Core-crown Quantum Nanoplatelets with Favorable Type-II Heterojunctions Boost Charge Separation and Photocatalytic NO Oxidation on TiO2

Functionalization of TiO2 (P25) with oleic acid-capped CdSe(core)/CdSeTe(crown) quantum-well nanoplatelets (NPL) yielded remarkable activity and selectivity toward nitrate formation in photocatalytic NOx oxidation and storage (PHONOS) under both ultraviolet (UV-A) and visible (VIS) light irradiation. In the NPL/P25 photocatalytic system, photocatalytic active sites responsible for the NO(g) photo-oxidation and NO2 formation reside mostly on titania, while the main function of the NPL is associated with the photocatalytic conversion of the generated NO2 into the adsorbed NO3- species, significantly boosting selectivity toward NOx storage. Photocatalytic improvement in NOx oxidation and storage upon NPL functionalization of titania can also be associated with enhanced electron-hole separation due to a favorable Type-II heterojunction formation and photo-induced electron transfer from the CdSeTe crown to the CdSe core of the quantum well system, where the trapped electrons in the CdSe core can later be transferred to titania. Re-usability of NPL/P25 system was also demonstrated upon prolonged use of the photocatalyst, where NPL/P25 catalyst surpassed P25 benchmark in all tests.