Converting Light Energy to Chemical Energy: A New Catalytic Approach for Sustainable Environmental Remediation

Abstract

We report a synthetic approach to form cubic Cu2O/Pd composite structures and demonstrate their use as photocatalytic materials for tandem catalysis. Pd nanoparticles were deposited onto Cu2O cubes, and their tandem catalytic reactivity was studied via the reductive dehalogenation of polychlorinated biphenyls. The Pd content of the materials was gradually increased to examine its influence on particle morphology and catalytic performance. Materials were prepared at different Pd amounts and demonstrated a range of tandem catalytic reactivity. H2 was generated via photocatalytic proton reduction initiated by Cu2O, followed by Pd-catalyzed dehalogenation using in situ generated H2. The results indicate that material morphology and composition and substrate steric effects play important roles in controlling the overall reaction rate. Additionally, analysis of the postreacted materials revealed that a small number of the cubes had become hollow during the photodechlorination reaction. Such findings offer important insights regarding photocatalytic active sites and mechanisms, providing a pathway toward converting light-based energy to chemical energy for sustainable catalytic reactions not typically driven via light.

Light and Particle Manipulation Based on Optothermal Surface Bubbles

“…The position, size, and shape of the OSB can be precisely and dynamically changed by modulating the laser beam. Therefore, the OSB enables many intriguing applications ranging from the micro/nanomanipulation of fluids [1,2], particles [3,4], cells [5], and light [6] to the synthesis of micro/nano-structures under ambient conditions [7]. Here, we demonstrate how an OSB can be used to dynamically control light and particles.…”

Photocatalytic Hydrodehalogenation for the Removal of Halogenated Aromatic Contaminants

“…Bromine at the para position of BDE 47 was subjected to removal, while direct photolysis under UV irradiation removed bromine at the ortho position. Pd@Cu 2 O also catalyzes the complete dechlorination of tetrachlorobiphenyl and monochlorobiphenyl to biphenyl under visible irradiation ,. The authors proposed a catalytic hydrogen transfer mechanism (Scheme ): first, hydrogen was produced on Pd@Cu 2 O under visible irradiation, and then the reduction of the halogenated substrates was mediated by Pd‐activated hydrogen species.…”

Hydrogen peroxide–assisted photocatalytic dye degradation over reduced graphene oxide integrated ZnCr2O4 nanoparticles

“…The heterogeneous photocatalyst gives great promise for environmental contaminants elimination by transfer photon energy into chemical energy (Nguyen et al 2016; Kalisamy et al 2020). The photocatalytic treatment for eradication of hazardous environmental pollutants, such as, various organic dyes, chemical compounds etc.…”