Advanced functional nanomaterials for photocatalysis

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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.