Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of BiOCl/diatomite composite photocatalysts: Natural porous diatomite as photocatalyst support and dominant facets regulator

BiOCl/diatomite composite with enhanced photocatalytic property for the degradation of liquid Tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) and gaseous formaldehyde (HCHO) were successfully prepared by a facile hydrothermal method at different pH value. The structure and morphology characterizations of BiOCl/diatomite composite exhibit that diatomite not only acts as a natural porous support of photocatalyst but also acts as dominant facets regulator at pH = 3 when the doping amount is change, owing to the surface electrical property of the diatomite and interaction between diatomite and BiOCl. This interaction is certified by XPS and FT-IR which indicate that Bi in layer structure of [Bi₂O₂]²⁺ group interacts with the O in SiOSi bond when the formation of BiOCl with the participation of diatomite. The BET characterization confirms that the increasing amount of diatomite enables the composite with more reaction points for light harvest and molecule adsorption than pure BiOCl. Furthermore, TC and formaldehyde are targeted as degradation objects to test the photocatalytic property of BiOCl/diatomite composite. The optimum photocatalytic property are BiOCl(3–1.2) and BiOCl(12–0.6) at TC degradation and BiOCl(3–0.3) and BiOCl(12–0.6) at formaldehyde elimination, which is much better than that of pure diatomite or BiOCl. The difference of optimum photocatalysts in liquid and gaseous phase systems can be attributed to the photoelectric performances of BiOCl/diatomite composite, which were characterized by DRS, PL, transient photocurrents and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique.     

Co掺杂ZnGa_2O_4的制备及其光催化性能

以ZnCl2、Ga(NO3)3·xH2O、CoCl2·6H2O为原料,采用水热法制备了立方晶型的Zn1-xCoxGa2O4光催化剂,用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、紫外漫反射(UV-Vis)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等测试手段对催化剂进行了表征,结果表明,Co成功地掺入到ZnGa2O4晶格内,Co的掺入能够影响催化剂的形貌,缩小催化剂的禁带宽度。光催化降解罗丹明B溶液实验结果表明,Co的掺入提高了催化剂的催化活性,掺入量为x=0.010的Zn1-xCoxGa2O4具有最佳的光催化性能,同时Zn1-xCoxGa2O4样品对罗丹明B溶液的光催化降解反应符合伪一级反应动力学规律。并对Co掺入后光催化活性提高的机理进行了讨论。     

All-solid-state Z-scheme plasmonic Si@Au nanoparticles on CuBi2O4/BiVO4 for efficient photocatalytic activity

Development of plasmon-mediated catalysis emerged as an attractive alternative to propel chemical reactions. Novel plasmonic material in the form of Si@Au as core@shell nanostructure was experimentally synthesized with good colloidal stability. The Si@Au showed broad tunable light absorption spectra which benefits an effective light harvesting. The observed gold nanoparticles have narrow particle size distribution of 5 nm with lattice fringe of 1.23 Å corresponding to {3 1 1} gold lattice spacing. Whereas the silicon nanoparticles emitted photoluminescence under ultraviolet light irradiation, indicating successful alteration towards direct bandgap by quantum confinement effect in zero-dimensional structure. The Si@Au nanostructures were confirmed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction, with the obtained localized surface plasmon resonance spectrum conformed to the simulated pattern corresponding to core@shell structure with a 5 nm-thin-shell Au layer. The vanishing photoluminescence in Si@Au nanostructure suggested suppression of the charge recombination, meaning that photogenerated charge carrier could be preferably used for photocatalytic reactions. The presence of novel Si@Au did not only show broad absorption spectra which is useful for effective light harvesting, but also acted as solid-state mediator driving the photocarrier transfer mode into Z-scheme system. As the result, an enhanced phenol degradation can be achieved, as indicated by 95% phenol degradation under visible light irradiation within 3 h.     

The effect of sputtering power on the structure and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 films prepared by magnetron sputtering

TiO₂ films were fabricated by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering. The effect of the sputtering power on the film structures, morphologies, and properties was investigated in detail. It is found that the concentration of oxygen impurities increased with increasing sputtering power accompanied by the bandgap (E_g) narrowing and broadening of photoluminescence (PL) peaks. The oxygen impurities were found to mainly play the role of recombination centers, leading to the decrease of photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, the photoconductivity to dark conductivity ratio could be used to evaluate and even predict photocatalytic activity to some extent.     

Preparation of Z-scheme Au-Ag2S/Bi2O3 composite by selective deposition method and its improved photocatalytic degradation and reduction activity

In this work, Z-scheme Ag₂S/Bi₂O₃ composites were fabricated through the precipitation of Ag₂S nanoplates on the surface of Bi₂O₃ microrods. Consequently, Au nanoparticles were selectively deposited on the Ag₂S nanoplates surface to obtain.Au-Ag₂S/Bi₂O₃ composites using near-infrared light photodeposition method. The characterization results indicate that the Ag₂S nanoplates were uniformly anchored on Bi₂O₃ surface, and Au nanoparticles were highly dispersed on the surface of Ag₂S nanoplate instead of Bi₂O₃. Acid orange 7 (AO7), Rhodamine B (RhB) and Cr(VI) were chosen as model reactant for the evaluation of photocatalytic degradation and reduction activity of the products under simulated sunlight irradiation. After the decoration of Ag₂S nanoplates, the photocatalytic activity of Ag₂S/Bi₂O₃ is much higher than that of bare Bi₂O₃, and the optimal catalytic efficiency is achieved by 12 %Ag₂S/Bi₂O₃ sample. More importantly, the photocatalytic activity of 12 %Ag₂S/Bi₂O₃ sample can be further enhanced by the selective decoration Au nanoparticles on the Ag₂S nanoplates. Among the ternary composites, 2Au-12 %Ag₂S/Bi₂O₃ sample with the Au content of 2% exhibits highest catalytic efficiency for 60 min (AO7: 96%; RhB: 56%; Cr(VI): 65%). The possible mechanism for the improvement of the photocatalytic activity of Bi₂O₃ by Ag₂S and Au decoration was proposed.     

石墨烯/金属有机物框架复合材料光催化性能研究

采用还原氧化石墨烯（RGO）和铜基金属有机物框架材料（Cu-BTC）同时对TiO₂进行改性,显著提升其光活性。通过SEM观察复合光催化剂材料的形态,并采用罗丹明-B作为模拟污染物对复合物的可见光催化性能进行估计。进一步通过分析光生电子寿命和电子顺磁共振谱,揭示复合物中RGO和Cu-BTC的作用及光催化机理。最后通过优化各组分的质量分数实现协同作用,在紫外光和可见光照射条件下,罗丹明-B的降解率常数分别达到1.44×10⁻¹和9.2×10⁻² min⁻¹。此外,复合光催化剂具有良好的循环使用稳定性。

     

云母负载TiO2/BiVO4复合光催化材料的制备及光催化性能研究

以云母作为载体,通过液相沉淀法,获得了云母负载TiO2/BiVO4复合光催化材料.紫外可见漫反射测试表明,该材料在紫外光区和可见光区均具有较强的吸收性能.以罗丹明B作为光催化降解物,研究了云母负载TiO2/BiVO4复合光催化材料的光催化性能.结果表明:该材料对罗丹明B染料溶液具有明显的降解作用,循环使用3次,仍能保持良好的催化活性.     

石墨烯-CuO/TiO_2复合催化剂的合成及光催化制氢活性

采用溶剂热法合成了石墨烯-CuO/TiO_2复合催化剂,通过扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、紫外-可见漫反射(DRS)表征复合催化剂的微观形貌、结构和光学特性。以H_2PtCl_6为无机前驱体对其进行Pt负载,研究了不同石墨烯负载量对制氢活性的影响及太阳光下的制氢活性。结果表明,石墨烯负载量为0.5%(质量分数)时,复合催化剂制氢活性最高,石墨烯和CuO协同作用提高了TiO_2对可见光的利用及光催化分解C_2H_5OH/H_2O制氢活性。在可见光下照射5h后,样品的产氢量达到1 083.54μmol,太阳光光照5h后产氢量(4 374.51μmol)为P25(1598.25μmol)的2.74倍。     

Novel magnetically separable g-C3N4/Fe3O4/Ag3PO4/Co3O4 nanocomposites: Visible-light-driven photocatalysts with highly enhanced activity

In this study, a series of novel quaternary g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/Ag₃PO₄/Co₃O₄ nanocomposites were fabricated. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, TEM, UV-DRS, FT-IR, PL, TG, and VSM methods to gain insight about structure, purity, morphology, optical, thermal, and magnetic properties. Photocatalytic activity of the samples was investigated under visible-light irradiation by degradations of rhodamine B, methylene blue, methyl orange, and phenol as four organic pollutants. The highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency was observed when the sample calcined at 300 °C for 2 h with 20 wt% of Co₃O₄. The photocatalytic activity of this nanocomposite is almost 16.8, 15.7, 4.6, and 5.1 times higher than those of the g-C₃N₄, g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄, g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/Ag₃PO₄ (20%), and g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/Co₃O₄ (20%) samples in photodegradation of rhodamine B, respectively. Finally, on the basis of the energy band positions, the mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity was discussed.     

High performance magnetically recoverable g-C3N4/Fe3O4/Ag/Ag2SO3 plasmonic photocatalyst for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of water pollutants

The g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/Ag/Ag₂SO₃ nanocomposites have been successfully fabricated by facile refluxing method. The as-obtained products were characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, TEM, UV–vis DRS, FT–IR, TGA, PL, and VSM techniques. The results suggest that the Ag/Ag₂SO₃ nanoparticles have anchored on the surface of g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite, showing strong absorption in the visible region. The evaluation of photocatalytic activity indicates that for the g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/Ag/Ag₂SO₃ (40%) nanocomposite, the degradation rate constant was 188 × 10^?4 min^?1 for rhodamine B, exceeding those of the g-C₃N₄ (16.0 × 10^?4 min^?1) and g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄ (20.2 × 10^?4 min^?1) by factors of 11.7 and 9.3, respectively. The results showed that the nanocomposite prepared by refluxing for 120 min has the superior photocatalytic activity and its activity decreased with rising the calcination temperature. The trapping experiments confirmed that superoxide ion radical was the main active species in the photocatalytic degradation process. Also, it was demonstrated that the magnetic photocatalyst has considerable activity in degradation of one more dye pollutant. Finally, the reusability of the photocatalyst was evaluated by five consecutive catalytic runs. This work may open up new insights into the utilization of magnetically separable nanocomposites and provide new opportunities for facile fabrication of g-C₃N₄-based plasmonic photocatalysts.     

Deposition of CuWO4 nanoparticles over g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposite: Novel magnetic photocatalysts with drastically enhanced performance under visible-light

Novel g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/CuWO₄ nanocomposites, as magnetic visible-light-driven photocatalysts, fabricated through a simple refluxing-calcination process. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by a series of techniques including XRD, EDX, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, FT-IR, TGA, BET, UV–vis DRS, PL, and VSM. The results showed that heterojunctions are formed between g-C₃N₄, Fe₃O₄, and CuWO₄, which favor suppression of the photogenerated electron/hole pairs from recombination. The resultant g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/CuWO₄ (30%) sample exhibited superior photocatalytic performance. The degradation rate constants on the g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/CuWO₄ (30%) nanocomposite were almost 10.5, 17, 12.5, and 42.5 times higher than those of the pristine g-C₃N₄ for degradations of RhB, MB, MO, and fuchsine, respectively. Moreover, the photocatalyst was magnetically separated and recycled with negligible loss in the activity, which is important for the sustainable photocatalytic processes. Thus, the ternary nanocomposite could have potential applications in different photocatalytic processes.     

Fabrication of highly efficient g-C3N4/ZnO/Fe2O3 ternary composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - The development of an efficient and photostable heterostructured photocatalyst has attracted a great deal of attention for the degradation...     

Novel ternary g-C3N4/Fe3O4/MnWO4 nanocomposites: Synthesis,characterization, and visible-light photocatalytic performance for environmental purposes

The g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/MnWO₄ nanocomposites were prepared by a refluxing-calcination procedure. Visible-light-induced photocatalytic experiments showed that the g-C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/MnWO₄ (10%) nanocomposite has excellent ability to degrade a range of contaminants including rhodamine B, methylene blue, methyl orange, and fuchsine, which is about 7, 10, 25, and 31 times of the g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst, respectively. Reactive species trapping experiments revealed that superoxide anion radicals play major role in the photodegradation reaction of rhodamine B (RhB). After the treatment process, the utilized photocatalyst was magnetically recovered and reused with negligible loss in the photocatalytic activity, which is vital in the photocatalytic processes. Finally, a mechanism was proposed for the enhanced interfacial carrier separation and transfer and the improved photocatalytic performance.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic performance of novel CdS quantum dots sensitized Bi2WO6 photocatalysts

Novel quantum dots sensitized CdS-Bi₂WO₆ composite photocatalysts were synthesized to improve the visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The photocatalytic activities of QDs sensitized CdS-Bi₂WO₆ samples were investigated based on the decomposition of methyl orange under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The DRS results revealed that CdS-Bi₂WO₆ samples have a red shift and stronger absorption in the visible light region. After being sensitized by quantum dots CdS, the Bi₂WO₆ samples showed the high efficiency for the degradation of methyl orange. This study may provide an approach to treatment of organic pollutants by using visible light.     

Ce掺杂TiO2/SiO2的制备及其光催化降解罗丹明B

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了纯TiO2和掺杂不同含量Ce的TiO2/SiO2复合纳米粒子.并用FT-IR,UV-Vis对样品结构进行了表征,并以罗丹明B(RB)的光催化降解为探针反应,评价了其光催化性能.结果表明,TiO2/SiO2催化剂中形成了新的Ti-O-Si键,Ce的掺杂使TiC2/SiO2光谱响应范围向可见光区拓展.与未掺杂的TiO2/SiO2相比较,掺杂的TiO2/SiO2具有更高的催化性能.Ce掺杂的最佳值为x(Ce)∶x(Ti)=0.0090,光催化剂最佳投放量为30mg.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of N-doped TiO2/ZrO2 visible-light photocatalysts

Visible-light responsive N-doped ZrO₂/TiO₂ photocatalysts were synthesized via a sol–gel process. To obtain the optimum nitrogen doping content and operational conditions for photodegradation of NO, several key factors (including nitrogen doping, initial NO concentration, light intensity, reactor temperature, etc.) were investigated under both UV and visible light irradiation. Physical characterization of the photocatalysts was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The observed results suggest that nitrogen was doped in the lattice of TiO₂ and had an effect on the translation of phase, photodegradation activity, and visible-light response. Among synthesized photocatalysts, 0.1 M Zr and 0.15 M N supported on TiO₂ exhibited the best visible-light response and the highest NO photodegradation activity.     

Nanosized BiVO4 with high visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity: Ultrasonic-assisted synthesis and protective effect of surfactant

Nanosized BiVO₄ with high visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity was successfully synthesized via ultrasonic-assisted method with polyethylene glycol (PEG). The BiVO₄ sample prepared under ultrasonic irradiation with 1 g PEG for 30 min was consisted of small nanoparticles with the size of ca. 60 nm. The effects of ultrasonic irradiation and surfactant were investigated. The nanosized BiVO₄ exhibited excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic efficiency for degrading organic dye, which was increased to nearly 12 times than that of the products prepared by traditional solid-state reaction. Besides decoloring, the reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration was also observed in the degradation of organic dye, further demonstrating the photocatalytic performance of BiVO₄. After five recycles, the catalyst did not exhibit any significant loss of photocatalytic activity, confirming the photocatalyst is essentially stable. Close investigation revealed that the crystal size, BET surface area, and appropriate band gap of the as-prepared BiVO₄ could improve the photocatalytic activities.     

Synthesis of Ag@TiO2/NiFe2O4 ternary nanostructures and evaluation of their photocatalytic activities

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - Synthesis and characterization of novel and ternary photocatalysts Ag@TiO2/NiFe2O4 for the three potential applications, such as...     

Ultrasonic-assisted synthesis and solar photoactivity investigation of Ce,B co-modified TiO2 nanoparticles

In this study, Ce and B co-modified TiO₂ nanoparticles were prepared using an ultrasonic-assisted sol–gel method. The prepared sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and BET analysis. In order to detect the effect of dopants on the titania, the photocatalytic activity of these as-prepared titania nanoparticles was determined by following the degradation of the reactive dye methylene blue under solar light irradiation. The activity was compared to that of pure titania. It was revealed that the photocatalytic activity of the Ce and B co-modified titania nanoparticles produced a significant enhancement compared to pure titania. The apparent rate constant of the as-prepared co-modified titania was 3 times higher than that of pure titania.     

Preparation and visible-light photocatalytic activity of In2S3/TiO2 composite

A novel In₂S₃/TiO₂ composite with visible-light photocatalytic activity was prepared by a chemical precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Under both UV- and visible-light irradiation, the In₂S₃/TiO₂ composite shows good photocatalytic activity to degrade methyl orange, ascribed to the absorption of visible light by In₂S₃ sensitizer and enhanced separation of photoinduced electron–hole pairs in the composite semiconductors.