Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 14, 2025
08:40
Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
3.7K
Hierarchical Active Site Engineering in Multicore-Shell nTiO2@SiO2 Nanoreactors with PtSA-PtAC Synergy for Enhanced
Yeting Fang1, Cheng Qian1, Chang Lv1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|July 22, 2025
Summary
This study introduces a new nanoreactor design for enhanced solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion. The innovative approach significantly boosts hydrogen production efficiency using multiscale spatial confinement and atomic-level platinum catalysis.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Catalysis
- Renewable Energy
Background:
- Low solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency remains a significant challenge in renewable energy.
- Existing nanoreactor designs often face limitations in light harvesting and nanocore aggregation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a hierarchical active site engineering strategy using multiscale spatial confinement in multicore-shell nanoreactors.
- To enhance solar hydrogen production efficiency by integrating structural confinement and atomic-level platinum speciation.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of multicore-shell TiO2@SiO2 (nT@S) nanoreactors.
- Integration of platinum single atoms and atomic clusters (PtSA+C) within the nanoreactors.
- Characterization of the catalyst's performance under simulated sunlight for hydrogen evolution.
Main Results:
- The optimized 0.25 wt.%PtSA+C/nT@S catalyst achieved a hydrogen evolution rate of 73.8 mmol g−1 h−1, a tenfold increase over Pt nanoparticles.
- An apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 21.1% at 380 nm was recorded.
- The multicore framework enhanced light harvesting and suppressed nanocore aggregation, while dual-scale confinement promoted charge separation.
Conclusions:
- The developed cross-scale confinement strategy effectively bridges nanostructure engineering with single-atom catalysis.
- This approach offers a robust platform for significantly improving solar hydrogen production efficiency.
- The strategy shows potential for applications in plastic photoreforming.
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