen bond covalency and water oxidation efficiency. For a mixed metal oxide CuFeO2 in the layered delafossite structure, XUV-RA reveals that the sub-picosecond hole thermalization from O 2p to Cu 3d states of CuFeO2 leads to the spatial separation of electrons and holes, resulting in exceptional photocatalytic performance for H2 evolution and CO2 reduction of this material. Finally, we provide an example to show the ability of XUV-RA to probe spin state specific dynamics in a the photo-switchable ferrimagnet, cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4). This study provides a detailed understating of ultrafast spin switching in a complex magnetic material with site-specific resolution. In summary, the applications of XUV-RA spectroscopy demonstrated here illustrate the current abilities and future promise of this method to extend molecule-level understanding from well-defined photochemical complexes to complex materials so that charge and spin dynamics at surfaces can be tuned with the precision of molecular photochemistry.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract Tetrahydrides crystallizing in the ThCr2Si2structure type have been predicted to become stable for a plethora of metals under pressure, and some have recently been synthesized. Through detailed first‐principles investigations we show that the metal atoms within these
symmetry MH4compounds may be divalent, trivalent or tetravalent. The valence of the metal atom and its radius govern the bonding and electronic structure of these phases, and their evolution under pressure. The factors important for enhancing superconductivity include a large number of hydrogenic states at the Fermi level, and the presence of quasi‐molecular H units whose bonds have been stretched and weakened (but not broken) via electron transfer from the electropositive metal, and via a Kubas‐like interaction with the metal. Analysis of the microscopic mechanism of superconductivity in MgH4, ScH4and ZrH4reveals that phonon modes involving a coupled libration and stretch of the H units leading to the formation of more complex hydrogenic motifs are important contributors towards the electron phonon coupling mechanism. In the divalent hydride MgH4, modes associated with motions of the hydridic hydrogen atoms are also key contributors, and soften substantially at lower pressures. -
Oxides of p-block metals (e.g., indium oxide) and semimetals (e.g., antimony oxide) are of broad practical interest as transparent conductors and light absorbers for solar photoconversion due to the tunability of their electronic conductivity and optical absorption. Comparatively, these oxides have found limited applications in solar-to-hydrogen photocatalysis primarily due to their high electronegativity, which impedes electron transfer for converting protons into molecular hydrogen. We have shown recently that inserting s-block metal cations into p-block oxides is effective at lowering electronegativities while affording further control of band gaps. Here, we explain the origins of this dual tunability by demonstrating the mediator role of s-block metal cations in modulating orbital hybridization while not contributing to frontier electronic states. From this result, we carry out a comprehensive computational study of 109 ternary oxides of s- and p-block metal elements as candidate photocatalysts for solar hydrogen generation. We downselect the most desirable materials using band gaps and band edges obtained from Hubbard-corrected density-functional theory with Hubbard parameters computed entirely from first principles, evaluate the stability of these oxides in aqueous conditions, and characterize experimentally four of the remaining materials, synthesized with high phase uniformity, to assess the accuracy of computational predictions. We thus propose seven oxide semiconductors, including CsIn3O5, Sr2In2O5, and KSbO2 which, to the extent of our literature review, have not been previously considered as water-splitting photocatalysts.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract Supercapacitors have emerged as one of the leading energy‐storage technologies due to their short charge/discharge time and exceptional cycling stability; however, the state‐of‐the‐art energy density is relatively low. Hybrid electrodes based on transition metal oxides and carbon‐based materials are considered to be promising candidates to overcome this limitation. Herein, a rational design of graphene/VO
x electrodes is proposed that incorporates vanadium oxides with multiple oxidation states onto highly conductive graphene scaffolds synthesized via a facile laser‐scribing process. The graphene/VOx electrodes exhibit a large potential window with a high three‐electrode specific capacitance of 1110 F g–1. The aqueous graphene/VOx symmetric supercapacitors (SSCs) can reach a high energy density of 54 Wh kg–1with virtually no capacitance loss after 20 000 cycles. Moreover, the flexible quasi‐solid‐state graphene/VOx SSCs can reach a very high energy density of 72 Wh kg–1, or 7.7 mWh cm–3, outperforming many commercial devices. WithR ct < 0.02 Ω and Coulombic efficiency close to 100%, these gel graphene/VOx SSCs can retain 92% of their capacitance after 20 000 cycles. The process enables the direct fabrication of redox‐active electrodes that can be integrated with essentially any substrate including silicon wafers and flexible substrates, showing great promise for next‐generation large‐area flexible displays and wearable electronic devices.
