Solar photoreactors comparison based on oxalic acid photocatalytic degradation

Solar heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of oxalic acid in water is carried out in four different solar photoreactors: a parabolic trough concentrator (PC), a tubular collector (TC), a compound parabolic collector (CPC), and a V-trough collector (VC). The reactors operate under equal conditions of solar irradiance, collection surface and fluid flow rate to ensure a better comparison between the systems. The effects of TiO₂ catalyst concentration and radiation incidence angle on the degradation are studied. Oxalic acid degrades without appreciable generation of intermediates, and a simple kinetic model is proposed to describe the process. There are differences in the degradation rates depending on the collector geometry. The CPC shows the best overall performance in terms of accumulated energy, followed closely by the VC. Incidence angle affects the total amount of energy collected but does not reduce very much the efficiency of the reactors to use this energy in the photocatalytic process.     

TiO2/CdS composite hollow spheres with controlled synthesis of platinum on the internal wall for the efficient hydrogen evolution

Solar driven semiconductor photocatalytic water splitting to produce hydrogen is an extremely charming process by storing photon energy in chemical bonds. In the present study, composite semiconductor TiO₂/CdS was structured into uniform and porous double-shelled hollow sphere with cocatalyst platinum selectively loaded onto the internal wall. The SEM, TEM, STEM, XRD, BET and EDS elemental distribution etc. were employed to evidence the formation of the targeted photocatalyst. It was demonstrated that the material has a high efficiency of visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution (296 μmol·h⁻¹/10 mg) with an apparent quantum efficiency (QE) of 14.5% at wavelength of 420 nm. Comparative experiment analysis and time-resolved infrared absorption study suggested that the high photocatalytic activity of the catalyst is attributed to the vectorial electron transfer (CdS → TiO₂ → Pt) and the spatial separation of reduction and oxidation active surfaces achieved by the special morphology.     

Enhanced hydrogen generation from methanol aqueous solutions over Pt/MoO3/TiO2 under ultraviolet light

The photocatalytic activity in hydrogen production from methanol reforming can be significantly enhanced by Pt/MoO₃/TiO₂ photocatalysts. Compared with Pt/P25, the photocatalytic activity of optimized Pt/MoO₃/TiO₂ shows an evolution rate of 169 μmol/h/g of hydrogen, which is almost two times higher than that of Pt/P25. XRD and Raman spectra show that MoO₃ are formed on the surface of TiO₂. It is found that with the bulk MoO₃ just formed, the catalyst shows the highest activity due to a large amount of heterojunctions and the high crystallinity of MoO₃. The HRTEM image showed a close contact between MoO₃ and TiO₂. It is proposed that the Z-scheme type of heterojunction between MoO₃ and TiO₂ is responsible for the improved photocatalytic activity. The heterojunction structure of MoO₃/TiO₂ does not only promote the charge separation, but also separates the reaction sites, where the oxidation (mainly on MoO₃) and reduction (on TiO₂) reactions occurred.     

Homogeneously distributed CdS nanoparticles in the sulphonated poly(ether ether ketone) membrane: preparation,characterisation and visible-light photocatalytic properties

Abstract

In this work, we have developed an ion exchange reaction to fabricate homogeneously distributed CdS nanoparticles with a size in the range of 20–120 nm in the sulphonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) membrane. The chemical composition of the composite membrane was characterised by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The as prepared SPEEK/CdS composite membrane exhibited a remarkable photocatalytic activity towards the photodegradation of rhodamine B under visible light irradiation at room temperature. This work presents a simple and versatile approach to prepare sulphide nanostructures on the surface of polymer membrane, providing a new opportunity for their applications in the photocatalytic reaction.     

Physicochemical properties and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of TiO2 films prepared by sol–gel processes

Anatase TiO₂ films were obtained on glass substrates using a sol–gel method using titanium isopropoxide as a precursor. The thickness of the film was about 140 nm for one coating, and the thickness is controlled by the number of coating cycles. The spectra of UV-VIS absorption indicated that the absorption edge of the TiO₂ films is ca. 385 nm, corresponding to the band gap energy of 3.20 eV. We obtained TiO₂ films having a high activity for the hydrogen evolution from photocatalytic water cleavage. By loading with 0.3 wt% Pt rate of hydrogen production increases. No influence of film thickness and calcination temperature on the photocatalytic property is observed.     

Photocatalytic performance of particulate semiconductors under natural sunshine—Oxidation of carboxylic acids

With natural sunlight, particulate TiO₂ (anatase), CuO, ZnO, Pb₂O₃, PbO₂ and Bi₂O₃ photomineralize oxalic acid and the mineralization depends linearly on the acid concentration and the surface area of the catalyst bed. Oxygen is essential for mineralization and the metal oxides show sustainable photocatalysis. While oxalic acid is effectively mineralized, the oxalate ion is not so. Pre-sonication fails to enhance the photocatalytic efficiencies and the system does not respond to application of a potential bias for enhancement of photocatalysis. The photocatalytic performance is of the order ZnO>CuOTiO₂Bi₂O₃Pb₂O₃>PbO₂ and the ease of degradation is formic acid>oxalic acid>acetic acid>citric acid.     

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.     

Oxidation of NO in gas phase by Au–TiO2 photocatalysts prepared by the sol–gel method

This work describes an innovative nanosemiconductor system, based on Au–TiO₂ for UV photo-assisted oxidation of nitrogen monoxide (NO). The synthesis of these materials was carried out by the sol–gel method. Titanium(IV) isopropoxide and HAuCl₄ were the precursors of the photocatalyst, which was prepared in acid conditions. The catalysts were characterized by the following techniques: BET, XRD, UV–vis and dark-field TEM. The evaluation of the photocatalytic activity was performed in situ using an FTIR spectrometer with high sensitivity and a UV spectrometer (365 nm) after 60 min at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The NO + O₂ mixture concentration was 150 ppm. The photocatalytic conversion of nitrogen monoxide (NO) was studied by FTIR, which reached 85% in 60 min. The semiconductor type materials exhibited an enhanced photoactivity when compared with our reference TiO₂.     

Flower-like superstructure of boron carbon nitride nanosheets with adjustable band gaps for photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production

The self-assembly of two-dimensional(2D)semiconductor nanosheets into three-dimensional(3D)or-dered superstructures represents an ingenious way to avoid aggregation,expose massive available active sites and benefit the mass transfer,which maximizes the advantages of the 2D nanostructures in photo-catalysis.Herein,a flower-like superstructure of ternary semiconducting boron carbon nitride nanosheets(FS-BCNNSs)was synthesized through the morphology-preserved thermal transformation of a flower-like superstructure of boron-containing metal-organic framework nanosheets(FS-MOFNSs).Taking advantage of this functional superstructure,FS-BCNNSs was employed for the pioneering application in the field of photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide(H202)production and exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance,yielding an impressive rate of 1415.9 μmol g-1 h-1 for the production of H202.The results of this work offer not just a promising catalyst for photocatalytic H202 production but also a facile strategy to fabri-cate unique superstructures constructed from 2D nanosheets for catalysis,energy conversion,and other related fields.     

CuInS2 quantum-dot-modified g-C3N4 S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst for hydrogen production and tetracycline degradation

CulnS2 quantum-dot(CIS QD)-modified g-C3N4(CN)catalysts(CIS/CN)were prepared with the aid of an in-situ growth process.The as-obtained photocatalysts were explored by measuring their crystallinity,surface morphology,binding energy and light absorption activity.The photocatalytic efficiency of the pho-tocatalysts was evaluated through photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production and tetracycline(TC)antibiotic degradation under the simulated solar light and visible light respectively.The optimized sample(10CIS/CN)showed the best photocatalytic activity:producing 102.4 μmol g-1 h-1 of hydrogen in 1 h,or degrading 52.16％of TC in 120 min,which were respectively 48 or 3.4 times higher than the photocatalytic activity of CN itself.The enhancement in the efficiency of the composite system was prin-cipally accredited to the enlargement of light absorption,the more effective in charge transfer and the dropping of the charge carrier pair recombination through a formed S-scheme heterojunctional interface.This work is an effort to adjust CN-based polysulfide QD for speedy photocatalysis.The enriched photo-catalytic activity grants a new sense for adjusting the optical properties of CN.