Construction of floatable flower-like plasmonic Bi/BiOCl-loaded hollow kapok fiber photocatalyst for efficient degradation of RhB and antibiotics.

The development of low-cost and high-efficiency photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants has been an essential and feasible approach to environmental remediation. However, conventional powder photocatalysts suffer from agglomeration, limited light utilization, and reuse difficulties, which hinder their large-scale practical application. Herein, a floatable flower-like plasmonic Bi/BiOCl-loaded hollow kapok fiber (KF/Bi/BC) photocatalyst was synthesized by a facile solvothermal method. It exhibited excellent photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), ofloxacin (OFX), and tetracycline (TC) under UV-vis irradiation. The incorporation of metallic Bi not only greatly enhanced the light absorption of BiOCl in the visible region but also served as an effective "electron trap", facilitating the efficient separation and transfer of photogenerated electrons and holes. Furthermore, the remarkable floatability of the catalyst contributed to increased light utilization and facilitated the recycling of the catalyst. This work provided a convenient, effective, and feasible method for the fabrication of floatable photocatalysts with excellent catalytic properties, and has great potential for practical applications.

Heterostructured Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Under Alkaline Conditions.

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a half-cell reaction in water electrolysis for producing hydrogen gas. In industrial water electrolysis, the HER is often conducted in alkaline media to achieve higher stability of the electrode materials. However, the kinetics of the HER in alkaline medium is slow relative to that in acid because of the low concentration of protons in the former. Under the latter conditions, the entire HER process will require additional effort to obtain protons by water dissociation near or on the catalyst surface. Heterostructured catalysts, with fascinating synergistic effects derived from their heterogeneous interfaces, can provide multiple functional sites for the overall reaction process. At present, the activity of the most active known heterostructured catalysts surpasses (platinum-based heterostructures) or approaches (noble-metal-free heterostructures) that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst under alkaline conditions, demonstrating an infusive potential to break through the bottlenecks. This review summarizes the most representative and recent heterostructured HER catalysts for alkaline medium. The basics and principles of the HER under alkaline conditions are first introduced, followed by a discussion of the latest advances in heterostructured catalysts with/without noble-metal-based heterostructures. Special focus is placed on approaches for enhancing the reaction rate by accelerating the Volmer step. This review aims to provide an overview of the current developments in alkaline HER catalysts, as well as the design principles for the future development of heterostructured nano- or micro-sized electrocatalysts.