In their recent Nanoscale communication, Xie, Kuang et al. propose a simple and efficient way to enhance the efficiency of semiconductor photocatalysts in liquid-phase photochemical processes.
The authors, from Xiamen University, used Ag nanosheets as dispersive scattering centers to dramatically improve the efficiency of the commercial photocatalyst, Degussa P25, in water splitting and photodegredation of organic pollutants.
In general, only a tiny fraction of irradiated light is converted to chemical energy by photocatalysts due to transmission, scattering and heat conversion during light transportation in the medium. Multiple scattering centers, introduced into the photochemical process, can repeatedly reflect irradiated light, extending the path of light in the reaction solution, thus improving the light-harvesting efficiency of the photocatalyst. Employing scattering centers in liquid-phase photochemical processes has rarely been reported before.
Read this HOT communication today:
A dispersive scattering centers-based strategy for dramatically enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of photocatalysts in liquid-phase photochemical processes: a case of Ag nanosheets
Chang Liu, Qin Kuang, Ming-Shang Jin, Jia-Wei Zhang, Xi-Guang Han, Zhao-Xiong Xie and Lan-Sun Zheng
DOI: 10.1039/C3NR34203D
