Acid–Base Matching at Kaolin‐Regulated Interfaces for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol.

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Title: Acid–Base Matching at Kaolin‐Regulated Interfaces for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol.
Authors: Jin, Zehua1,2,3 (AUTHOR), Xu, Chang4 (AUTHOR), Chen, Guoxiang1 (AUTHOR), Yan, Guanghui1 (AUTHOR), Ren, Ting5 (AUTHOR), Hu, Jianan5 (AUTHOR), Mateen, Abdul6 (AUTHOR), Hu, Ruisheng5 (AUTHOR), Cui, Jizhai2 (AUTHOR), Bao, Zhihao1 (AUTHOR) zbao@tongji.edu.cn, Shi, Jianjun1,3 (AUTHOR) jianjunshi@gmail.com, Mei, Yongfeng1,2 (AUTHOR) yfm@fudan.edu.cn
Source: ChemCatChem. May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p1-8. 8p.
Subjects: Kaolin, Acid-base chemistry, Lewis acidity, Photocatalytic oxidation, Phenol removal (Sewage purification), Photocatalysis, Zinc oxide, Titanium dioxide
Abstract: Kaolin is typically regarded as a structural support in composite photocatalysts, where its function is mainly attributed to improved dispersion, suppressed aggregation, and enhanced charge separation, while its interfacial chemical role has rarely been explicitly examined. Here, we construct ZnO/kaolin and TiO2/kaolin composites and use phenol photodegradation as a probe reaction to demonstrate that kaolin acts as an interfacial platform for tuning the Lewis acid–base properties of metal oxides. Despite comparable light absorption and charge‐carrier dynamics, interfacial electron redistribution in ZnO/kaolin renders Zn2+ electron‐deficient, strengthening its Lewis acidity, promoting water dissociation, and enriching surface hydroxyl groups. This increases the in situ flux of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and enables coordination between Zn2+ sites and the phenolic hydroxyl group, thereby accelerating surface reaction kinetics and leading to a markedly higher degradation efficiency (95.9%). In contrast, the weak electronic coupling at the TiO2/kaolin interface fails to regulate acid–base sites and hydroxyl density, resulting in limited radical generation and lower activity (63.1%). These findings identify kaolin as an interfacial acid–base regulator that enables reactive oxygen species flux engineering, providing a molecular‐level strategy for rational photocatalyst design in advanced oxidation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Label: Title
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  Data: Acid–Base Matching at Kaolin‐Regulated Interfaces for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jin%2C+Zehua%22">Jin, Zehua</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xu%2C+Chang%22">Xu, Chang</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Guoxiang%22">Chen, Guoxiang</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yan%2C+Guanghui%22">Yan, Guanghui</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ren%2C+Ting%22">Ren, Ting</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hu%2C+Jianan%22">Hu, Jianan</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mateen%2C+Abdul%22">Mateen, Abdul</searchLink><relatesTo>6</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hu%2C+Ruisheng%22">Hu, Ruisheng</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cui%2C+Jizhai%22">Cui, Jizhai</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bao%2C+Zhihao%22">Bao, Zhihao</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> zbao@tongji.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shi%2C+Jianjun%22">Shi, Jianjun</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> jianjunshi@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mei%2C+Yongfeng%22">Mei, Yongfeng</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> yfm@fudan.edu.cn</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22ChemCatChem%22">ChemCatChem</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p1-8. 8p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kaolin%22">Kaolin</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acid-base+chemistry%22">Acid-base chemistry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Lewis+acidity%22">Lewis acidity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Photocatalytic+oxidation%22">Photocatalytic oxidation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phenol+removal+%28Sewage+purification%29%22">Phenol removal (Sewage purification)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Photocatalysis%22">Photocatalysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Zinc+oxide%22">Zinc oxide</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Titanium+dioxide%22">Titanium dioxide</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Kaolin is typically regarded as a structural support in composite photocatalysts, where its function is mainly attributed to improved dispersion, suppressed aggregation, and enhanced charge separation, while its interfacial chemical role has rarely been explicitly examined. Here, we construct ZnO/kaolin and TiO2/kaolin composites and use phenol photodegradation as a probe reaction to demonstrate that kaolin acts as an interfacial platform for tuning the Lewis acid–base properties of metal oxides. Despite comparable light absorption and charge‐carrier dynamics, interfacial electron redistribution in ZnO/kaolin renders Zn2+ electron‐deficient, strengthening its Lewis acidity, promoting water dissociation, and enriching surface hydroxyl groups. This increases the in situ flux of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and enables coordination between Zn2+ sites and the phenolic hydroxyl group, thereby accelerating surface reaction kinetics and leading to a markedly higher degradation efficiency (95.9%). In contrast, the weak electronic coupling at the TiO2/kaolin interface fails to regulate acid–base sites and hydroxyl density, resulting in limited radical generation and lower activity (63.1%). These findings identify kaolin as an interfacial acid–base regulator that enables reactive oxygen species flux engineering, providing a molecular‐level strategy for rational photocatalyst design in advanced oxidation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of ChemCatChem is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1002/cctc.70797
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 8
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Kaolin
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Acid-base chemistry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Lewis acidity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Photocatalytic oxidation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phenol removal (Sewage purification)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Photocatalysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Zinc oxide
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      – SubjectFull: Titanium dioxide
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      – TitleFull: Acid–Base Matching at Kaolin‐Regulated Interfaces for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol.
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              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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