A Response Surface Model to Predict and Experimentally Tune the Chemical, Magnetic and Optoelectronic Properties of Oxygen-Doped Boron Nitride.

Porous boron nitride (BN), a combination of hexagonal, turbostratic and amorphous BN, has emerged as a new platform photocatalyst. Yet, this material lacks photoactivity under visible light. Theoretical studies predict that tuning the oxygen content in oxygen-doped BN (BNO) could lower the band gap. This is yet to be verified experimentally. We present herein a systematic experimental route to simultaneously tune BNO's chemical, magnetic and optoelectronic properties using a multivariate synthesis parameter space. We report deep visible range band gaps (1.50-2.90 eV) and tuning of the oxygen (2-14 at.%) and specific paramagnetic OB3 contents (7-294 a.u. g-1 ). Through designing a response surface via a design of experiments (DOE) process, we have identified synthesis parameters influencing BNO's chemical, magnetic and optoelectronic properties. We also present model prediction equations relating these properties to the synthesis parameter space that we have validated experimentally. This methodology can help tailor and optimise BN materials for heterogeneous photocatalysis.

Charge accumulation kinetics in multi-redox molecular catalysts immobilised on TiO2.

Multi-redox catalysis requires the accumulation of more than one charge carrier and is crucial for solar energy conversion into fuels and valuable chemicals. In photo(electro)chemical systems, however, the necessary accumulation of multiple, long-lived charges is challenged by recombination with their counterparts. Herein, we investigate charge accumulation in two model multi-redox molecular catalysts for proton and CO2 reduction attached onto mesoporous TiO2 electrodes. Transient absorption spectroscopy and spectroelectrochemical techniques have been employed to study the kinetics of photoinduced electron transfer from the TiO2 to the molecular catalysts in acetonitrile, with triethanolamine as the hole scavenger. At high light intensities, we detect charge accumulation in the millisecond timescale in the form of multi-reduced species. The redox potentials of the catalysts and the capacity of TiO2 to accumulate electrons play an essential role in the charge accumulation process at the molecular catalyst. Recombination of reduced species with valence band holes in TiO2 is observed to be faster than microseconds, while electron transfer from multi-reduced species to the conduction band or the electrolyte occurs in the millisecond timescale. Finally, under light irradiation, we show how charge accumulation on the catalyst is regulated as a function of the applied bias and the excitation light intensity.

Penultimate effect in ethylene-styrene copolymerization and the discovery of highly active ethylene-styrene catalysts with increased styrene reactivity.

For the first time commercially relevant catalysts for the copolymerization of ethylene and styrene have been identified. The catalysts maintain very high copolymer efficiencies at relatively high reactor temperatures without sacrificing styrene comonomer reactivity. The observations which led to this discovery are based upon the kinetic analysis of ethylene-styrene copolymerization using constrained geometry catalyst (eta5-C5Me4)(SiMe2-N-t-Bu)TiMe2 (1). This analysis revealed a substantial styrene penultimate monomer effect. Inherent reactivity of 1 toward styrene is greatly improved when the penultimate monomer on the growing polymer chain is styrene rather than ethylene. The presence of a penultimate styrene effect led to the hypothesis that catalysts bearing aromatic moieties in close proximity to the active site could lead to enhancement of styrene reactivity for this catalyst family. This hypothesis was born out by two new constrained geometry catalysts, one having two phenyl substituents placed in the 3 and 3' positions of the Cp ring (2) and the other with a 2,2'-biphenyl fragment attached to the Cp ring (3). Both catalysts exhibit higher activity than that of 1 and, more importantly, much higher styrene reactivity leading to copolymers with substantially increased styrene content (21.5% for 2, 30.6% for 3) as compared to 1 (11%) under the same polymerization conditions. Analysis of the X-ray crystal structures of 2 and 3 shows no overriding structural arguments for the increased performance. Outstanding polymerization characteristics achieved with 3 make this catalyst a candidate for commercial production of ethylene-styrene resins in a solution process.