1
|
Verduci R, Creazzo F, Tavella F, Abate S, Ampelli C, Luber S, Perathoner S, Cassone G, Centi G, D'Angelo G. Water Structure in the First Layers on TiO 2: A Key Factor for Boosting Solar-Driven Water-Splitting Performances. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:18061-18073. [PMID: 38909313 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c05042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/24/2024]
Abstract
The water hydrogen-bonded network is strongly perturbed in the first layers in contact with the semiconductor surface. Even though this aspect influences the outer-sphere electron transfer, it was not recognized that it is a crucial factor impacting the solar-driven water-splitting performances. To fill this gap, we have selected two TiO2 anatase samples (with and without B-doping), and by extensive experimental and computational investigations, we have demonstrated that the remarkable 5-fold increase in water-splitting photoactivity of the B-doped sample cannot be ascribed to effects typically associated to enhanced photocatalytic properties, such as band gap, heterojunctions, crystal facets, and other aspects. Studying these samples by combining FTIR measurements under controlled humidity with first-principles simulations sheds light on the role and nature of the first-layer water structure in contact with the photocatalyst surfaces. It turns out that the doping hampers the percolation of tetrahedrally coordinated water molecules while enhancing the population of topological H-bond defects forming approximately linear H-bonded chains. This work unveils how doping the semiconductor surface affects the local electric field, determining the water splitting rate by influencing the H-bond topologies in the first water layers. This evidence opens new prospects for designing efficient photocatalysts for water splitting.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosaria Verduci
- Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Physical Science and Earth Science (MIFT), University of Messina, V.le F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Creazzo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Tavella
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, ERIC aisbl and CASPE/INSTM, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Salvatore Abate
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, ERIC aisbl and CASPE/INSTM, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Claudio Ampelli
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, ERIC aisbl and CASPE/INSTM, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Sandra Luber
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Siglinda Perathoner
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, ERIC aisbl and CASPE/INSTM, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Cassone
- Institute for Chemical-Physical Processes, National Research Council of Italy (IPCF-CNR), Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 37, 98158 Messina, Italy
| | - Gabriele Centi
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, ERIC aisbl and CASPE/INSTM, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Giovanna D'Angelo
- Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Physical Science and Earth Science (MIFT), University of Messina, V.le F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Maqbool Q, Favoni O, Wicht T, Lasemi N, Sabbatini S, Stöger-Pollach M, Ruello ML, Tittarelli F, Rupprechter G. Highly Stable Self-Cleaning Paints Based on Waste-Valorized PNC-Doped TiO 2 Nanoparticles. ACS Catal 2024; 14:4820-4834. [PMID: 38601782 PMCID: PMC11003396 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c06203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Adding photocatalytically active TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) to polymeric paints is a feasible route toward self-cleaning coatings. While paint modification by TiO2-NPs may improve photoactivity, it may also cause polymer degradation and release of toxic volatile organic compounds. To counterbalance adverse effects, a synthesis method for nonmetal (P, N, and C)-doped TiO2-NPs is introduced, based purely on waste valorization. PNC-doped TiO2-NP characterization by vibrational and photoelectron spectroscopy, electron microscopy, diffraction, and thermal analysis suggests that TiO2-NPs were modified with phosphate (P=O), imine species (R=N-R), and carbon, which also hindered the anatase/rutile phase transformation, even upon 700 °C calcination. When added to water-based paints, PNC-doped TiO2-NPs achieved 96% removal of surface-adsorbed pollutants under natural sunlight or UV, paralleled by stability of the paint formulation, as confirmed by micro-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) surface analysis. The origin of the photoinduced self-cleaning properties was rationalized by three-dimensional (3D) and synchronous photoluminescence spectroscopy, indicating that the dopants led to 7.3 times stronger inhibition of photoinduced e-/h+ recombination when compared to a benchmark P25 photocatalyst.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qaisar Maqbool
- Department of Materials, Environmental Sciences and
Urban Planning (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, INSTM
Research Unit, via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona,
Italy
- Institute of Materials Chemistry, TU
Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/BC, A-1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Orlando Favoni
- Department of Materials, Environmental Sciences and
Urban Planning (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, INSTM
Research Unit, via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona,
Italy
| | - Thomas Wicht
- Institute of Materials Chemistry, TU
Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/BC, A-1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Niusha Lasemi
- Institute of Materials Chemistry, TU
Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/BC, A-1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Simona Sabbatini
- Department of Materials, Environmental Sciences and
Urban Planning (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, INSTM
Research Unit, via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona,
Italy
| | - Michael Stöger-Pollach
- University Service Center for Transmission
Electron Microscopy, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna,
Austria
| | - Maria Letizia Ruello
- Department of Materials, Environmental Sciences and
Urban Planning (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, INSTM
Research Unit, via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona,
Italy
| | - Francesca Tittarelli
- Department of Materials, Environmental Sciences and
Urban Planning (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, INSTM
Research Unit, via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona,
Italy
| | - Günther Rupprechter
- Institute of Materials Chemistry, TU
Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/BC, A-1060 Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Liu Z, Xia X, Ye CJ, Xu H, Wang QY, Zheng ZY, Li SS, Liu Z, Guo Z. Sensitive sensing of Hg(II) based on lattice B and surface F co-doped CeO 2: Synergies of catalysis and adsorption brought by doping site engineering. Anal Chim Acta 2023; 1282:341937. [PMID: 37923410 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Transition metal oxides are widely used in the detection of heavy metal ions (HMIs), and the co-doping strategy that introducing a variety of different dopant atoms to modify them can obtain a better detection performance. However, there is very little research on the co-doped transition metal oxides by non-metallic elements for electrochemical detection. Herein, boron (B) and fluorine (F) co-doped CeO2 nanomaterial (BFC) is constructed to serve as the electrochemically sensitive interface for the detection of Hg(II). B and F affect the sensitivity of CeO2 to HMIs when they were introduced at different doping sites. Through a variety of characterization, it is proved that B is successfully doped into the lattice and F is doped on the surface of the material. Through the improvement of the catalytic properties and adsorption capacity of CeO2 by different doping sites, this B and F co-doped CeO2 exhibits excellent square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) current responses to Hg(II). Both the high sensitivity of 906.99 μA μM-1 cm-2 and the low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.006 μM are satisfactory. Besides, this BFC glassy carbon electrode (GCE) also has good anti-interference property, which has been successfully used in the detection of Hg(II) in actual water. This discovery provides a useful strategy for designing a variety of non-metallic co-doped transition metal oxides to construct trace heavy metal ion-sensitive interfaces.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Liu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Applications, Anhui Province Industrial Generic Technology Research Center for Alumics Materials, School of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, PR China
| | - Xu Xia
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Applications, Anhui Province Industrial Generic Technology Research Center for Alumics Materials, School of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, PR China
| | - Chun-Jie Ye
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Applications, Anhui Province Industrial Generic Technology Research Center for Alumics Materials, School of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, PR China
| | - Huan Xu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Applications, Anhui Province Industrial Generic Technology Research Center for Alumics Materials, School of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, PR China
| | - Qiu-Yu Wang
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Applications, Anhui Province Industrial Generic Technology Research Center for Alumics Materials, School of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, PR China
| | - Zi-Yi Zheng
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Applications, Anhui Province Industrial Generic Technology Research Center for Alumics Materials, School of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, PR China
| | - Shan-Shan Li
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Intelligent Computing and Applications, Anhui Province Industrial Generic Technology Research Center for Alumics Materials, School of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, PR China.
| | - Zhonggang Liu
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui University, Hefei, 230000, PR China.
| | - Zheng Guo
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui University, Hefei, 230000, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Salusso D, Scarfiello C, Efimenko A, Pham Minh D, Serp P, Soulantica K, Zafeiratos S. Direct Evidence of Dynamic Metal Support Interactions in Co/TiO 2 Catalysts by Near-Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 13:2672. [PMID: 37836313 PMCID: PMC10574330 DOI: 10.3390/nano13192672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
The interaction between metal particles and the oxide support, the so-called metal-support interaction, plays a critical role in the performance of heterogenous catalysts. Probing the dynamic evolution of these interactions under reactive gas atmospheres is crucial to comprehending the structure-performance relationship and eventually designing new catalysts with enhanced properties. Cobalt supported on TiO2 (Co/TiO2) is an industrially relevant catalyst applied in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Although it is widely acknowledged that Co/TiO2 is restructured during the reaction process, little is known about the impact of the specific gas phase environment at the material's surface. The combination of soft and hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopies are used to investigate in situ Co particles supported on pure and NaBH4-modified TiO2 under H2, O2, and CO2:H2 gas atmospheres. The combination of soft and hard X-ray photoemission methods, which allows for simultaneous probing of the chemical composition of surface and subsurface layers, is one of the study's unique features. It is shown that under H2, cobalt particles are encapsulated below a stoichiometric TiO2 layer. This arrangement is preserved under CO2 hydrogenation conditions (i.e., CO2:H2), but changes rapidly upon exposure to O2. The pretreatment of the TiO2 support with NaBH4 affects the surface mobility and prevents TiO2 spillover onto Co particles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Davide Salusso
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, CS 40220, CEDEX 9, 38043 Grenoble, France;
| | - Canio Scarfiello
- Centre RAPSODEE UMR CNRS 5302, IMT Mines Albi, Université de Toulouse, Campus Jarlard, CEDEX 09, 81013 Albi, France; (C.S.); (D.P.M.)
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets (LPCNO), Université de Toulouse, INSA, UPS, CNRS, LPCNO, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse, France;
- LCC, CNRS-UPR 8241, ENSIACET, Université de Toulouse, 31030 Toulouse, France;
| | - Anna Efimenko
- Interface Design, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB), Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany;
- Energy Materials In-Situ Laboratory Berlin (EMIL), Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB), Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Doan Pham Minh
- Centre RAPSODEE UMR CNRS 5302, IMT Mines Albi, Université de Toulouse, Campus Jarlard, CEDEX 09, 81013 Albi, France; (C.S.); (D.P.M.)
| | - Philippe Serp
- LCC, CNRS-UPR 8241, ENSIACET, Université de Toulouse, 31030 Toulouse, France;
| | - Katerina Soulantica
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets (LPCNO), Université de Toulouse, INSA, UPS, CNRS, LPCNO, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse, France;
| | - Spyridon Zafeiratos
- Institut de Chimie et Procédés Pour l’Energie, l’Environnement et la Santé (ICPEES), ECPM, UMR 7515 CNRS—Université de Strasbourg, 25 Rue Becquerel, CEDEX 02, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Photocatalytic Degradation and Mineralization of Estriol (E3) Hormone Using Boron-Doped TiO2 Catalyst. Catalysts 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/catal13010043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
In this research work, boron-doped titanium oxide (B-TiO2) was prepared by the sol-gel method to investigate its behavior in the degradation of the recalcitrant hormone estriol (E3). The doped photocatalyst was synthesized at different boron/titania ratios of 2, 3, and 5 wt.% of boron with respect to the TiO2 content. The obtained materials were characterized by UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The textural properties, specific surface area, and porosity were obtained from N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms by BET and BJH methods, respectively. The photocatalytic performance of each synthesized catalyst was evaluated on the degradation of an aqueous solution (10 mg/L) of estriol (E3) under simulated solar radiation. The variation in the hormone concentration was determined by the HPLC technique, and the mineralization was evaluated by the quantification of total organic carbon (TOC). The obtained results indicated that the catalyst with 3 wt.% of boron incorporation exhibited the best performance on the degradation and mineralization of estriol, achieving its complete degradation at 300 kJ/m2 of accumulated energy and 71% of mineralization at 400 kJ/m2 (2 h) obtaining a non-toxic effluent.
Collapse
|