Advanced functional nanomaterials for photocatalysis

用于光催化的先进功能纳米材料

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-05921
• 负责人: Ma, Dongling
• 金额: $ 5.76万
• 依托单位: Institut national de la recherche scientifique
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=740919
• 关键词: Advanced; functional; nanomaterials; photocatalysis

With the increase of the world population, the expansion of economy and rapid development of industrial society, rapidly growing demand for clean energy and increasingly severe environmental pollution are becoming two of the most serious issues human kind presently faces on a global scale. Solar-enabled photocatalysis is considered to be one of the most promising technologies for tackling both the energy crisis and environmental pollution by directly harvesting and utilizing the abundant, sustainable and renewable solar energy. In one case, the solar energy can be converted to chemical energy by the so-called photocatalytic solar water splitting, leading to the generation of hydrogen, an environmental-friendly fuel source. In another attractive scenario, solar-enabled photocatalysis can be explored to use the solar energy to photocatalytically degrade contaminants and thus address environmental problems as well as clean water shortage. Despite high promises, the commercial applications of solar-enabled photocatalysis remain scarce. Low conversion efficiency under sunlight has been a major obstacle and it is largely due to the limited absorption spectral range, high charge carrier recombination and/or low efficiency charge separation. No single material can indeed overcome all these shortcomings. To this end, highly functional nanocomposites (NCs), based on the combination of nanomaterials with different properties, appear as a natural and excellent solution. One type of such examples is plasmonic-semiconductor nanohybrids, which recently stand out as a promising candidate because plasmonic materials can extend and strengthen light absorption, and enhance exciton generation and dissociation, and thus enhance photocatalysis efficiency. Nonetheless, almost all of the plasmonic-related studies have so far focused on expensive Au and Ag, which raises new questions about economic cost and long-term sustainability. It is highly desired yet challenging to realize highly performing nanohybrid photocatalysts at low cost with sustainability. For this purpose, capitalizing on our expertise we propose a vigorous, innovative research program with objectives: i) developing broadband, high-efficiency photocatalysts by rationally synthesizing and characterizing advanced, cost-effective nanomaterials and by assembling different nanocomponents to highly functional NCs; and ii) understanding the dominant mechanism(s), complicated reaction paths and active species of photocatalysis as well as critical factors governing the synthesis and photocatalytic behavior of these NCs. It will have both scientific and technological (industrial) impact and contribute to the multidisciplinary training of highly qualified personnel.

随着世界人口的增加、经济的扩张和工业社会的快速发展，清洁能源需求的快速增长和环境污染的日益严重，正成为人类当前在全球范围内面临的两个最严重的问题。太阳能光催化被认为是通过直接收获和利用丰富、可持续和可再生的太阳能来解决能源危机和环境污染的最有前途的技术之一。在一种情况下，可以通过所谓的光催化太阳能水分解将太阳能转化为化学能，从而产生氢气，这是一种环保的燃料来源。在另一个有吸引力的场景中，可以探索太阳能光催化，利用太阳能光催化降解污染物，从而解决环境问题和清洁水短缺问题。尽管前景广阔，太阳能光催化的商业应用仍然很少。阳光下的低转换效率一直是一个主要障碍，这很大程度上是由于有限的吸收光谱范围、高电荷载流子复合和/或低效率电荷分离。没有任何一种材料能够真正克服所有这些缺点。 为此，基于具有不同性能的纳米材料的组合的高功能纳米复合材料（NC）成为一种天然且优异的解决方案。其中一种例子是等离子体半导体纳米杂化物，它最近成为一种有前途的候选材料，因为等离子体材料可以延长和增强光吸收，并增强激子的产生和解离，从而提高光催化效率。尽管如此，迄今为止几乎所有与等离子体相关的研究都集中在昂贵的金和银上，这提出了有关经济成本和长期可持续性的新问题。以低成本、可持续的方式实现高性能纳米杂化光催化剂是非常理想但具有挑战性的。为此，利用我们的专业知识，我们提出了一项充满活力的创新研究计划，其目标是：i）通过合理合成和表征先进的、具有成本效益的纳米材料，并将不同的纳米组件组装成高功能的NC，开发宽带、高效的光催化剂； ii）了解光催化的主要机制、复杂的反应路径和活性物种以及控制这些NC的合成和光催化行为的关键因素。它将产生科学和技术（工业）影响，并有助于高素质人才的多学科培养。