A full-sunlight-driven photocatalyst with super long-persistent energy storage ability

A major drawback of traditional photocatalysts like TiO 2 is that they can only work under illumination and the light has to be UV. As a solution for this limitation, visible-light-driven energy storage photocatalysts have been developed in recent years. However, energy storage photocatalysts that are full-sunlight-driven (UV-visible-NIR) and possess long-lasting energy storage ability are lacking. Here we report, a Pt-loaded and hydrogen-treated WO 3 that exhibits a strong absorption at full-sunlight spectrum (300–1,000 nm) and with a super-long energy storage time of more than 300 h to have formaldehyde degraded in dark. In this new material system, the hydrogen treated WO 3 functions as the light harvesting material and energy storage material simultaneously, while Pt mainly acts as the cocatalyst to have the energy storage effect displayed. The extraordinary full-spectrum absorption effect and long persistent energy storage ability make the material a potential solar-energy storage and an effective photocatalyst in practice.