Premium
Solar Reforming of Biomass with Homogeneous Carbon Dots
Author(s) -
Achilleos Demetra S.,
Yang Wenxing,
Kasap Hatice,
Savateev Aleksandr,
Markushyna Yevheniia,
Durrant James R.,
Reisner Erwin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202008217
Subject(s) - biomass (ecology) , solar fuel , carbon fibers , quenching (fluorescence) , renewable energy , renewable fuels , homogeneous , chemical engineering , biofuel , solubility , chemistry , materials science , photocatalysis , nanotechnology , catalysis , photochemistry , organic chemistry , waste management , fluorescence , fossil fuel , oceanography , quantum mechanics , composite number , electrical engineering , composite material , thermodynamics , geology , physics , engineering
A sunlight‐powered process is reported that employs carbon dots (CDs) as light absorbers for the conversion of lignocellulose into sustainable H 2 fuel and organics. This photocatalytic system operates in pure and untreated sea water at benign pH (2–8) and ambient temperature and pressure. The CDs can be produced in a scalable synthesis directly from biomass itself and their solubility allows for good interactions with the insoluble biomass substrates. They also display excellent photophysical properties with a high fraction of long‐lived charge carriers and the availability of a reductive and an oxidative quenching pathway. The presented CD‐based biomass photoconversion system opens new avenues for sustainable, practical, and renewable fuel production through biomass valorization.