Accelerating the photocatalytic degradation of toluene by unidirectional electron transfer via FRET strategy

Yao Chen; Hao Li; Dening Peng; Hexing Li; Yinghong Yue; Zhenfeng Bian

Chemical Physics Impact (Jun 2023)

Accelerating the photocatalytic degradation of toluene by unidirectional electron transfer via FRET strategy

Yao Chen,
Hao Li,
Dening Peng,
Hexing Li,
Yinghong Yue,
Zhenfeng Bian

Affiliations

Yao Chen: Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Hao Li: MOE Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Dening Peng: MOE Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Hexing Li: MOE Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Yinghong Yue: Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China; Corresponding authors.
Zhenfeng Bian: MOE Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China; Corresponding authors.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 6
p. 100168

Abstract

Read online

Humanity's need for clean air has stimulated their research interest in the remediation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). As an environmentally friendly pollution control technology, photocatalysis can easily generate oxidative free radicals for the mineralization of VOCs. Herein, we report a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-inspired Ag/SrSO4/TiO2 photocatalyst with 2.5-fold higher activity for toluene degradation than pristine TiO2. The study of the catalyst reaction mechanism shows that the interlayer SrSO4 between the plasmonic Ag and the photocatalyst TiO2 is the key factor to guide the unidirectional transfer of electrons. A proper thickness of the insulator interlayer (whether SrSO4 or BaSO4) can reduce the recombination efficiency of photo-generated electrons and holes, resulting in an excellent toluene degradation ability. This finding demonstrates the excellent versatility of the catalyst system, which provides a novel direction for the modification of typical photocatalysts.

Published in Chemical Physics Impact

ISSN: 2667-0224 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Science: Physics; Science: Chemistry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/chemical-physics-impact/

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords