Visible Light Response Performance Research Articles

A Visible-Light Regulated ATP Transport in Retinal-Modified Pillar[6]arene Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembled Sub-Nanochannel.

Natural light-responsive rhodopsins play a critical role in visual conversion, signal transduction, energy transmission, etc., which has aroused extensive interest in the past decade. Inspired by these gorgeous works of living beings, scientists have constructed various biomimetic light-responsive nanochannels to mimic the behaviors of rhodopsins. However, it is still challenging to build stimuli-responsive sub-nanochannels only regulated by visible light as the rhodopsins are always at the sub-nanometer level and regulated by visible light. Pillar[6]arenes have an open cavity of 6.7 Å, which can selectively recognize small organic molecules. They can be connected to ions of ammonium or carboxylate groups on the rims. Therefore, we designed and synthesized the amino and carboxyl-derived side chains of pillar[6]arenes with opposite charges. The sub-nanochannels were constructed through the electrostatic interaction of layer-by-layer self-assembled amino and carboxyl-derived pillar[6]arenes. Then, the natural chromophore of the retinal with visible light-responsive performance was modified on the upper edge of the sub-nanochannel to realize the visible light switched on and off. Finally, we successfully constructed a visible light-responsive sub-nanochannel, providing a novel method for regulating the selective transport of energy-donating molecules of ATP.

The Photocatalytic Activity of CaTiO3 Derived from the Microwave-Melting Heating Process of Blast Furnace Slag.

The extraction of titanium-bearing components in the form of CaTiO3 is an efficient utilization of blast furnace slag. The photocatalytic performance of this obtained CaTiO3 (MM-CaTiO3) as a catalyst for methylene blue (MB) degradation was evaluated in this study. The analyses indicated that the MM-CaTiO3 had a completed structure with a special length-diameter ratio. Furthermore, the oxygen vacancy was easier to generate on a MM-CaTiO3(110) plane during the photocatalytic process, contributing to improving photocatalytic activity. Compared with traditional catalysts, MM-CaTiO3 has a narrower optical band gap and visible-light responsive performance. The degradation experiments further confirmed that the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of pollutants by using MM-CaTiO3 was 3.2 times that of pristine CaTiO3 in optimized conditions. Combined with molecular simulation, the degradation mechanism clarified that acridine of MB molecular was stepwise destroyed by using MM-CaTiO3 in short times, which is different from demethylation and methylenedioxy ring degradation by using TiO2. This study provided a promising routine for using solid waste to obtain catalysts with excellent photocatalytic activity and was found to be in keeping with sustainable environmental development.

Visible light responsive TiO2 modification with nonmetal elements

Developing visible light responsive (VLR) TiO2 photocatalysts is essential and attractive for the consideration of solar energy utilization. A large amount of work have shown TiO2 modified with several nonmetal elements having VLR performance, although according to DFT calculation, Asahi denied the VLR properties of fluorine, carbon, etc. in doping TiO2. Therefore, the origins of VLR activity desire further delicate discussion. In this mini-review, several strategies for VLR TiO2 modification have been introduced, including N doping or B/N codoping, surface modification with sensitizing matter such as carbonaceous or other organic substances, surface alkoxyls modification via a ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) process, and enhanced dye sensitization by fluorine modification. Besides doping, there are much more approaches to fabricate VLR TiO2 modified with nonmetal elements. However, it is still in demand to explore new methods to obtain more stable and efficient VLR TiO2 for practical application.