Titanium and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Are Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Agents

Pluses and Minuses Because of their high surface area and tunable electronic structure, nanoparticles are of interest for next-generation photocatalysis and light-harvesting applications. Many of these applications involve electron transfer events at the particle surface after light absorption. Schrauben et al. (p. 1298 ) now show, through a series of radical trap kinetic studies, that proton transfer can concurrently accompany electron transfer at the solvent interfaces of two common nanoparticle formulations (oxides of titanium and of zinc). The results may help in the optimization of particle structure and energetics.