A study on the role of plasmonic Ti3C2Tx MXene in enhancing photoredox catalysis

Engineering the spatial separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers has been one of the most enduring research topics in the field of photocatalysis due to its crucial role in determining the performances of photocatalysts. Herein, as a proof-of-concept, Ti₃C₂T_x MXene is coupled with a typical heterojunction of TiO₂@CdS through a co-assembly strategy to boost electron pumping towards improving the photocatalytic efficiency. In addition to the band alignment-mediated electron transfer in TiO₂@CdS-Ti₃C₂T_x heterojunctions, the plasmon-induced electric field enhancement of Ti₃C₂T_x is found to cooperate with the electron-reservoir role of Ti₃C₂T_x to extract photoinduced electrons. The synergistic dual functions of Ti₃C₂T_x promote multichannel electron transfer in TiO₂@CdS-Ti₃C₂T_x hybrids to improve the photocatalytic efficiency. These results intuitively show that there is a wide scope to manipulate the spatial separation and transfer of photoinduced electrons by cultivating the fertile ground of Ti₃C₂T_x toward boosting the efficiency of solar-to-chemical conversion.

Environment Friendly g-C3N4-Based Catalysts and Their Recent Strategy in Organic Transformations

Organic molecules synthesized in an environmentally friendly manner have excellent therapeutic potential. The entire preparation technique was examined in the existence of a light source, implying that light has been replaced by heating and the usage of dangerous chemicals has decreased, resulting in less pollution of the environment. The advantages of these nanocarbon catalysts include high efficiency, environmentally friendly synthesis, eco-friendly, inexpensive, and non-corrodible. In organic transformations, solid metal base/metal-free catalysts produce better results. Here, the metal-free semiconductor g-C₃N₄ was used to demonstrate the catalytic behavior of organic conversions. g-C₃N₄ is a two-dimensional material and a p‑type semiconductor to enhance the photocatalytic activity. The excellent properties of g-C₃N₄ sheet lead to the support of metals to form metal-organic frameworks. Most of the reactions gained positive response under visible light irradiation. This review will inspire readers in widen the applications of g-C₃N₄ based catalyst in various organic transformation reactions.

Au/TiO2 nanobelts: thermal enhancement vs. plasmon enhancement for visible-light-driven photocatalytic selective oxidation of amines into imines

Au NPs improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 only in a low temperature range. Excessive Au NPs loaded on TiO2 inhibit the photocatalytic amine conversion due to the decreased oxygen vacancies and poor amine adsorption ability.