Abstract
New surface coordination photocatalytic systems that are inspired by natural photosynthesis have significant potential to boost fuel denitrification. Despite this, the direct synthesis of efficient surface coordination photocatalysts remains a major challenge. Herein, it is verified that a coordination photocatalyst can be constructed by coupling Pd and CTAB-modified ZnIn(2)S(4) semiconductors. The optimized Pd/ZnIn(2)S(4) showed a superior degradation rate of 81% for fuel denitrification within 240 min, which was 2.25 times higher than that of ZnIn(2)S(4). From the in situ FTIR and XPS spectra of 1% Pd/ZnIn(2)S(4) before and after pyridine adsorption, we find that pyridine can be selectively adsorbed and form Zn⋅⋅⋅C-N or In⋅⋅⋅C-N on the surface of Pd/ZnIn(2)S(4). Meanwhile, the superior electrical conductivity of Pd can be combined with ZnIn(2)S(4) to promote photocatalytic denitrification. This work also explains the surface/interface coordination effect of metal/nanosheets at the molecular level, playing an important role in photocatalytic fuel denitrification.