Photothermal Nanoconfinement Reactor: Boosting Chemical Reactivity with Locally High Temperature in a Confined Space

Han Chao Zhang, Zhan Xiao Kang, Jiang Jin Han, Peng Wang, Jin Tu Fan, Guo Ping Sheng

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

43 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A photothermal nanoconfinement reactor (PNCR) system is proposed and demonstrated by using hollow carbon nanospheres (HCNs) to enhance the performance of the chemical reaction. Under light irradiation, the local temperature of the HCN inner void space was much higher than the bulk solution temperature because the confined space concentrates heat and inhibits heat loss. Using the temperature-sensitive model reaction, peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation to oxidize micropollutant, it is shown that the degradation rate of sulfamethoxazole in the PNCR system is 7.1 times of that without nanoconfinement. It is further discovered that the high-quality local heat inside the nanoconfined space shifted the model reaction from an otherwise non-radical pathway to a radical-based pathway. This work provides an interesting strategy to produce a locally high temperature, which has a wide range of applications to energy and environmental fields.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere202200093
JournalAngewandte Chemie - International Edition
Volume61
Issue number26
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Jun 2022

Keywords

  • Chemical Reactions
  • Confinement
  • Local Temperature
  • Micropollutants
  • Persulfate Activation
  • Photothermal

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry

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