(Press-News.org)
Photocatalysis, a technology that converts solar energy into chemical reactions, holds immense promise for addressing energy shortages and environmental pollution. However, traditional crystalline semiconductors face limitations in efficiency and stability. A groundbreaking review led by researchers from China Three Gorges University and Capital Normal University unveils how amorphous nanomaterials, which are lacking of long-range atomic order, could overcome these barriers and provide a new thought of advanced photocatalysis.
Published in Nano Research, the review systematically analyzes the unique advantages of amorphous materials, including their high density of catalytic sites, tunable electronic structures, and enhanced light absorption. These properties enable unprecedented efficiency in critical applications such as hydrogen evolution, carbon dioxide reduction, and pollutant degradation.
Unlike their crystalline counterparts, amorphous materials possess disordered atomic arrangements, creating abundant defects and unsaturated bonds that act as active sites for catalytic reactions. “The intrinsic flexibility of amorphous structures allows for tailored energy band engineering, which significantly improves charge separation and light utilization,”explained Dr. Binbin Jia, corresponding author and professor at China Three Gorges University. “This opens up possibilities for designing photocatalysts that operate under visible or even infrared light, vastly expanding their practical applications.”
The first is photocatalytic hydrogen production (HER), where the most common strategy is to enable a significant increase in photogenerated electron transfer efficiency by constructing amorphous/crystalline heterojunctions. This is followed by carbon dioxide reduction (CO₂RR), in which the efficiency of selective reduction of CO₂ to CO is effectively enhanced by defect modulation or heteroatom doping of conventional crystalline materials for amorphization. In the visible light, amorphous semiconductors also play an important role in organic degradation due to their unique surface properties, including large specific surface area, abundant surface functional groups, and the ability to promote the adsorption of substrates onto their surfaces through chemical bonding, which can be more effectively utilized for better photocatalytic efficiencies by loading single atoms or groups on their surfaces. Of course, the applications of amorphous materials in other fields, such as photocatalytic nitrogen fixation and photocatalytic H2O2 preparation, have also been mentioned and showed better functionality.
Despite their promise, amorphous materials face hurdles such as structural instability and complex synthesis. The team emphasizes the need for advanced characterization techniques, such as in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and transient photoluminescence, to unravel dynamic catalytic mechanisms. “Future research must focus on stabilizing these materials through cross-scale design and AI-driven optimization,” noted Dr. Liqun Ye, co-author and professor at China Three Gorges University.
The review underscores the potential of amorphous nanomaterials to drive sustainable technologies, from green hydrogen production to carbon-neutral chemical synthesis. “By integrating amorphous materials into industrial-scale processes, we can significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate environmental damage,”said Dr. Xiaoyu Fan, co-author from Capital Normal University.
The researchers anticipate that their work will inspire collaborations across materials science, chemistry, and engineering to accelerate the commercialization of amorphous photocatalysts.
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.
END
SAN ANTONIO — July 21, 2025 —Southwest Research Institute’s (SwRI) Dr. Sidney Chocron has been named a Ballistic Science Fellow by the International Ballistics Society. The honor is awarded to members who have made numerous contributions to ballistics science.
Chocron specializes in the nonlinear response of materials under high strain rates. His work primarily focuses on unconventional tests and computer modeling of materials, such as his research studying the impact of foam and ice on the Space Shuttle thermal protection ...
Dr. Sung Mook Choi and his research team at the Energy & Environmental Materials Research Division of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) have successfully developed a highly durable non-precious metal-based hydrogen evolution catalyst for use in a direct electrolysis system employing waste alkaline water and anion exchange membranes (AEM). This breakthrough enables the production of clean hydrogen by directly utilizing alkaline wastewater generated from industrial processes. Notably, the developed catalyst was applied to a commercial-scale ...
Astronomers may have caught a still-forming planet in action, carving out an intricate pattern in the gas and dust that surrounds its young host star. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), they observed a planetary disc with prominent spiral arms, finding clear signs of a planet nestled in its inner regions. This is the first time astronomers have detected a planet candidate embedded inside a disc spiral.
“We will never witness the formation of Earth, but here, around a young star 440 light-years away, we may be watching a planet come into existence in real time,” says Francesco Maio, a doctoral researcher at the University of Florence, Italy, ...
In the race to develop AI that understands complex images like financial forecasts, medical diagrams and nutrition labels — essential for AI to operate independently in everyday settings — closed-source systems like ChatGPT and Claude currently set the pace. But no one outside their makers knows how those models were trained or what data they used, leaving open-source alternatives scrambling to catch up.
Now, researchers at Penn Engineering and the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) have developed a new approach to train open-source models: using AI to create scientific figures, charts and tables that teach other AI systems ...
When environmental stress harms DNA, it can set off a cascade of failures linked to heart conditions, neurodegeneration, and chronic inflammation. A new chemical tool developed at UC Riverside interrupts that process, helping preserve DNA before the damage leads to disease.
The study, published in the German Chemical Society journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, focused on mitochondrial DNA, which is separate from the DNA housed in a cell’s nucleus. While nuclear DNA contains the vast majority of the genetic code, mitochondria carry their own smaller genomes that are essential for ...
What if we could prevent people from developing obesity? The World Obesity Federation expects more than half the global population to develop overweight or obesity by 2035. However, treatment strategies such as lifestyle change, surgery and medications are not universally available or effective.
By drawing on genetic data from over five million people, an international team of researchers has created a genetic test called a polygenic risk score (PGS) that predicts adulthood obesity already in early childhood. This finding could help to identify children ...
A new commentary published in Nature Communications by Dr James Bradley, Reader in Environmental Science at Queen Mary University of London, and his team reveals a dramatic and concerning shift in the Arctic winter. During a fieldwork campaign in Svalbard in February 2025, researchers encountered exceptionally high temperatures, widespread snowmelt, and blooming vegetation.
Svalbard, warming at six to seven times the global average rate, is at the forefront of the climate crisis, with winter ...
A new genetic analysis using data from over five million people has provided a clearer understanding of the risk of going on to live with obesity. New research led by the Universities of Copenhagen and Bristol shows analysing genes at a young age may support early strategies to prevent obesity developing later in life.
The World Obesity Federation expects more than half the global population to become overweight or obese by 2035. However, treatment strategies such as lifestyle change, surgery and medications are not universally available or effective.
By drawing on genetic data from over five million people, ...
As far back as the 4th Century B.C., Aristotle marveled at the nimble gecko's ability to “run up and down a tree in any way, even with the head downwards.”
Its grippy toes, able to latch on to even the slipperiest surface with extraordinary force, have inspired everything from super glues to “Superman” climbing suits to sponges for soaking up environmental toxins.
Now CU Boulder scientists have taken a cue from the reptile to develop a material able to stick to tumors inside the body, pumping out chemotherapy drugs for days.
The technology, developed ...
Tracking race-specific rates of cancer incidence and mortality is important for identifying racial differences in these outcomes and for monitoring efforts aimed at achieving the highest level of health for all. Researchers have assessed how well US race data collection standards and their revisions have captured cancer burdens for various racial groups over the years. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
Race data collection has followed recommendations from the US Office of ...
