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  1. Free, publicly-accessible full text available September 1, 2024
  2. Free, publicly-accessible full text available May 1, 2024
  3. Abstract

    Photo‐responsive semiconductors can facilitate nitrogen activation and ammonia production, but the high recombination rate of photogenerated carriers represents a significant barrier. Ferroelectric photocatalysts show great promise in overcoming this challenge. Herein, by adopting a low‐temperature hydrothermal procedure with varying concentrations of glyoxal as the reducing agent, oxygen vacancies (Vo) are effectively produced on the surface of ferroelectric SrBi4Ti4O15(SBTO) nanosheets, which leads to a considerable increase in photocatalytic activity toward nitrogen fixation under simulated solar light with an ammonia production rate of 53.41 µmol g−1h−1, without the need of sacrificial agents or photosensitizers. This is ascribed to oxygen vacancies that markedly enhance the self‐polarization and internal electric field of ferroelectric SBTO, and hence, facilitate the separation of photogenerated charge carriers and light trapping as well as N2adsorption and activation, as compared to pristine SBTO. Consistent results are obtained in theoretical studies. Results from this study highlight the significance of surface oxygen vacancies in enhancing the performance of photocatalytic nitrogen fixation by ferroelectric catalysts.

     
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  4. Abstract

    Copper compounds have been extensively investigated for diverse applications. However, studies of cuprous hydroxide (CuOH) have been scarce due to structural metastability. Herein, a facile, wet‐chemistry procedure is reported for the preparation of stable CuOH nanostructures via deliberate functionalization with select organic ligands, such as acetylene and mercapto derivatives. The resulting nanostructures are found to exhibit a nanoribbon morphology consisting of small nanocrystals embedded within a largely amorphous nanosheet‐like scaffold. The acetylene derivatives are found to anchor onto the CuOH forming CuC linkages, whereas CuS interfacial bonds are formed with the mercapto ligands. Effective electronic coupling occurs at the ligand‐core interface in the former, in contrast to mostly non‐conjugated interfacial bonds in the latter, as manifested in spectroscopic measurements and confirmed in theoretical studies based on first principles calculations. Notably, the acetylene‐capped CuOH nanostructures exhibit markedly enhanced photodynamic activity in the inhibition of bacteria growth, as compared to the mercapto‐capped counterparts due to a reduced material bandgap and effective photocatalytic generation of reactive oxygen species. Results from this study demonstrate that deliberate structural engineering with select organic ligands is an effective strategy in the stabilization and functionalization of CuOH nanostructures, a critical first step in exploring their diverse applications.

     
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