Scientists fit two co-catalysts on one nanosheet for better water purification

A collaboration of scientists from the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory—Yale University, and Arizona State University has designed and tested a new two-dimensional (2-D) catalyst that can be used to improve water purification using hydrogen peroxide. While water treatment with hydrogen peroxide is environmentally friendly, the two-part chemical process that drives it is not very efficient. So far, scientists have struggled to improve the efficiency of the process through catalysis because each part of the reaction needs its own catalyst—called a co-catalyst—and the co-catalysts can't be next to each other.