Fundamentals and comprehensive insights on pulsed laser synthesis of advanced materials for diverse photo- and electrocatalytic applications

Abstract

The global energy crisis is increasing the demand for innovative materials with high purity and functionality for the development of clean energy production and storage. The development of novel photo- and electrocatalysts significantly depends on synthetic techniques that facilitate the production of tailored advanced nanomaterials. The emerging use of pulsed laser in liquid synthesis has attracted immense interest as an effective synthetic technology with several advantages over conventional chemical and physical synthetic routes, including the fine-tuning of size, composition, surface, and crystalline structures, and defect densities and is associated with the catalytic, electronic, thermal, optical, and mechanical properties of the produced nanomaterials. Herein, we present an overview of the fundamental understanding and importance of the pulsed laser process, namely various roles and mechanisms involved in the production of various types of nanomaterials, such as metal nanoparticles, oxides, non-oxides, and carbon-based materials. We mainly cover the advancement of photo- and electrocatalytic nanomaterials via pulsed laser-assisted technologies with detailed mechanistic insights and structural optimization along with effective catalytic performances in various energy and environmental remediation processes. Finally, the future directions and challenges of pulsed laser techniques are briefly underlined. This review can exert practical guidance for the future design and fabrication of innovative pulsed laser-induced nanomaterials with fascinating properties for advanced catalysis applications.

Dual-Cation-Coordinated CoFe-Layered Double-Hydroxide Nanosheets Using the Pulsed Laser Ablation Technique for Efficient Electrochemical Water Splitting: Mechanistic Screening by In Situ/Operando Raman and Density Functional Theory Calculations

“…To develop a nanostructure, these conventional techniques require the use of a metal salt precursor, a surfactant, and other reagents, which compromise the purity of the final product. Thus, we eliminated the complications from these conventional techniques with an emerging pulsed laser ablation (PLA) technique. − This technique primarily generates metal ions from a metal target or forms metal nanoparticles (NPs) from metal precursors in the solution phase. The rapid formation of these materials in a liquid medium develops various topologies, sizes, and hybrid structures.…”

Trapezohedral platinum nanocrystals with high-index facets for high-performance hydrazine electrooxidation

“…Current studies of HzOR mainly focus on the design and fabrication of efficient electrocatalysts such as noble metal and intermetallic compounds [9][10][11][12][13] , non-noble metals and their single atoms [14][15][16][17] , and non-metallic materials [18] . The catalytic activity is closely related to the surface and electronic structure of the catalysts [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] . However, the effect of surface structure of metal nanocrystals on HzOR is rarely studied, especially that of high-index facets.…”

Photocatalytic Aerobic Oxidation of Biomass-Derived 5-HMF to DFF over MIL-53(Fe)/g-C3N4 Composite

“…In comparison, the photocatalytic technique has been widely used with various semiconductor-based photocatalysts due to the mild reaction using solar light at room temperature [ 9 , 10 ]. In recent years, the photocatalytic oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding aldehyde has received more and more attention.…”