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Photocatalysis

Light strikes gold to purify water

Hydroxyl radicals (·OH) are important reactive oxygen species in environmental chemistry. The most efficient way to generate them is through a single-electron water-oxidation step, but this light-driven process is inefficient over inorganic semiconductor materials. Now, a judiciously designed polymeric carbon nitride has demonstrated high photocatalytic efficiency.

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Correspondence to Lifeng Liu.

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Yu, Z., Liu, L. Light strikes gold to purify water. Nat. Chem. 16, 1217–1218 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-024-01581-2

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