@article {46792,
	title = {Can half-a-monolayer of pt simulate activity like that of bulk pt? solar hydrogen activity demonstration with quasi-artificial leaf device},
	journal = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces},
	volume = {12},
	year = {2020},
	month = {JUL },
	pages = {30420-30430},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>Pt is the best cocatalyst for hydrogen production. It is also well-known that the surface atomic layer is critical for catalysis. To minimize the Pt content as cocatalyst, herein we report on half-a-monolayer of Pt (0.5 theta(Pt)) decorated on earth-abundant Ni-Cu cocatalyst, which is integrated with a quasiartificial leaf (QuAL) device (TiO2/ZnS/CdS) and demonstrated for efficient solar hydrogen production. For the QuAL, TiO2 is sensitized with ZnS and CdS quantum dots by the SILAR method. The 0.5 theta(Pt)-decorated Ni-Cu shows an onset potential of 0.05 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode for the hydrogen evolution reaction, which is almost similar to that of commercial Pt/C. Photoactivity of the present QuAL device with either bulk Pt or 0.5 theta(Pt)-coated Ni-Cu cocatalyst is, surprisingly, equal. Our findings underscore that a fraction of a monolayer of Pt can enhance the activity of the cocatalyst, and it is worth exploring further for the high activity associated with atomic Pt and other noble metals.</p>
},
	keywords = {artificial leaf, nickel-copper, Photocatalysis, platinum, Solar hydrogen},
	issn = {1944-8244},
	doi = {10.1021/acsami.0c07431},
	author = {Bajpai, Himanshu and Patra, Kshirodra Kumar and Ranjan, Ravi and Nalajala, Naresh and Reddy, Kasala Prabhakar and Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.}
}
@article {47589,
	title = {Electronically integrated mesoporous Ag-TiO2 nanocomposite thin films for efficient solar hydrogen production in direct sunlight},
	journal = {Energy Technology},
	volume = {10},
	year = {2021},
	month = {AUG},
	pages = {2100356},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	The synthesis of mesoporous TiO2 by a solution-based assembly process and Ag/TiO2 nanocomposites is provided. The efficacy of Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite as photocatalyst in thin-film form is demonstrated for solar hydrogen generation in sunlight. Integration of Ag with TiO2 dramatically enhanced the H-2 production: with 1 wt\% Ag on TiO2 (TiAg-1), the H-2 yield was observed to be 4.59 mmol h(-1) g(-1), which is 2.3 (30) times larger than 0.5 wt\% Ag on TiO2. TiAg-1 shows 4.3 times higher activity in film form compared with its powder counterpart. High photocatalytic efficiency is attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag, electronic integration of Ag with TiO2, and subsequent valence band broadening, large distribution of Ag nanoparticles and abundant Ag-TiO2 Schottky junctions, and the later minimizes electron-hole recombination. Interparticle mesoporous network increases necking and the high surface area offers easy accessibility of the reactants to a large number of active sites.</p>
},
	keywords = {heterogeneous catalysis, heterojunctions, plasmon effect, Silver, solar energy conversion, Solar hydrogen},
	issn = {2194-4288},
	doi = {10.1002/ente.202100356},
	author = {Mani, Sunesh S. and Rajendran, Sivaraj and Nalajala, Naresh and Mathew, Thomas and Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.}
}
