Photocatalysis

In chemistry, photocatalysis is the acceleration of a photoreaction in the presence of a photocatalyst, the excited state of which "repeatedly interacts with the reaction partners forming reaction intermediates and regenerates itself after each cycle of such interactions." In many cases, the catalyst is a solid that upon irradiation with UV- or visible light generates electron–hole pairs that generate free radicals. Nanophotocatalysis is the specialization of photocatalysis in the nanoscale. Photocatalysts belong to three main groups; heterogeneous, homogeneous, and plasmonic antenna-reactor catalysts. The use of each catalysts depends on the preferred application and required catalysis reaction.

History

Early mentions (1911–1938) The earliest mention came in 1911, when German chemist Alexander Eibner integrated the concept in his research of the illumination of zinc oxide (ZnO) on the bleaching of the dark blue pigment, Prussian blue. Around this time, Bruner and Kozak published an article discussing the deterioration of oxalic acid in the presence of uranyl salts under illumination, while in 1913, Landau published an article explaining the phenomenon of photocatalysis. Their contributions led to the development of actinometric measurements, measurements that provide the basis of determining photon flux in photochemical reactions. After a hiatus, in 1921, Baly et al. used ferric hydroxides and colloidal uranium salts as catalysts for the creation of formaldehyde under visible light. In 1938 Doodeve and Kitchener discovered that TiO2 , a highly-stable and non-toxic oxide, in the presence of oxygen could act as a photosensitizer for bleaching dyes, as ultraviolet light absorbed by TiO2 led to the production of active oxygen species on its surface, resulting in the blotching of organic chemicals via photooxidation. This was the first observation of the fundamental characteristics of heterogeneous photocatalysis.

1964–2024 Research in photocatalysis again paused until 1964, when V.N. Filimonov investigated isopropanol photooxidation from ZnO and TiO2; while in 1965 Kato and Mashio, Doerffler and Hauffe, and Ikekawa et al. (1965) explored oxidation/photooxidation of CO2 and organic solvents from ZnO radiance. In 1970, Formenti et al. and Tanaka and Blyholde observed the oxidation of various alkenes and the photocatalytic decay of N2O, respectively. A breakthrough occurred in 1972, when Akira Fujishima and Kenichi Honda discovered that electrochemical photolysis of water occurred when a TiO2 electrode irradiated with ultraviolet light was electrically connected to a platinum electrode. As the ultraviolet light was absorbed by the TiO2 electrode, electrons flowed from the anode to the platinum cathode where hydrogen gas was produced. This was one of the first instances of hydrogen production from a clean and cost-effective source, as the majority of hydrogen production comes from natural gas reforming and gasification. Fujishima's and Honda's findings led to other advances. In 1977, Nozik discovered that the incorporation of a noble metal in the electrochemical photolysis process, such as platinum and gold, among others, could increase photoactivity, and that an external potential was not required. Wagner and Somorjai (1980) and Sakata and Kawai (1981) delineated hydrogen production on the surface of strontium titanate (SrTiO3) via photogeneration, and the generation of hydrogen and methane from the illumination of TiO2 and PtO2 in ethanol, respectively. For many decades photocatalysis had not been developed for commercial purposes. Chu et al. (2017) assessed the future of electrochemical photolysis of water, discussing its major challenge of developing a cost-effective, energy-efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) tandem cell, which would, "mimic natural photosynthesis".

Types of photocatalysis

Heterogeneous photocatalysis In heterogeneous catalysis the catalyst is in a different phase from the reactants. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a discipline which includes a large variety of reactions: mild or total oxidations, dehydrogenation, hydrogen transfer, 18O2–16O2 and deuterium-alkane isotopic exchange, metal deposition, water detoxification, and gaseous pollutant removal. Most heterogeneous photocatalysts are transition metal oxides and semiconductors. Unlike metals, which have a continuum of electronic states, semiconductors possess a void energy region where no energy levels are available to promote recombination of an electron and hole produced by photoactivation in the solid. The difference in energy between the filled valence band and the empty conduction band in the MO diagram of a semiconductor is the band gap. When the semiconductor absorbs a photon with energy equal to or greater than the material's band gap, an electron excites from the valence band to the conduction band, generating an electron hole in the valence band. This electron-hole pair is an exciton. The excited electron and hole can recombine and release the energy gained from the excitation of the electron as heat. Such exciton recombination is undesirable and higher levels cost efficiency. Efforts to develop functional photocatalysts often emphasize extending exciton lifetime, improving electron-hole separation using diverse approaches that may rely on structural features such as phase hetero-junctions (e.g. anatase-rutile interfaces), noble-metal nanoparticles, silicon nanowires and substitutional cation doping. The ultimate goal of photocatalyst design is to facilitate reactions of the excited electrons with oxidants to produce reduced products, and/or reactions of the generated holes with reductants to produce oxidized products. Due to the generation of positive holes (h+) and excited electrons (e−), oxidation-reduction reactions take place at the surface of semiconductors irradiated with light. In one mechanism of the oxidative reaction, holes react with the moisture present on the surface and produce a hydroxyl radical. The reaction starts by photo-induced exciton generation in the metal oxide (MO) surface by photon (hv) absorption:

MO + hν → MO (h+ + e−) Oxidative reactions due to photocatalytic effect:

h+ + H2O → H+ + •OH 2 h+ + 2 H2O → 2 H+ + H2O2 H2O2→ 2 •OH Reductive reactions due to photocatalytic effect:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.