Design of the Synergistic Rectifying Interfaces in Mott–Schottky Catalysts

Abstract

The functions of interfacial synergy in heterojunction catalysts are diverse and powerful, providing a route to solve many difficulties in energy conversion and organic synthesis. Among heterojunction-based catalysts, the Mott–Schottky catalysts composed of a metal–semiconductor heterojunction with predictable and designable interfacial synergy are rising stars of next-generation catalysts. We review the concept of Mott–Schottky catalysts and discuss their applications in various realms of catalysis. In particular, the design of a Mott–Schottky catalyst provides a feasible strategy to boost energy conversion and chemical synthesis processes, even allowing realization of novel catalytic functions such as enhanced redox activity, Lewis acid–base pairs, and electron donor–acceptor couples for dealing with the current problems in catalysis for energy conversion and storage. This review focuses on the synthesis, assembly, and characterization of Schottky heterojunctions for photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and organic synthesis. The proposed design principles, including the importance of constructing stable and clean interfaces, tuning work function differences, and preparing exposable interfacial structures for designing electronic interfaces, will provide a reference for the development of all heterojunction-type catalysts, electrodes, energy conversion/storage devices, and even super absorbers, which are currently topics of interest in fields such as electrocatalysis, fuel cells, CO2 reduction, and wastewater treatment.

Titanium-based MAX-phase with sonocatalytic activity for degradation of oxytetracycline antibiotic

“…As shown in the Fig. 7 a, the positive slope proves the n -type semiconducting [71] , [72] nature of the Ti 2 SnC MAX phase. Based on the intercept obtained by aligning the linear portion of the M−S plot to the potential axis [73] , the catalyst’s flat band potential is determined as −0.72 V vs SCE.…”

Photocatalytic Decarboxylative Minisci Reaction Catalyzed by Palladium-Loaded Gallium Nitride

“…The images showed that the metallic Pd nanoparticles were successfully deposited with good distribution on the surface of GaN (Figures S2 and S3). Previous reports have shown that the deposition of high work function metal Pd on GaN could form the Schottky junction, which is critical for charge transfer. , These metal–semiconductor interfaces can significantly increase the lifetime of electron–hole pairs, enhancing the catalytic activity. − Figure a displays the photoluminescence spectra of commercial GaN and the designed 3 wt % Pd/GaN. The intensity of the photoluminescence emission decreases as Pd nanoparticles are deposited on the surface of GaN.…”

Recent advances on catalysts for photocatalytic selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline

“…Frontiers in Chemistry frontiersin.org 2020; Žerjav et al, 2021). Schottky proposed a metal-semiconductor contact barrier model under ideal conditions that ignores the interface state, so it is called the Schottky barrier (Xu et al, 2023). Catalysts with Schottky barrier are generally of strong capacity to improve the separation of electron hole pairs, thereby exhibiting superior catalytic performance.…”