Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction on Polyethylene Glycol-Modified BiVO4 Photoanode by Speeding up Proton Transfer.

The rate-determining step of the oxygen evolution reaction based on a semiconductor photoanode is the formation of the OO bond. Herein, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified BiVO4 photoanodes are reported, in which protons can be transferred quickly due to the high proton conductivity of PEG, resulting in the acceleration of the OO bond formation rate. These are fully demonstrated by different kinetic isotope effect values. Moreover, the open-circuit voltage (Uoc ) further illustrates that PEG passivates the surface states and surface charge recombination is reduced. The composite photoanode can achieve a maximum photocurrent density of 3.64 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V compared to 1.04 mA cm-2 for pure BiVO4 , and an onset potential of 170 mV, which is a 230 mV negative shift compared to pure BiVO4 . This work provides a new strategy to accelerate water oxidation kinetics for photoanodes by speeding up the transfer of the proton and the OO bond formation rate.

Computational Insights into the Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Coupling of Benzamides and 1,6-Enynes via a Tunable Arylative Cyclization.

A density functional theory (DFT) study has been conducted to elucidate the mechanism of the rhodium(III)-catalyzed C-H activation of O-substituted N-hydroxybenzamides and cyclohexadienone-containing 1,6-enynes. The impact of different O-substituted internal oxidants (OPiv versus OMe) on the arylative cyclization (i.e., Ⓝ-Michael addition versus Ⓒ-Michael addition) has been evaluated in detail. The Ⓝ-Michael addition pathway proceeded via a Rh(I) species, while Rh(III) remained unchanged throughout the Ⓒ-Michael addition pathway. The Rh(III)/Rh(I) catalytic cycle in the Ⓝ-Michael addition pathway was different from those reported previously where the Rh(III)/Rh(V) catalytic cycle was favored for the Rh(III)-catalyzed C-H activation of O-substituted N-hydroxybenzamides. The first three steps were similar for the OPiv- and OMe-substituted substrates, which involved sequential N-H deprotonation, C-H activation (a concerted metalation-deprotonation process), and 1,6-enyne insertion steps. Starting from a seven-membered rhodacycle, the alternative mechanism would be controlled by the OR substituent. When the substituent was OMe, the unstable seven-membered rhodacycle was readily coordinated by a double bond of the cyclohexadienone which enabled the Ⓒ-Michael addition reaction. However, the presence of an N-OPiv moiety stabilized the seven-membered rhodacycle through a bidentate coordination which facilitated the Ⓝ-Michael addition process.

La(OH)3-modified magnetic sodium carboxymethyl cellulose for sequential removal of pollutants: adsorption of phosphate and subsequent photocatalytical reduction of Cr(VI).

In this study, La(OH)3-modified magnetic sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (La-MC) was prepared as adsorbents for phosphate, which exhibited excellent adsorption performance up to 62.98 mg P/g and magnetic property for easy recovery. The recovered adsorbents after phosphate sorption were subsequently used for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) and possessed good photocatalytic activity. This work provided an excellent reference for developing a new way of extending life cycle of adsorbents by combining phosphate adsorption with photocatalysis for sequential removal of pollutants from water in the future.