Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2025
Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 28, 2015
A Coherent-Lattice Atomic-Level Heterojunction Enabling Efficient and Selective Upcycling of Glycerol for Lactic Acid
Qiu Wan1, Entian Cui2, Tian Tong1
1National Special Superfine Powder Engineering Research Center, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210094, China.
Abstract:
Photocatalytic upcycling of glycerol, a significant byproduct of biodiesel, to value-added lactic acid coupled with H2 production shows great promise for resource utilization and renewable fuel production. However, this reaction is currently limited to low efficiency and moderate selectivity due to insufficient light absorption, rapid charge carrier recombination, and unfavorable reaction kinetics. Herein, we report an atomic-level heterojunction photocatalyst consisting of CdZn1-S embedded uniformly with Cu-S3 moieties at the atomic-level scale. Due to the formation of a coherent-lattice interface with strong interfacial electronic interactions between Cu-S3 moieties and the CdZn1-S host, as well as the significant localized surface plasmon resonance effects induced by Cu-S3 moieties, such a photocatalyst shows much enhanced charge separation and transfer efficiency and strong light absorption covering the full solar-light spectrum. As a result, a 10-fold increase in glycerol conversion to lactic acid (LA) coupled with H2 production is achieved, with the selectivity of LA reaching over 95%. The present work demonstrates the potential of photocatalysis for biomass upcycling toward the coproduction of valuable chemicals and H2 fuel using structure-defined photocatalysts.
Related Concept Videos
02:17Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
01:19Acid Halides to Alcohols: LiAlH4 Reduction
The mechanism proceeds in three steps. First, the nucleophilic hydride ion attacks the carbonyl carbon of the acid halide to form a tetrahedral intermediate. Next, the carbonyl group is re-formed, and the halide ion departs as a leaving group, generating an aldehyde. A second nucleophilic attack by the hydride yields an alkoxide ion, which, upon protonation, gives a primary alcohol as...
02:13Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the...