Efficient charge separation remains a central challenge in achieving the deep mineralization of organic pollutants via photocatalysis. Herein, we report a nickel oxide isintegrated with urea-perylene diimide (NiO–UPDI) photocatalyst with a donor–acceptor (D–A) structure, constructed through solvothermal precipitation, in which NiO is integrated with UPDI via non-covalent coordination. Under visible-light irradiation, the optimized NiO–UPDI (20 wt.%) achieves a ciprofloxacin degradation rate of 0.553 h⁻¹, exceeding those of UPDI and bulk g-C₃N₄ by factors of 6.21 and 7.18, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic performance originates from the NiO-induced D–A configuration, which creates an unsymmetric electron distribution that strengthens intermolecular dipoles, yielding a 5.5-fold higher internal electric field and markedly improved charge separation. Photogenerated electrons (e⁻) migrate from NiO to UPDI, while photogenerated holes (h⁺) transfer to the catalyst surface, enabling synergistic oxidation and degradation. This study provides fundamental insights into the rational design of non-covalent D–A photocatalysts for achieving superior photocatalytic performance through efficient charge separation.

Governing the energy transfer (EnT) or electron transfer (ET) excitation pathway to dictate reactive oxygen species (ROS) is crucial for selectivity, yet challenging to achieve with simple molecular designs in highly active systems. Herein, by utilizing the oxygen dependency of ·O₂⁻ and ¹O₂, we present a simple but effective approach to regulate exciton behavior via the construction of perylene diimide (PDI)-based polymers. It is established that the product of ROS is governed by the molecular structure through its control over the solid-state packing and host–guest interactions. The planar geometry of PDI-pCZ-CHCl₃ facilitates the dense molecular stacking, creating an electron-rich environment that promotes the direct reduction of substrates via type I pathway (dominated by electron transfer) to form ·O₂⁻. Conversely, the hypercrosslinked non-planar cationic PDI-pCZ-DCE culminates in a high-surface-area architecture with low O₂ adsorption free energy, and preferentially concentrates and activates the molecular oxygen through type II pathway (dominated by energy transfer) to generate ¹O₂. Both the PDI-based polymers exhibit good photothermal effect for overcoming the reaction energy barriers, thereby improving the reaction kinetics. The verification of the selective generation of ¹O₂ and ·O₂⁻ of these photocatalysts is implemented on the model reactions, showing that the photosynthesis of 1,2,4-thiadiazoles mediated by ¹O₂ is up to 92% isolated yield, while the phenols production from phenylboronic acids dominated by ·O₂⁻ is up to 88% yield. This work provides an important fresh platform for advancing the selective O₂ activation and the respective ET/EnT-dominated photocatalytic scenario.

The primary objective in researching the anode side of electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is to substitute the frequently employed Ir anodic catalyst with more readily available and cost-effective non-noble metal oxide. When organic molecules are loaded on the Cu₂O surface, a synergistic effect can be formed between different components. This effect can accelerate electron transfer, provide new active sites, and further enhance the performance of reactants of oxygen evolutionreaction (OER). This study proposes a new type of anodic catalyst, PDI/Cu₂O/Cu, and investigates its OER activity and three other anodic catalysts (IrO₂/Ti mesh, Ni foam, and Pt mesh) in the CO₂RR system. The results show that PDI/Cu₂O/Cu exhibited OER activity with an overpotential of 422.1 mV to drive a current density of 70 mA·cm⁻² in neutral electrolytes. Compared to IrO₂/Ti mesh, the overpotential of perylene tetracarboxylic di-(propyl imidazole) (PDI)/Cu₂O/Cu is decreased by 490 mV. This significantly lowers the energy consumption of the CO₂RR system without compromising the performance of CO₂RR. Furthermore, the use of precious metal materials is unnecessary, leading to a substantial reduction in the cost of the anodic catalyst. PDI/Cu₂O/Cu holds the potential to serve as a non-precious metal alternative to Ir in neutral electrolytes as an anodic catalyst.

Addressing the degradation of persistent organic pollutants like bisphenol A (BPA) and rhodamine B (RhB) with a photocatalyst that is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly is a notable challenge. This research presents the synthesis of an optimized g-C₃N₄/Bi₄O₅Br₂ composite featuring a Z-scheme heterojunction structure. The precise band alignment of this composite significantly enhances the separation of photogenerated charges and the production of dominant reactive species. The composite demonstrated exceptional photocatalytic performance, with BPA degradation efficiency nearing 98% and RhB achieving complete degradation within 80 and 35 min under visible light, respectively. These results are approximately 1.3 times greater than the individual performance of CN and BOB, surpassing recent literature benchmarks. Through EPR and free radical capture experiments, the role of h⁺ and ·O₂⁻ as the primary active free radicals in the degradation process have been confirmed. First-principles calculations validated the experimental results, indicating that the Z-type heterojunction is instrumental in generating active species, thus improving degradation efficiency. This study offers a promising strategy for the design of photocatalysts targeting emerging organic pollutants.

Antibiotics are a widely used and effective treatment for bacterial infections. However, bacteria can gradually evolve during infection, leading to developing resistance to antibiotics, which renders previously effective treatments ineffective. Finding a useful and convenient manner to treat bacterial infections is a great challenge. Here, we report a flexible hydrogen-bond-bridged phosphorene film with photodynamic antibacterial properties and excellent mechanical properties, fabricated from electrochemical exfoliation of black phosphorus (BP). When illuminated under 700 nm light, the hydrogen bond-bridged phosphorene flexible film is capable of converting ground-state triplet oxygen (O₂) into excited-state singlet oxygen (¹O₂), destroying the structure of the membrane of Staphylococcus aureus, and eventually leading to bacterial death, via breaking the C=C of unsaturated fatty acids within the bacterial cell membrane after the reaction between ¹O₂ and unsaturated fatty acids, thus realizing a highly efficient antibacterial approach, which is supported by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. This work establishes an effective phototherapy platform for treating bacterial traumatic infections.

The anodic electrooxidation of ethanol to value-added acetate is an excellent example of replacing the oxygen evolution reaction to promote the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction and save energy. Herein, we present a colloidal strategy to produce Ni-Fe bimetallic alloy nanoparticles (NPs) as efficient electrocatalysts for the electrooxidation of ethanol in alkaline media. Ni-Fe alloy NPs deliver a current density of 100 mA·cm⁻² in a 1.0 M KOH solution containing 1.0 M ethanol merely at 1.5 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), well above the performance of other electrocatalysts in a similar system. Within continuous 10 h testing at this external potential, this electrode is able to produce an average of 0.49 mmol·cm⁻²·h⁻¹ of acetate with an ethanol-to-acetate Faradaic efficiency of 80%. A series of spectroscopy techniques are used to probe the electrocatalytic process and analyze the electrolyte. Additionally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the iron in the alloy NPs significantly enhances the electroconductivity and electron transfer, shifts the rate-limiting step, and lowers the energy barrier during the ethanol-to-acetate reaction pathway.