Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2018, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (9): 1048-1060.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB201802281

Special Issue: Graphdiyne

• REVIEW • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Graphdiyne with Enhanced Ability for Electron Transfer

Yasong ZHAO1,Lijuan ZHANG2,Jian QI2,Quan JIN2,Kaifeng LIN1,Dan WANG2,*()   

  1. 1 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, P. R. China
    2 State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
  • Received:2018-02-01 Published:2018-04-09
  • Contact: Dan WANG E-mail:danwang@ipe.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21590795);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51772294);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51572261);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51672276);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51672274);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51702321);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51661165013);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51772296);Queensland-Chinese Academy of Sciences Collaborative Science Fund(122111KYSB20170001);the Scientific InstrumentDeveloping Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(YZ201623);Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS(2017070)

Abstract:

As a new member of the carbon allotrope family, graphdiynes (GDs)consist of both sp-and sp2-hybridized carbon atoms, possessing unique π-conjugated carbon skeletons and expanded 18C-hexagonalpores in two dimensions. In contrast with the zero band gap graphene (GR), GDis a semiconductor with a direct band gap of 1.22 eV calculated according tothe density functional theory (DFT) using the HSE06 method; this makes it apotential semiconductor material that can supplant silicon in the integratedcircuit industry. Moreover, owing to the presence of diacetylenic linkagesbetween its hexagonal carbon rings, GD shows electron-deficient properties, which lead to its electron-accepting tendency. Graphdiynes exhibit unusualsemiconducting properties with excellent charge mobilities and electrontransport properties that are associated with its distinct topological andelectronic structures. Graphdiynes play the role of not only electron-acceptorsthat efficiently collect the electrons from other materials but also electron-donorsthat inject electrons into other systems, thus exhibiting excellentelectron-transfer enhancement characteristics. The unique electron-transferenhancement property of GDs inspired us to summarize the interactions betweenGDs and other materials including metal oxides, metal nano-particles, andorganic molecules. In this review paper, we first introduce the TiO2/GDnanocomposite, because the linking of GDs and titania nanoparticles (P25) throughthe Ti—O—Cbond sets an important precedent for exploring the electron-transfer behaviors involvingGDs and the metal oxide. These results indicate that the GDs can act asacceptors of the photogenerated electrons in the TiO2/GD system, effectively suppressing charge recombination and resulting in excellent photocatalyticproperties. Nevertheless, the GDs in CdSe quantum dots (QDs)/GD composites areable to collect photogenerated holes from the QDs and perform as promising hole-transfermaterials in the photoelectrochemical cell for water splitting. As a result, the interactions between GDs and various metal compounds should be explored todeeply understand the electron-transfer properties of GDs. Furthermore, GDs canbe also used as electron donors to reduce PdCl42- toPd nanoparticles that can subsequently be used for the electroless depositionof highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles. Based on electrostatic potential surfaceanalysis over the Pt2/GD, GDs can attract the electron cloud fromthe Pt nanoparticles and produce a positive polarization of the metal atomsurface. However, due to its large π-conjugated system, GD can alsocollect and transfer electrons from the electrode under a bias voltage, making ita new type of electrocatalyst material, especially for single-atom catalysts.The interactions between GDs and metal particles/clusters/atoms have attracted thebroad attention of the rapidly developing field of single-atom catalysis.Finally, research on the interactions between GDs and organic molecules, especially biomolecules, is still in its infancy and requires development. In summary, we overview the recent research progress on GD and its enhanced ability forelectron transfer in this review paper, including metal oxides/GD, metalnano-particles/GD, polymers/GD, and organic molecules/GD, from bothexperimental and theoretical perspectives, and emphasize the interactions andelectron-transfer enhancement properties. It is expected that this review canpromote the development and applications of GD chemistry.

Key words: Graphdiyne, GD-based composites, Electron-transfer enhancement, π-conjugated skeleton