Spatially separating redox centers on 2D carbon nitride with cobalt single atom for photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production

Authors: Chiheng Chu, Qianhong Zhu, Zhenhua Pan, Srishti Gupta, Dahong Huang, Yonghua Du, Seunghyun Weon, Yueshen Wu, Christopher L. Muhich, Eli Stavitski, Kazunari Domen, Jae‐Hong Kim - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS 2020 cited by 397

Significance Photocatalysts frequently require simultaneous loading of oxidative and reductive cocatalysts to achieve both efficient half-reactions within a single material. Nevertheless, unregulated loading and distribution of two cocatalysts will result in direct contact between oxidation and reduction centers, leading to detrimental charge recombination. This research presents a center/edge approach to load two redox cocatalysts with controlled physical separation in atomistic scale using single-atom architecture. This spatial separation is critical for enhancing surface charge separation and achieving efficient H 2 O 2 production. We report that redox cocatalysts are spatially separated on a two-dimensional (2D) photocatalyst, which opens an approach for achieving both efficient oxidation and reduction reactions on 2D photocatalysts.