Product Peroxidation Inhibition in Methane Photooxidation into Methanol.

Methane photooxidation into methanol offers a practical approach for the generation of high-value chemicals and the efficient storage of solar energy. However, the propensity for C─H bonds in the desired products to cleave more easily than those in methane molecules results in a continuous dehydrogenation process, inevitably leading to methanol peroxidation. Consequently, inhibiting methanol peroxidation is perceived as one of the most formidable challenges in the field of direct conversion of methane to methanol. This review offers a thorough overview of the typical mechanisms involved radical mechanism and active site mechanism and the regulatory methods employed to inhibit product peroxidation in methane photooxidation. Additionally, several perspectives on the future research direction of this crucial field are proposed.

Light-Reinforced Key Intermediate for Anticoking To Boost Highly Durable Methane Dry Reforming over Single Atom Ni Active Sites on CeO2.

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) has been investigated for more than a century; the paramount stumbling block in its industrial application is the inevitable sintering of catalysts and excessive carbon emissions at high temperatures. However, the low-temperature DRM process still suffered from poor reactivity and severe catalyst deactivation from coking. Herein, we proposed a concept that highly durable DRM could be achieved at low temperatures via fabricating the active site integration with light irradiation. The active sites with Ni-O coordination (NiSA/CeO2) and Ni-Ni coordination (NiNP/CeO2) on CeO2, respectively, were successfully constructed to obtain two targeted reaction paths that produced the key intermediate (CH3O*) for anticoking during DRM. In particular, the operando diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy coupling with steady-state isotopic transient kinetic analysis (operando DRIFTS-SSITKA) was utilized and successfully tracked the anticoking paths during the DRM process. It was found that the path from CH3* to CH3O* over NiSA/CeO2 was the key path for anticoking. Furthermore, the targeted reaction path from CH3* to CH3O* was reinforced by light irradiation during the DRM process. Hence, the NiSA/CeO2 catalyst exhibits excellent stability with negligible carbon deposition for 230 h under thermo-photo catalytic DRM at a low temperature of 472 °C, while NiNP/CeO2 shows apparent coke deposition behavior after 0.5 h in solely thermal-driven DRM. The findings are vital as they provide critical insights into the simultaneous achievement of low-temperature and anticoking DRM process through distinguishing and directionally regulating the key intermediate species.

Selective Cleavage of Chemical Bonds in Targeted Intermediates for Highly Selective Photooxidation of Methane to Methanol.

Restrained by the uncontrollable cleavage process of chemical bonds in methane molecules and corresponding formed intermediates, the target product in the reaction of methane selective oxidation to methanol would suffer from an inevitable overoxidation process, which is considered to be one of the most challenging issues in the field of catalysis. Herein, we report a conceptually different method for modulating the conversion pathway of methane through the selective cleavage of chemical bonds in the key intermediates to suppress the generation of peroxidation products. Taking metal oxides, typical semiconductors in the field of methane oxidation as model catalysts, we confirm that the cleavage of different chemical bonds in CH3O* intermediates could greatly affect the conversion pathway of methane, which has a vital role in product selectivity. Specifically, it is revealed that the formation of peroxidation products could be significantly prevented by the selective cleavage of C-O bonds in CH3O* intermediates instead of metal-O bonds, which is proved by the combination of density functional theory calculations and in situ infrared spectroscopy based on isotope labeling. By manipulating the lattice oxygen mobility of metal oxides, the electrons transferring from the surface to the CH3O* intermediates could directionally inject into the antibonding orbitals of the C-O bond, resulting in its selective cleavage. As a result, the gallium oxide with low lattice oxygen mobility shows a 3.8% conversion rate for methane with a high methanol generation rate (∼325.4 µmol g-1 h-1) and selectivity (∼87.0%) under room temperature and atmospheric pressure in the absence of extra oxidants, which is superior among the reported studies (reaction pressure: <20 bar).

Phosphineoxide-Chelated Europium(III) Nanoparticles for Ceftriaxone Detection.

The present work demonstrates the optimization of the ligand structure in the series of bis(phosphine oxide) and ß-ketophosphine oxide representatives for efficient coordination of Tb3+ and Eu3+ ions with the formation of the complexes exhibiting high Tb3+- and Eu3+-centered luminescence. The analysis of the stoichiometry and structure of the lanthanide complexes obtained using the XRD method reveals the great impact of the bridging group nature between two phosphine oxide moieties on the coordination mode of the ligands with Tb3+ and Eu3+ ions. The bridging imido-group facilitates the deprotonation of the imido- bis(phosphine oxide) ligand followed by the formation of tris-complexes. The spectral and PXRD analysis of the separated colloids indicates that the high stability of the tris-complexes provides their safe conversion into polystyrenesulfonate-stabilized colloids using the solvent exchange method. The red Eu3+-centered luminescence of the tris-complex exhibits the same specificity in the solutions and the colloids. The pronounced luminescent response on the antibiotic ceftriaxone allows for sensing the latter in aqueous solutions with an LOD value equal to 0.974 µM.

Regulating the Spin State of Single Noble Metal Atoms by Hydroxyl for Selective Dehydrogenation of CH4 Direct Conversion to CH3OH.

The key scientific challenge for methane (CH4) direct conversion to methanol (CH3OH) is considered to be the prevention of overoxidation of target products, which is restrained by the difficulty in the well-controlled process of selective dehydrogenation. Herein, we take single noble metal atom-anchored hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets with B vacancies (MSA/B1-xN) as the model materials and first propose that the dehydrogenation in the direct conversion of CH4 to CH3OH is highly dependent on the spin state of the noble metal. The results reveal that the noble metal with a higher spin magnetic moment is beneficial to the formation of the spin channels for electron transfer, which boosts the dissociation of C-H bonds. The promoted process of dehydrogenation will lead not only to the effective activation of CH4 but also to the easy overoxidation of CH3OH. More importantly, it is found that the spin state of noble metals can be regulated by the introduction of hydroxyl (OH), which realizes the selective dehydrogenation in the process of CH4 direct conversion to CH3OH. Among them, AgSA/B1-xN exhibits the best performance owing to the dynamic regulation spin state of a single Ag atom by OH. On the one hand, the introduction of OH significantly reduces the energy barrier of C-H bond dissociation by the increase in the spin magnetic moment. On the other hand, the high spin magnetic moment of a single Ag atom during the process of subsequent dehydrogenation can be modulated to nearly zero. As a result, the spin channel for electron transfer between the adsorbed CH3OH and reactive sites is broken, which hinders its overoxidation. This work opens a new path to designing catalysts for selective dehydrogenation by tuning the spin state of local electronic structures.

Dual-Function Reaction Center for Simultaneous Activation of CH4 and O2 via Oxygen Vacancies during Direct Selective Oxidation of CH4 into CH3OH.

The direct oxidation of methane (CH4) to methanol (CH3OH) has been a focus of global concern and is quite challenging due to the thermodynamically stable CH4 and uncontrolled overoxidation of the products. Here, we provided a new viewpoint on the role of oxygen vacancies that induce a dual-function center in enhancing the adsorption and activation of both CH4 and O2 reactants for the subsequent selective formation of a CH3OH liquid fuel on two-dimensional BiOCl photocatalysts at atmospheric pressure. The key for the favorable activity lies in the simultaneous ability of the electron-trapped Bi atom in activating CH4 and the formation of •O2- radicals due to the activation of O2 at the adjacent oxygen vacancy site, which immediately attack the activated CH4 to directly produce CH3OH, in initiating the oxidation reaction. What is more, the relatively low reaction barriers and the easy desorption of CH3OH concertedly facilitate the highly selective conversion of CH4 up to 85 µmol of CH3OH, with a small amount of CO2 and CO as the byproducts over the BiOCl nanosheets with an oxygen vacancy concentration of 2.4%. This work could broaden the avenue toward the application of oxygen-defective metal oxides in the photocatalytic selective conversion of CH4 to CH3OH and offer a disparate perspective on the role of oxygen vacancy acting as the surface electron transfer channel in enhancing the photocatalytic performance.

Modulating electron density of vacancy site by single Au atom for effective CO2 photoreduction.

The surface electron density significantly affects the photocatalytic efficiency, especially the photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction, which involves multi-electron participation in the conversion process. Herein, we propose a conceptually different mechanism for surface electron density modulation based on the model of Au anchored CdS. We firstly manipulate the direction of electron transfer by regulating the vacancy types of CdS. When electrons accumulate on vacancies instead of single Au atoms, the adsorption types of CO2 change from physical adsorption to chemical adsorption. More importantly, the surface electron density is manipulated by controlling the size of Au nanostructures. When Au nanoclusters downsize to single Au atoms, the strong hybridization of Au 5d and S 2p orbits accelerates the photo-electrons transfer onto the surface, resulting in more electrons available for CO2 reduction. As a result, the product generation rate of AuSA/Cd1-xS manifests a remarkable at least 113-fold enhancement compared with pristine Cd1-xS.

B-O Bonds in Ultrathin Boron Nitride Nanosheets to Promote Photocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Conversion.

Limited by the chemical inertness of CO2 and the high dissociation energy of the C═O bond, photocatalytic CO2 conversion is highly challenging. Herein, we prepare ultrathin oxygen-modified h-BN (O/BN) nanosheets containing B-O bonds. On the O/BN surface, CO2 can be chemically captured and is bonded with the B-O bond, leading to the formation of an O-B-O bond. This new chemical bond acting as an electron-delivery channel strengthens the interaction between CO2 and the surface. Thus, the reactants can continuously obtain electrons from the surface through this channel. Therefore, the majority of gaseous CO2 directly converts into carbon active species that are detected by in situ DRIFTS over O/BN. Moreover, the activated energies of CO2 conversion are significantly reduced with the introduction of the B-O bond evidenced by DFT calculations. As a result, O/BN nanosheets present an enhanced photocatalytic CO2 conversion performance with the H2 and CO generation rates of 3.3 and 12.5 µmol g-1 h-1, respectively. This work could help in realizing the effects of nonmetal chemical bonds in the CO2 photoreduction reaction for designing efficient photocatalysts.

Important Role of Strontium Atom on the Surface of Sr2KTa5O15 with a Tetragonal Tungsten Bronze Structure to Improve Adsorption of CO2 for Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 by H2O.

Sr1.6K0.37Na1.43Ta5O15, which belongs to the Na-substituted Sr2KTa5O15 series of compounds with a tetragonal tungsten bronze structure, was fabricated using a flux mixture of KCl and NaCl (KCl/NaCl molar ratio = 55:45). It exhibited higher CO formation rate (94.6 µmol h-1), better selectivity for CO evolution (85.5%), and better stability of the photocatalytic activity than those of bare Sr2KTa5O15 and other Na-substituted Sr2KTa5O15 samples synthesized from flux mixtures with different KCl/NaCl ratios. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies revealed that the surface atomic Sr/Ta ratio of Sr1.6K0.37Na1.43Ta5O15 was larger than that of Sr2KTa5O15. To clarify the factor responsible for the improvement in the photocatalytic activity facilitated by Na substitution, as well as to elucidate the reaction mechanism, the surface species were characterized by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was observed that the bicarbonate species (HCO3-) adsorbed on the active Sr sites of Sr1.6K0.37Na1.43Ta5O15 was reduced to CO via the formate species during photoirradiation. The plot of the CO formation rate vs. the surface atomic Sr/Ta ratio for tetragonal tungsten bronze-type Sr-K-Ta-O complex oxides had the summit, indicating that Sr atoms on the surface enhance the photocatalytic activity, while an excessive amount of Sr on the surface leads to the decrease in the photocatalytic activity. Hence, it can be concluded that while the presence of Sr on the surface has a determining effect on the adsorption of CO2 and eventually on the photocatalytic activity, excess Sr on the surface that exists as SrCO3 or Sr2Ta2O7 suppresses the photocatalytic activity. Thus, Sr1.6K0.37Na1.43Ta5O15 showed higher CO formation rate than Sr2KTa5O15 did.

Solar-light-driven photocatalytic production of peroxydisulfate over noble-metal loaded WO3.

The high-value-added chemical reagent peroxydisulfate (S2O82-) was produced photocatalytically over noble-metal loaded WO3 powder suspensions in aqueous H2SO4 under flowing O2 and simulated solar light irradiation. Pt cocatalyst showed the highest photocatalytic activity for S2O82- formation of the studied metals (Au, Pd, Rh, and Ru). Further study indicated that continuous accumulation of S2O82- was achieved only over the Pt/WO3 photocatalyst.

Enhancement of CO Evolution by Modification of Ga2O3 with Rare-Earth Elements for the Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 by H2O.

Modification of the surface of Ga2O3 with rare-earth elements enhanced the evolution of CO as a reduction product in the photocatalytic conversion of CO2 using H2O as an electron donor under UV irradiation in aqueous NaHCO3 as a pH buffer, with the rare-earth species functioning as a CO2 capture and storage material. Isotope experiments using 13CO2 as a substrate clearly revealed that CO was generated from the introduced gaseous CO2. In the presence of the NaHCO3 additive, the rare-earth (RE) species on the Ga2O3 surface are transformed into carbonate hydrates (RE2(CO3)3·nH2O) and/or hydroxycarbonates (RE2(OH)2(3-x)(CO3)x) which are decomposed upon photoirradiation. Consequently, Ag-loaded Yb-modified Ga2O3 exhibits much higher activity (209 µmol h-1 of CO) than the pristine Ag-loaded Ga2O3. The further modification of the surface of the Yb-modified Ga2O3 with Zn afforded a selectivity toward CO evolution of 80%. Thus, we successfully achieved an efficient Ag-loaded Yb- and Zn-modified Ga2O3 photocatalyst with high activity and controllable selectivity, suitable for use in artificial photosynthesis.

Efficient photocatalytic carbon monoxide production from ammonia and carbon dioxide by the aid of artificial photosynthesis.

Ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3) was generated by the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) into an aqueous solution of ammonia (NH3). NH4HCO3 was successfully used to achieve highly efficient photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO). NH3 and/or ammonium ions (NH4+) derived from NH4HCO3 in aqueous solution were decomposed into nitrogen (N2) and hydrogen (H2). Stoichiometric amounts of the N2 oxidation product and the CO and H2 reduction products were generated when the photocatalytic reaction was carried out in aqueous NH4HCO3 solution. NH3 and/or NH4+ functioned as electron donors in the photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to CO. A CO formation rate of 0.5 mmol h-1 was obtained using 500 mg of catalyst (approximately 7500 ppm) in ambient conditions (303 K, 101.3 kPa). Our results demonstrated that NH4HCO3 is a novel inorganic sacrificial reagent, which can be used to increase the efficiency of photocatalytic CO production to achieve one step CO2 capture, storage and conversion.

Sodium Cation Substitution in Sr2KTa5O15 toward Enhancement of Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 Using H2O as an Electron Donor.

The K and Sr cations (K+ and Sr2+) in a Sr2KTa5O15 photocatalyst were found to be easily substituted by Na cations (Na+) to form Sr x K y Na z Ta5O15 by a facile one-pot flux method using a mixture of potassium chloride (KCl) and sodium chloride (NaCl). Sr x K y Na z Ta5O15 fabricated using a mixture of KCl and NaCl with a Ag cocatalyst showed enhanced photocatalytic activity without apparent change in selectivity toward CO for the photocatalytic conversion of CO2 using H2O. The present study demonstrates that the flux treatment significantly affected the phase, morphology, band gap, and surface Sr composition of the catalyst owing to the substitution of K+ and Sr2+ for Na+. The stability and durability of the catalyst were also enhanced as compared to those of the photocatalyst fabricated using only KCl flux due to more stable Ag on the surface of Sr x K y Na z Ta5O15.

Transformation of TiOF2 cube to a hollow nanobox assembly from anatase TiO2 nanosheets with exposed {001} facets via solvothermal strategy.

Hierarchical nanostructures have attracted increasing interest due to their exceptional properties and widespread potential applications. In this paper, anatase TiO2 hollow nanoboxes (TiO2-HNBs) are formed by assembly of nanosheets with exposed {001} facets by solvothermal treatment of TiOF2 cubes in alcohols (tert-butanol and ethanol) at 180 °C. It was found that phase transformation of TiOF2 to anatase TiO2 begins at corners and edges of TiOF2 cubes due to in situ hydrolysis of TiOF2, where water was produced by dehydration of alcohol molecules. With extension the reaction time, TiO2-HNB assemblies from nanosheets with exposed high-energy {001} facets were formed due to the steady inside-outside dissolution-recrystallization process. However, the resulting hierarchical TiO2-HNBs are unstable, which can decompose to discrete high-energy TiO2 nanosheets if the reaction time is further extended. The hierarchical TiO2-HNBs show higher photocatalytic activity than discrete high-energy TiO2 nanosheets and P25 TiO2 due to the unique structures of TiO2-HNBs.