Lei Yongpeng Research Team from Central South University (CSU), in cooperation with Academician Li Yadong and Professor Wang Dingsheng from Tsinghua University and Professor Zhou Gang from Hubei University of Technology, published a research paper titled Engineering atomic interface by single Pt atoms for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Professor Lei Yongpeng, Academician Li Yadong, Professor Wang Dingsheng and Professor Zhou Gang are joint corresponding authors .Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.,subordinating to Wiley, is one of the most influential comprehensive publications in the field of chemistry currently.

(DefectiveTiO2 anchoring Pt atom, interface under regulation and control)

Optimizing the structure of photocatalyst on the scale of atom and facilitating separation of electron-hole pairs are critical for improving the performance of photocatalytic materials, but also very challenging. In this research, single Pt atoms are assembled on defective TiO₂ carrier to obtain high-efficiency photocatalyst Pt1/def-TiO_2. According to the research, besides acting as a proton reduction site, the single Pt atom facilitates adjacent TiO² units to generatesurface oxygen vacancy and form Pt-O-Ti₃⁺atom interface. The test results and DFT calculation indicate that Pt-O-Ti₃⁺atom interface effectively facilities the photo-induced electron to transfer from Ti₃⁺defective site to single Pt atoms and consequently promote the separation of electron-hole pairs. Such unique structure gives rise to the ultrahigh photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of Pt1/def-TiO₂, as represented by TOF up to 51423 h^-1.

This is another achievement made by Lei Yongpeng Research Team after their publications of research results in international famous periodicals such as Energy & Environmental Science, ACS Nano, ACS Energy Letters and Journal of Materials Chemistry, etc. in recent years.

Source: CSU Power Metallurgy Research Institute