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Bimetallic nanoparticles have attracted increasing scientific and technological interest as modules for creating nanoscale materials with unique magnetic, electronic, and chemical properties. The properties of bimetallic NPs are functions of... 

Photoactive single-atom catalysts (SACs) are among the most exciting catalytic materials for solar fuel production. Different SACs, including our own Co SACs, have been prepared on graphitic carbon nitride (C3N4) for use in photocatalysis. Building on our prior success, we report here doped C3N4 using various supplemental carbon dopants as the support for Co SACs. The Co SAC on a dianhydride doped C3N4 showed the highest activity in photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Catalyst characterization was carried out to explore the origin of the enhanced activity of this particular Co SAC. The dianhydride doped C3N4 possesses unique microstructural features, including large inter-layer space and fibrous morphology, that could contribute to the enhanced photocatalytic activity. Our results further indicate that the dianhydride is the most effective dopant to incorporate aromatic moieties in C3N4, which resulted in improved charge separation and enhanced activity in photocatalysis. 

This study introduces a novel iterative Bragg peak removal with automatic intensity correction (IBR-AIC) methodology for X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), specifically addressing the challenge of Bragg peak interference in the analysis of crystalline materials. The approach integrates experimental adjustments and sophisticated post-processing, including an iterative algorithm for robust calculation of the scaling factor of the absorption coefficients and efficient elimination of the Bragg peaks, a common obstacle in accurately interpreting XAS data, particularly in crystalline samples. The method was thoroughly evaluated on dilute catalysts and thin films, with fluorescence mode and large-angle rotation. The results underscore the technique's effectiveness, adaptability and substantial potential in improving the precision of XAS data analysis. While demonstrating significant promise, the method does have limitations related to signal-to-noise ratio sensitivity and the necessity for meticulous angle selection during experimentation. Overall, IBR-AIC represents a significant advancement in XAS, offering a pragmatic solution to Bragg peak contamination challenges, thereby expanding the applications of XAS in understanding complex materials under diverse experimental conditions.