Guoquan Liu,Yong Zhu,Hua Gao,Suxian Xu,Zhibing Wen,Licheng Sun,Fei Li
Developing efficient photocatalysts for water oxidation is among the central challenges of solar energy conversion. Here, we report semiconductor–molecular photocatalysts by integration of heteronuclear bimetallic polyphthalocyanine (PPc) catalysts with particulate bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) as the photosensitizer. Their photocatalytic activity for water oxidation was modulated by tuning the Fe/Co ratio of polyphthalocyanines. At an optimal Fe/Co ratio of 3:1, the resulting Fe3CoPPc-BiVO4 hybrid exhibits an excellent oxygen evolution rate of 4557 μmol g–1 h–1 in the presence of iodate under visible light irradiation, which is nearly two orders of magnitude greater than that of pristine BiVO4 and superior to those of the corresponding homometallic counterparts. Both experimental and theoretical methods suggest that the presence of a large population of high-valent Fe/Co molecular species due to the favorable interfacial charge transfer and upshift of the d-band centers of metal sites toward Fermi level lead to a lower energy barrier for the O–O bond formation and eventually promote the oxidation of water.
Yang You,Wang Xing-Heng,Wang Jun,Zhang Ju-Ying,Chen Wen,Yang Hao,He Ping,Tang Xiao-Qing,Yu Jin-Hong
Nanoscale phase-variant ultrasound contrast agents have attracted the interest of many researchers. However, it is a challenge to design nanobubbles that are activated by low-frequency medical ultrasound that do not cause damage to normal tissues. In this study, we designed a new type
of nanoparticle consisting of perfluoropentane and iron polyphthalocyanine loaded into liposomes. These nanoparticles can be activated by a low-frequency medical ultrasound imager at a frequency of 5 MHz for ultrasound imaging and clear reactive oxygen species at a rate of more than 50%. This
ability to scavenge excess reactive oxygen species can alleviate the damage these species cause and protect macrophages. Moreover, these nanoparticles can effectively enhance ultrasound contrast imaging for real-time visualization in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Electrochemical desalination offers a promising route to address water scarcity, but current methods often face limitations in salt removal rate and capacity. This study introduces an ultrafast electrocatalytic desalination system that leverages the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to formate (CO 2 RR) to drive efficient salt removal. The optimized bimetallic Sn/Cu-based polyphthalocyanine (Sn 2 Cu 1 PPc) exhibits exceptional CO 2 RR performance, achieving a peak FE formate of 90.3 % at −1.0 V vs. RHE and a j formate of 84.8 mA cm −2 . In-situ spectroscopic analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the incorporation of Cu-N 4 units into the Sn-based polyphthalocyanine (SnPPc) promotes CO 2 adsorption and facilitates active hydrogen provision, leading to the observed enhancement in CO 2 RR activity. Using the Sn 2 Cu 1 PPc catalyst, our system achieves a salt removal rate of 1701.3 μg cm −2 min −1 and a formate production rate of 0.79 mmol h −1 cm −2 when treating natural seawater, resulting in potable water with 99.06 % salt removal efficiency. This performance is enabled by a high current density (∼70 mA cm −2 ) during CO 2 RR, which significantly enhances ion transport across the membranes, making this one of the most effective desalination approaches reported. This work demonstrates the potential of coupling CO 2 RR with desalination for sustainable water production and CO 2 mitigation, while also advancing the design of efficient Sn-based electrocatalysts for formate production.