Solar hydrogen generation from organic substance using earth abundant CuS–NiO heterojunction semiconductor photocatalyst

This work explores the critical role of NiO co-catalyst assembled on the surface of a CuS primary photocatalyst which effectively improves interface properties and enhances solar-to-hydrogen production by prolonging lifetime of photo-excitons generated at the CuS surface. The nanoscale CuS/NiO heterojunction is formulated using hydrothermal and wet impregnation methods. The resultant CuS/NiO composite shows optical absorbance between 380-780 nm region. The type-II energetic structure formed at CuS/NiO heterojunction facilitates rapid charge separation and as a result, the CuS/NiO composite exhibits 13 folds higher photocatalytic water splitting performance than CuO and NiO. The champion CuO/NiO photocatalyst is first identified by screening the catalysts using a preliminary water splitting test reaction under natural Sunlight irradiation. After the optimization of the catalyst, it was further explored for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production using different organic substances dispersed in water (alcohols, amine and organic acids). The champion CuS/NiO catalyst(CPN-2) exhibited the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of 52.3 mmol.h-1.g-1cat in the presence of lactic acid-based aqueous electrolyte and, it is superior than hydrogen production rate obtained in the presence of other organic substances (triethanolamine, glycerol, ethylene glycol, methanol) tested under identical experimental conditions. These results indicate that the energetic structure of CuS/NiO photocatalyst is favorable for photocatalytic oxidation of lactic acid or reformation of lactic acid. The oxidation of lactic acid contributes oxidative electrons for enhanced hydrogen generation as well as protects CuS from photocorrosion. The modification of surface property and energetic structure of CuS photocatalyst by the NiO co-catalyst improves photogenerated charge carrier separation and in turn enhances the solar-to-hydrogen generation. The recyclability tests showed the potential of CPN-2 photocatalystfor prolonged photocatalytic hydrogen production while continuous supply of lactic acid feedstock is available

Biofunctionalized CdS Quantum Dots: A Case Study on Nanomaterial Toxicity in the Photocatalytic Wastewater Treatment Process

The toxic nature of inorganic nanostructured materials as photocatalysts is often not accounted for in traditional wastewater treatment reactions. Particularly, some inorganic nanomaterials employed as photocatalysts may release secondary pollutants in the form of ionic species that leach out due to photocorrosion. In this context, this work is a proof-of-concept study for exploring the environmental toxicity effect of extremely small-sized nanoparticles (2+) metal ions due to the poor photocorrosion stability of CdS is a matter of serious concern. Therefore, in this report, a cost-effective strategy is devised for biofunctionalizing the active surface of CdS QDs by employing tea leaf extract, which is expected to hinder photocorrosion and prevent the leaching of toxic Cd2+ ions. The coating of tea leaf moieties (chlorophyll and polyphenol) over the CdS QDs (referred to hereafter as G-CdS QDs) was confirmed through structural, morphological, and chemical analysis. Moreover, the enhanced visible-light absorption and emission intensity of G-CdS QDs in comparison to that of C-CdS QDs synthesized through a conventional chemical synthesis approach confirmed the presence of chlorophyll/polyphenol coating. Interestingly, the polyphenol/chlorophyll molecules formed a heterojunction with CdS QDs and enabled the G-CdS QDs to exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue dye molecules over C-CdS QDs while effectively preventing photocorrosion as confirmed from cyclic photodegradation studies. Furthermore, detailed toxicity studies were conducted by exposing zebrafish embryos to the as-synthesized CdS QDs for 72 h. Surprisingly, the survival rate of the zebrafish embryos exposed to G-CdS QDs was equal to that of the control, indicating a significant reduction in the leaching of Cd2+ ions from G-CdS QDs in comparison to C-CdS QDs. The chemical environment of C-CdS and G-CdS before and after the photocatalysis reaction was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These experimental findings prove that biocompatibility and toxicity could be controlled by simply adding tea leaf extract during the synthesis of nanostructured materials, and revisiting green synthesis techniques can be beneficial. Furthermore, repurposing the discarded tea leaves may not only facilitate the control of toxicity of inorganic nanostructured materials but can also help in enhancing global environmental sustainability

Biofunctionalized CdS Quantum Dots: A Case Study on Nanomaterial Toxicity in the Photocatalytic Wastewater Treatment Process

The toxic nature of inorganic nanostructured materials as photocatalysts is often not accounted for in traditional wastewater treatment reactions. Particularly, some inorganic nanomaterials employed as photocatalysts may release secondary pollutants in the form of ionic species that leach out due to photocorrosion. In this context, this work is a proof-of-concept study for exploring the environmental toxicity effect of extremely small-sized nanoparticles (<10 nm) like quantum dots (QDs) that are employed as photocatalysts, and in this study, cadmium sulfide (CdS) QDs are chosen. Typically, CdS is an excellent semiconductor with suitable bandgap and band-edge positions that is attractive for applications in solar cells, photocatalysis, and bioimaging. However, the leaching of toxic cadmium (Cd2+) metal ions due to the poor photocorrosion stability of CdS is a matter of serious concern. Therefore, in this report, a cost-effective strategy is devised for biofunctionalizing the active surface of CdS QDs by employing tea leaf extract, which is expected to hinder photocorrosion and prevent the leaching of toxic Cd2+ ions. The coating of tea leaf moieties (chlorophyll and polyphenol) over the CdS QDs (referred to hereafter as G-CdS QDs) was confirmed through structural, morphological, and chemical analysis. Moreover, the enhanced visible-light absorption and emission intensity of G-CdS QDs in comparison to that of C-CdS QDs synthesized through a conventional chemical synthesis approach confirmed the presence of chlorophyll/polyphenol coating. Interestingly, the polyphenol/chlorophyll molecules formed a heterojunction with CdS QDs and enabled the G-CdS QDs to exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue dye molecules over C-CdS QDs while effectively preventing photocorrosion as confirmed from cyclic photodegradation studies. Furthermore, detailed toxicity studies were conducted by exposing zebrafish embryos to the as-synthesized CdS QDs for 72 h. Surprisingly, the survival rate of the zebrafish embryos exposed to G-CdS QDs was equal to that of the control, indicating a significant reduction in the leaching of Cd2+ ions from G-CdS QDs in comparison to C-CdS QDs. The chemical environment of C-CdS and G-CdS before and after the photocatalysis reaction was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These experimental findings prove that biocompatibility and toxicity could be controlled by simply adding tea leaf extract during the synthesis of nanostructured materials, and revisiting green synthesis techniques can be beneficial. Furthermore, repurposing the discarded tea leaves may not only facilitate the control of toxicity of inorganic nanostructured materials but can also help in enhancing global environmental sustainability

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of a quadrupolar carbo-benzene and its benzenic parent: The carbo-merization effect

International audienceHerein, the optical properties of thiophene-functionalized quadrupolar carbo-benzenes and a benzenic parent, of generic structure Th–Ctriple bondC–[core]–Ctriple bondC–Th, Th = R2C4HS, are comparatively investigated. Beyond the previously unknown dioctylthienylethynylbenzene (core = p-C6H4, R = nOct), two bis-dialkylthienylethynyl-carbo-benzenes (core = C18Ph4, R = nOct, nBu) are envisaged for the unique "carbo-aromatic" character of the C18 macrocycle. The three targets were synthesized from the corresponding ethynylthiophenes in 47, 20 and 10% yield, respectively, then characterized by classical methods such as NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography for one of the carbo-benzenes. Regarding linear and nonlinear optical properties, our results show that the carbo-merization induces a significant shift to lower energies of the one-photon electronic excitations accompanied by an 8-fold increase of the molar extinction coefficient compared to the parent molecule. Intriguingly, these excitations lead to a broad band of photoluminescence comprising decay transitions of the type S1 → S0 but also of the type S2 → S0. This phenomenon of emission from higher excited states, which is contrary to Kasha's rule, is assigned to - or revealed by - a reduction of the internal conversion efficiency between S2 and S1. Two-photon induced transitions are also enhanced, the two-photon absorption cross-section (σ2PA) being in average five times larger for the carbo-benzenes than for their benzene parent in the wavelength range 650–950 nm, with a maximum of σ2PA = 1430 GM (1 GM = 10−50 cm4 s/photon). Beyond a moderate nonlinearity, this comparative study provides quantitative insights about the way carbo-merization or insertion of a π-conjugated macrocycle between chromophoric functions (here thiophene rings) can tune optical properties of organic molecules. The optical properties of the bis-dialkylthienylethynyl-carbo-benzenes are also discussed in regard of recent reports on organic chromophores based on other types of π-conjugated macrocyclic cores

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of a quadrupolar carbo-benzene and its benzenic parent: The carbo-merization effect

International audienceHerein, the optical properties of thiophene-functionalized quadrupolar carbo-benzenes and a benzenic parent, of generic structure Th–Ctriple bondC–[core]–Ctriple bondC–Th, Th = R2C4HS, are comparatively investigated. Beyond the previously unknown dioctylthienylethynylbenzene (core = p-C6H4, R = nOct), two bis-dialkylthienylethynyl-carbo-benzenes (core = C18Ph4, R = nOct, nBu) are envisaged for the unique "carbo-aromatic" character of the C18 macrocycle. The three targets were synthesized from the corresponding ethynylthiophenes in 47, 20 and 10% yield, respectively, then characterized by classical methods such as NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography for one of the carbo-benzenes. Regarding linear and nonlinear optical properties, our results show that the carbo-merization induces a significant shift to lower energies of the one-photon electronic excitations accompanied by an 8-fold increase of the molar extinction coefficient compared to the parent molecule. Intriguingly, these excitations lead to a broad band of photoluminescence comprising decay transitions of the type S1 → S0 but also of the type S2 → S0. This phenomenon of emission from higher excited states, which is contrary to Kasha's rule, is assigned to - or revealed by - a reduction of the internal conversion efficiency between S2 and S1. Two-photon induced transitions are also enhanced, the two-photon absorption cross-section (σ2PA) being in average five times larger for the carbo-benzenes than for their benzene parent in the wavelength range 650–950 nm, with a maximum of σ2PA = 1430 GM (1 GM = 10−50 cm4 s/photon). Beyond a moderate nonlinearity, this comparative study provides quantitative insights about the way carbo-merization or insertion of a π-conjugated macrocycle between chromophoric functions (here thiophene rings) can tune optical properties of organic molecules. The optical properties of the bis-dialkylthienylethynyl-carbo-benzenes are also discussed in regard of recent reports on organic chromophores based on other types of π-conjugated macrocyclic cores

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of a quadrupolar carbo-benzene and its benzenic parent: The carbo-merization effect

International audienceHerein, the optical properties of thiophene-functionalized quadrupolar carbo-benzenes and a benzenic parent, of generic structure Th–Ctriple bondC–[core]–Ctriple bondC–Th, Th = R2C4HS, are comparatively investigated. Beyond the previously unknown dioctylthienylethynylbenzene (core = p-C6H4, R = nOct), two bis-dialkylthienylethynyl-carbo-benzenes (core = C18Ph4, R = nOct, nBu) are envisaged for the unique "carbo-aromatic" character of the C18 macrocycle. The three targets were synthesized from the corresponding ethynylthiophenes in 47, 20 and 10% yield, respectively, then characterized by classical methods such as NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography for one of the carbo-benzenes. Regarding linear and nonlinear optical properties, our results show that the carbo-merization induces a significant shift to lower energies of the one-photon electronic excitations accompanied by an 8-fold increase of the molar extinction coefficient compared to the parent molecule. Intriguingly, these excitations lead to a broad band of photoluminescence comprising decay transitions of the type S1 → S0 but also of the type S2 → S0. This phenomenon of emission from higher excited states, which is contrary to Kasha's rule, is assigned to - or revealed by - a reduction of the internal conversion efficiency between S2 and S1. Two-photon induced transitions are also enhanced, the two-photon absorption cross-section (σ2PA) being in average five times larger for the carbo-benzenes than for their benzene parent in the wavelength range 650–950 nm, with a maximum of σ2PA = 1430 GM (1 GM = 10−50 cm4 s/photon). Beyond a moderate nonlinearity, this comparative study provides quantitative insights about the way carbo-merization or insertion of a π-conjugated macrocycle between chromophoric functions (here thiophene rings) can tune optical properties of organic molecules. The optical properties of the bis-dialkylthienylethynyl-carbo-benzenes are also discussed in regard of recent reports on organic chromophores based on other types of π-conjugated macrocyclic cores

The carbonyl-lock mechanism underlying non-aromatic fluorescence in biological matter

Acknowledgements: G.D.M. and J.A.S. gratefully acknowledges CONICET doctoral fellowship. G.D.M. also acknowledges to CINECA supercomputing (project NAFAA - HP10B4ZBB2). UNM acknowledges CINECA supercomputing center (projects V-COINS - HP10C35IQ1 and V-CoIns - HP10BY0AET), and Elettra-TeraFERMI project 20224056. AH and G.D.M would like to acknowledge the European Commission for funding on the ERC Grant HyBOP 101043272. DAE, MCGL, JAS and UNM would like to acknowledge founding from PICT 2020 01828 UNM, MCGL, DAE, Agencia I-+d+i. IR gratefully acknowledges the use of HPC resources of the “Pôle Scientifique de Modélisation Numérique- (PSMN) of the ENS-Lyon, France. J.V’s work has partially received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skodowska Curie grant agreement No. 101025385. We also acknowledge Prof. Sir John Walker, Prof. David Palmer, Dr. Johannes Schmidt, Dr. Zeinab Ebrahimpour, Dr. Pablo Videla, Prof. Victor S. Batista and Dr. Marcello Coreno for useful discussions.AbstractChallenging the basis of our chemical intuition, recent experimental evidence reveals the presence of a new type of intrinsic fluorescence in biomolecules that exists even in the absence of aromatic or electronically conjugated chemical compounds. The origin of this phenomenon has remained elusive so far. In the present study, we identify a mechanism underlying this new type of fluorescence in different biological aggregates. By employing non-adiabatic ab initio molecular dynamics simulations combined with a data-driven approach, we characterize the typical ultrafast non-radiative relaxation pathways active in non-fluorescent peptides. We show that the key vibrational mode for the non-radiative decay towards the ground state is the carbonyl elongation. Non-aromatic fluorescence appears to emerge from blocking this mode with strong local interactions such as hydrogen bonds. While we cannot rule out the existence of alternative non-aromatic fluorescence mechanisms in other systems, we demonstrate that this carbonyl-lock mechanism for trapping the excited state leads to the fluorescence yield increase observed experimentally, and set the stage for design principles to realize novel non-invasive biocompatible probes with applications in bioimaging, sensing, and biophotonics.</jats:p