Engineering light propagation for synergetic photo- and thermocatalysis toward volatile organic compounds elimination

Abstract

Photo-thermal catalysis emerged as a new fast-growing research area for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) elimination. However, despite some significant achievements, the research on engineering the light propagation to promote the photo-thermal catalytic efficiency has been largely overlooked so far. Herein, we reported Pt nanoparticle decorated three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) LaMn1.2O3 with multiple light scattering and the slow photon effect for improving the light-harvesting, thus achieving synergetic photo- and thermal catalysis toward complete toluene mineralization. As a result, a 100% conversion of toluene (200 ppm with a flow rate of 12.8 mL∙min−1) is achieved with high selectivity to CO2 (88%) and good stability (100 h) under solar light irradiation. Combining characterizations and activity experiments, the multiple scattering and slow photon effect over Pt/3DOM LaMn1.2O3 are confirmed to enhance the reducibility and migration of lattice oxygen and facilitate the migration of the charge carrier, thus contributing to the improved photo-thermal catalytic performance. This work demonstrates that a well-considered design of catalysts with optimized structural and electronic properties effectively maximizes solar energy utilization.