From photocatalysis to photon-phonon co-driven catalysis for inert molecules activation

Title : From photocatalysis to photon-phonon co-driven catalysis for inert molecules activation

Abstract:

Photon-driven small molecules activation, eg. H₂O splitting, is scientifically and industrially of significance as it promises an efficient pathway for green H₂ production. However it is kinetically very challenging due to a multi-electron process [1]. For green chemicals synthesis, other inert molecules activation (e.g. N₂, CO₂ and CH₄ etc) are equally important while rather challenging. Our early study on charge dynamics in inorganic catalysts reveals that the current low solar to fuel/chemical conversion efficiency is due to both fast charge recombination and sluggish oxidation reaction [2], we thus developed effective material strategies to improve the activities of catalysts. Typically, we found that photon-phonon codriven process over single atom catalysts could dramatially improve H2 production [3]. Then the first polymer-based Z-sheme for H₂O splitting was demonstrated by us [4]. Such progress aslo stimulated us to store green H₂ in NH₃ by photon-driven activation of both H₂O and N₂ [5]. Furthermore, we coupled photons with phonons to co-drive catalytic methane conversion to C₂ over Au loaded TiO₂, achieving the benchmark results in this area [6]. Such photon-phonon co-driven catalysis was again demonstrated for methane to formaldehyde synthesis [7].

Biography:

Prof. Junwang (John) Tang is a Member of the Academy of Europe, a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellow, Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of IMMM and Honorary Fellow of CCS. He had been the Director of UCL Materials Hub and Chair of Materials Chemistry and Engineering in the department of Chemical Engineering at UCL, UK. He is currently the Founding Director of Industrial Catalysis Center in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chair Professor of Materials Chemistry and Catalysis at Tsinghua University, China and Visiting Professor at UCL, UK. Tang has pioneered in coupling photons with phonons for small molecule (H₂O, CO₂, N₂, CH₄ etc.) activation to produce zero-carbon fuels and green chemicals.