When exposed to near-UV light, titanium dioxide (TiO2) exhibits a strong bactericidal activity. However, the killing mechanism(s) underlying the TiO2 photocatalytic reaction is not yet well understood. The aim of the present study is to investigate the cellular damage sites and their contribution to cell death. A sensitive approach using o-nitrophenol β-D-galactopyranoside (ONPG) as the probe a...

Metallic nanoparticles with strong optically resonant properties behave as nanoscale optical antennas, and have recently shown extraordinary promise as light-driven catalysts. Traditionally, however, heterogeneous catalysis has relied upon weakly light-absorbing metals such as Pd, Pt, Ru, or Rh to lower the activation energy for chemical reactions. Here we show that coupling a plasmonic nanoant...

| The merger of transition metal catalysis and photocatalysis, termed metallaphoto­ catalysis, has recently emerged as a versatile platform for the development of new, highly enabling synthetic methodologies. Photoredox catalysis provides access to reactive radical species under mild conditions from abundant, native functional groups, and, when combined with transition metal catalysis, this fea...

Chemists have long aspired to synthesize molecules the way that plants do-using sunlight to facilitate the construction of complex molecular architectures. Nevertheless, the use of visible light in photochemical synthesis is fundamentally challenging because organic molecules tend not to interact with the wavelengths of visible light that are most strongly emitted in the solar spectrum. Recent ...

Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) air purification technology is reviewed based on the decades of research conducted by the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) and their external colleagues. UTRC conducted basic research on the reaction rates of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The knowledge gained allowed validation of 1D and 3D prototype reactor models that guided further purifi...

Facile Synthesis and Photocatalysis of Size-Distributed TiO2 Hollow Spheres Consisting of {116} Plane-Oriented Nanocrystallites Yuzhu Jiao, Chengxin Peng, Fangfang Guo, Zhihao Bao, Jinhu Yang,* Lukas Schmidt-Mende, Ricky Dunbar, Yao Qin,* and Zifeng Deng Institute for Advanced Materials and Nano Biomedicine and Department of Chemistry, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, Peopl...

A novel vapor–liquid–solid epitaxy (VLSE) process has been developed to synthesize high-density semiconductor nanowire arrays. The nanowires generally are single crystalline and have diameters of 10–200nm and aspect ratios of 10–100. The areal density of the array can readily approach 10 cm . Results based on Si and ZnO nanowire systems are reported here. Because of their single crystallinity a...

Chlorine gas or electropositive chlorine reagents are used to prepare chlorinated aromatic compounds, which are found in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and polymers, and serve as synthetic precursors for metal-catalyzed cross-couplings. Nature chlorinates with chloride anions, FAD-dependent halogenases, and O2 as the oxidant. A photocatalytic oxidative chlorination is described based on the or...

Hydrogen is being intensively investigated as a new energy carrier that stores and transports energy obtained from renewable energy resources (e.g., solar and wind power) to the point of use. In particular, efficient methods that can convert solar energy into hydrogen are being actively sought. One of the ideal methods is solar hydrogen production from water splitting that can be driven by phot...