Tailoring of electronic and surface structures boosts exciton-triggering photocatalysis for singlet oxygen generation
Dongpeng Zhang, Pengfei Wang, Junhui Wang, Yanxiao Li, Yuguo Xia, Sihui Zhan
Abstract
Significance As the dielectric confinement effects in ultrathin two-dimensional photocatalysts, excitonic effects originating from the Coulomb interactions between photogenerated electrons and holes can be significantly promoted, which would endow the systems with distinct photoexcitation scenarios. A significant challenge is achieving nontrivial excitonic regulation, especially for inorganic semiconductors, to efficiently use solar energy. This research presents a strategy of modifications in both electronic and surface structures caused by surface Pt dopants to enhance the propensity to generate 1 O 2 by triplet energy transfer. This design concept highlights a promising exciton control strategy in two-dimensional inorganic semiconductors and demonstrates the importance of impurity states in the energy transfer process.