Hybrid water electrolysis as the way forward to sustainable hydrogen production
Schematic of conventional water electrolysis vs. hybrid water electrolysis, and their advantages over each other.
Triazine derivatives as metal-free electrocatalysts: do three nitrogen atoms mimic a metal?
The use of triazines is effective in the electrocatalytic reactions of water splitting, CO2 reduction (CO2RR), ammonia production (NO3RR and NRR), etc.
Paper
Strong impacts of inter-π-chain charge transfer accelerating CO2 reduction photocatalysis of carbazole–diimine-based linear conjugated polymer/Ru complex hybrids
Manipulation of photoexcited charge transportation via modulation of polymer structures significantly improved the photocatalytic performance of metal complex/conjugated polymer hybrids for CO2 reduction.
Paper
Polymer nanoparticle photocatalysts realized in non-aqueous solvents
Solvent transfer procedure for moving polymer nanoparticles from water into non-aqueous solvents preserves colloidal stability and charge generation, expanding opportunities for diverse redox photocatalysis.
Crystalline sulfur-doped poly(heptazine imide) for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible-light irradiation
A highly crystalline sulfur-doped PHI (S-PHI) is synthesized from the compound 1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol. S-PHI exhibits enhanced light utilization, enlarged surface area and promoted charge-carrier transfer efficiency as compared to PHI.
Ultra-low loading porphyrin-incorporated conjugated polymer dots as photocatalysts for aerobic oxidation of sulfides in water
Porphyrin-incorporated conjugated polymer dots serve as ultra-low loading photocatalysts for the aerobic oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides in aqueous environments. The photocatalytic process can be scaled to yield gram quantities of the product.
Unlocking efficient overall water splitting reactions using sulphur-doped carbon dot electrocatalysts
Bifunctional sulphur-doped carbon dots (S-CDs) were synthesized via facile chemical method, and characterized by TGA, TEM, XRD, BET surface area, FTIR etc., and used for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
Paper
Metal-free graphitic carbon nitride/carbon-dots composites: unveiling mechanochemical synthesis opportunities
Mechanochemically synthesized materials show competitive performance in selective photooxidation. The study includes comprehensive characterization, light–matter interaction modeling, and quantum efficiency calculations.
Benzothiadiazole-based donor–acceptor covalent organic framework for photocatalytic hydrogen generation
Rational design of benzothiadiazole-based donor (D)–acceptor (A) covalent organic framework for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is presented.
Nitrogen-deficient porous g-C3N4 derived from an HMTA-regulated supramolecular precursor for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution
N-defect-rich porous g-C3N4 is derived from an HMTA-regulated supramolecular precursor for enhanced photocatalytic H2-production performance.
Benzobisthiazole covalent organic framework photocatalysis for selective oxidation of benzyl amines
BBT-sp2c-COF photocatalysis effectively effectuates selective oxidation of benzyl amines to imines with oxygen under blue light irradiation.
About this collection
Guest edited by Menny Shalom (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel), Sebastian Sprick (University of Strathclyde, UK) and Xinchen Wang (Fuzhou University, China), this themed collection showcases metal-free photo- and electrocatalytic materials for sustainable energy applications.
Photo- and electrocatalysis are promising research areas for sustainable energy applications and chemicals production. Metal-free photo- and electrocatalysts for energy conversion potentially offer a low-cost and efficient solution. These materials include carbon nitrides, boron carbon nitrides, triazine-based frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, conjugated materials as well as composites and biohybrid systems. This collection aims to highlight the unique properties of metal-free photo- and electrocatalysts and their important energy applications such as photocatalytic water splitting, carbon dioxide reduction, hydrogen peroxide production and organic transformation reactions.