Photoinduced Defect Engineering: Enhanced Photothermal Catalytic Performance of 2D Black In2 O3- x Nanosheets with Bifunctional Oxygen Vacancies

Reverse water-gas shift reaction over Pt/MoOx/TiO2: reverse Mars–van Krevelen mechanism via redox of supported MoOx

Pt/MoO_x/TiO₂ shows excellent catalytic performance for the reverse water-gas shift reaction at 250 °C via reverse Mars–van Krevelen mechanism.

Interfacial Reaction-Induced Defect Engineering: Enhanced Visible and Near-Infrared Absorption of Wide Band Gap Metal Oxides with Abundant Oxygen Vacancies

Modified metal oxides with narrow band gaps have attracted great interest in photothermal applications because of their wide optical absorption range. To tune wide band gap metal oxides into visible and near-infrared responsive materials, we deploy a unique interfacial reaction-induced defect engineering approach, which enables us to effectively modify the electronic structure of metal oxides by introducing oxygen vacancy defects. This approach reduced the band gap of zirconia from 5.47 to 1.38 eV, accompanied by a color change to black. More importantly, it is not limited by the size of the metal oxides, and bulk black zirconia was successfully obtained for the first time. It has been demonstrated that the prepared black zirconia can be applied as an effective photothermal therapy agent in vitro. Additionally, the interfacial reaction-induced defect engineering approach has been successfully extended to enhance the optical absorption of other metal oxides.

The role of oxygen defects in metal oxides for CO2 reduction

The abuse of fossil fuels release large amount of CO2, causing intense global warming. Using photoreduction and electroreduction to convert CO2 into highly valuable fuels such as CO and CH4 can effectively solve this problem. However, due to the limited activity and selectivity, pristine catalyst materials cannot meet the requirements of practical applications, which means that some modifications to these catalysts are necessary. In this review, a series of research reports on oxygen defect engineering have been introduced. First, the methods of preparing oxygen defects by heat treatment, doping, and photoinduction combined with influencing factors in the preparation are introduced. Subsequently, common characterization methods of oxygen defects including EPR, Raman, XPS, EXAFS, and HRTEM are summarized. Finally, the mechanisms of introducing oxygen defects to improve CO2 reduction are discussed, and include enhancing light absorption, improving CO2 adsorption and activation, as well as promoting stability of the reaction intermediates. The summary of research on oxygen defects provides guidance for researchers who focus on CO2 reduction and accelerate the realization of its industrial applications in the future.

Plasmon-Enhanced Infrared Emission Approaching the Theoretical Limit of Radiative Cooling Ability

Radiative cooling, a passive cooling technique, has shown great potentials in recent years to lower the power consumption of air conditioning. With the ever-increasing cooling power being reported, the theoretical cooling limit of such a technique is still unclear. In this work, we proposed a theoretical limit imposing an upper bound for the attainable cooling power. To approach this limit, we exploited the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of self-doped In₂O₃ nanoparticles, which enhance the emissivity in both primary and secondary atmospheric windows. The measured cooling power of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films containing 4.5% In₂O₃ nanoparticles is very close to the limit with the closest value only about 0.4 W/m² below the limit. Hopefully, this work may help the researchers better evaluating the performance of their device in the future and pave the way for achieving even higher radiative cooling powers during the daytime operations with the help of LSPR.

Platinum-Supported Cerium-Doped Indium Oxide for Highly Sensitive Triethylamine Gas Sensing with Good Antihumidity

Triethylamine is extremely harmful to human health, and chronic inhalation can lead to respiratory and hematological diseases and eye lesions. Hence, it is essential to develop a triethylamine gas-sensing technology with high response, selectivity, and stability for use in healthcare and environmental monitoring. In this work, a simple and low-cost sensor based on the Pt- and Ce-modified In₂O₃ hollow structure to selectively detect triethylamine is developed. The experimental results reveal that the sensor based on 1% Pt/Ce₁₂In exhibits excellent triethylamine-sensing performance, including its insusceptibility to water, reduced operating temperature, enhanced response, and superior long-term stability. This work suggests that the enhancement of sensing performance toward triethylamine can be attributed to the high relative contents of O_V and O_C, large specific surface area, catalytic effect, the electronic sensitization of Pt, and the reversible redox cycle properties of Ce. This sensor represents a unique and highly sensitive means to detect triethylamine, which shows great promise for potential applications in food safety inspection and environmental monitoring.

Shining light on CO2: from materials discovery to photocatalyst, photoreactor and process engineering

Materials engineering, theoretical modelling, reactor engineering and process development of gas-phase photocatalytic CO₂ reduction exemplified by indium oxide systems.

Industrial carbon dioxide capture and utilization: state of the art and future challenges

This review covers the sustainable development of advanced improvements in CO₂ capture and utilization.