Baozhu Tian

Synthesis and characterization of thermally stable Sm,N co-doped TiO2 with highly visible light activity.

Samarium and nitrogen co-doped titania (Sm/N-TiO(2)) was successfully prepared via coprecipitation method. The resulting materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N(2) physical adsorption, UV-vis absorbance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Experimental results indicated that samarium doping inhibited the growth of crystalline size and the transformation from anatase to rutile phase. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated for degradation of salicylic acid under visible light irradiation. It was found that the Sm/N-TiO(2) samples presented much higher photocatalytic activity than N-TiO(2) and pure TiO(2) under visible light irradiation. This could be attributed to the appropriate crystallite size, more efficient separation of electrons and holes on Sm/N-TiO(2). In our experiments, the optimal dopant amount of samarium was 1.5% for the maximum photocatalytic degradation and the sample calcined at 400 degrees C showed the best reactivity.

Comparative studies of operational parameters of degradation of azo dyes in visible light by highly efficient WOx/TiO2 photocatalyst

The multidimensional aspects of the photocatalytic activity were investigated in a systematic way by employing the dyes Acid Orange 7 (AO7) and Methyl Orange (MO) as substrates in terms of their degradation or conversion rates. 4.0% WO(x)/TiO(2) nanocomposite demonstrated the best reactivity under visible light, allowing more efficient usage of solar light. The reduced form of W decreased the band gap and inhibited electron hole recombination efficiently. This composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). A series of experiments were conducted to investigate the operational parameters under visible light irradiation such as optimization of nanocomposites wt%, change of pH, reuse of catalyst and initial dye concentration. The kinetics of the dyes degradation was found to follow the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. Decomposition or mineralization was investigated with the changes of absorption spectra, pH, degradation efficiency and TOC removal in visible irradiation systems. FT-IR spectroscopy of these adsorbed dyes on WO(x)/TiO(2) powder provided an insight to the mode of its adsorption on WO(x)/TiO(2). It was found that the dye adsorbed on WO(x)/TiO(2) underwent a series of oxidation steps which lead to decolorization and formation of a number of intermediates mainly aromatic and aliphatic acids. These intermediates were quantified by GC/GC-MS.

Thermally stable SiO2-doped mesoporous anatase TiO2 with large surface area and excellent photocatalytic activity.

A thermally stable SiO(2)-doped mesoporous TiO(2) with high crystallinity was prepared by a templating method. The content of SiO(2) dopant was varied from 3% to 20%. The gels were characterized by TG-DTA analysis. And the resultant catalysts were investigated by various physicochemical techniques, such as WAXRD, Raman spectroscopy, N(2) adsorption-desorption, TEM, FT-IR, and XPS. The WAXRD, TEM, and Raman measurements suggest that the SiO(2) dopant can enhance the thermal stability of the anatase phase remarkably. Rutile phase did not present at all even at 1000 degrees C when the SiO(2) content was up to 15%. N(2) adsorption-desorption results show that the SiO(2)-doped samples have uniform pore diameters and large specific surface area, which is beneficial for photocatalytic reaction. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated by degradation of Rhodamin-6G solution under UV irradiation. The results show that the SiO(2)-doped mesoporous TiO(2) have better activity than commercial P25. Especially, the 15% SiO(2)-doped mesoporous TiO(2) exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than P25 in a large range of calcination temperatures, even at 900 degrees C. The excellent photocatalytic activity of the samples can be attributed to the high anatase crystallinity, large specific surface area, preserved surface hydroxyl groups and mesoporous channels.

A Brown Mesoporous TiO2‐x/MCF Composite with an Extremely High Quantum Yield of Solar Energy Photocatalysis for H2 Evolution

A brown mesoporous TiO2-x /MCF composite with a high fluorine dopant concentration (8.01 at%) is synthesized by a vacuum activation method. It exhibits an excellent solar absorption and a record-breaking quantum yield (Φ = 46%) and a high photon-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency (η = 34%,) for solar photocatalytic H2 production, which are all higher than that of the black hydrogen-doped TiO2 (Φ = 35%, η = 24%). The MCFs serve to improve the adsorption of F atoms onto the TiO2 /MCF composite surface, which after the formation of oxygen vacancies by vacuum activation, facilitate the abundant substitution of these vacancies with F atoms. The decrease of recombination sites induced by high-concentration F doping and the synergistic effect between lattice Ti(3+)-F and surface Ti(3+)-F are responsible for the enhanced lifetime of electrons, the observed excellent absorption of solar light, and the photocatalytic production of H2 for these catalysts. The as-prepared F-doped composite is an ideal solar light-driven photocatalyst with great potential for applications ranging from the remediation of environmental pollution to the harnessing of solar energy for H2 production.

Core–Shell Structural CdS@SnO2 Nanorods with Excellent Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity for the Selective Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol to Benzaldehyde

Core-shell structural CdS@SnO2 nanorods (NRs) were fabricated by synthesizing SnO2 nanoparticles with a solvent-assisted interfacial reaction and further anchoring them on the surface of CdS NRs under ultrasonic stirring. The morphology, composition, and microstructures of the obtained samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. It was found that SnO2 nanoparticles can be tightly anchored on the surface of CdS NRs, and the thickness of SnO2 shells can be conveniently adjusted by simply changing the addition amount of SnO2 quantum dots. UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum indicated that SnO2 shell layer also can enhance the visible light absorption of CdS NRs to a certain extent. The results of transient photocurrents and photoluminescence spectra revealed that the core-shell structure can effectively promote the separation rate of electron-hole pairs and prolong the lifetime of electrons. Compared with the single CdS NRs, the core-shell structural CdS@SnO2 exhibited a remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity for selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BA) to benzaldehyde (BAD) under visible light irradiation, attributed to the more efficient separation of electrons and holes, improved surface area, and enhanced visible light absorption of core-shell structure. The radical scavenging experiments proved that in acetonitrile solution, ·O2- and holes are the main reactive species responsible for BA to BAD transformation, and the lack of ·OH radicals is favorable to obtaining high reaction selectivity.

Highly-dispersed boron-doped graphene nanoribbons with enhanced conductibility and photocatalysis

Highly-dispersed boron-doped graphene nanoribbons (B-GNRs), prepared by a simple vacuum activation method, exhibit p-type semiconductor properties and provide many more zigzag- and armchair-edges to facilitate control of the bandgap. B-GNRs are used for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B in order to demonstrate their excellent conductivity and photocatalytic activity.

Microemulsion-mediated solvothermal synthesis and photocatalytic properties of crystalline titania with controllable phases of anatase and rutile

Titanium oxide with different ratios of anatase to rutile has been prepared by the microemulsion-mediated solvothermal method. The resulting samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. The contents of anatase and rutile in the TiO(2) particles have been successfully controlled by simply adjusting the amount of urea in the aqueous phase of the microemulsion. Both the degradation of Rhodamine B in aqueous solutions and mineralization of TOC revealed that the catalyst containing 47.6% anatase have presented the highest photocatalytic activity. A proposed mechanism is discussed to interpret the evolution of the phases based on the effect of different amount of urea.

Morphology-Controlled Synthesis and Applications of Silver Halide Photocatalytic Materials

Semiconductor photocatalysis is considered to be one of the most promising technologies to solve the worldwide environmental and energy issues. In recent years, silver halide (AgX)-based photocatalytic materials have received increasing research attention owing to its excellent visible light-driven photocatalytic performances in the applications of organic pollutant degradation, H2/O2 generation, and disinfection. AgX-based materials used in photocatalytic fields can be classified into three categories: AgX (Ag/AgX), AgX composites, and supported AgX materials. For the AgX (Ag/AgX) photocatalysts, it has been widely accepted that the final photocatalytic performances of photocatalysts are severely dependent on their morphological structures as well as exposed crystal facets. As a result, considerable efforts have been devoted to fabricating different morphological AgX photocatalysts as well as exploring the relationship between the morphological structures and photocatalytic performances. In this review, we mainly introduce the recent developments made in fabricating morphology and facet-controllable AgX (Ag/AgX) photocatalytic materials. Moreover, this review also deals with the photocatalytic mechanism and applications of AgX (Ag/AgX) and supported AgX materials.

A colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent probe for detection of palladium in the red light region

Developing probes for selective and sensitive detection of palladium in living organisms is of great importance. In this work, we synthesized a colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent probe (Probe 1) with red light emission (λem = 643 nm) by employing an isophorone based fluorescent dye as the fluorophore and an allylcarbamate group as the response unit. Based on the Pd0-triggered cleavage reaction, Probe 1 showed high response speed, selectivity, and sensitivity towards palladium species. Upon addition of palladium, the absorption and emission spectra of Probe 1 exhibited obvious red-shifts, which can be easily discriminated by the naked eye. In terms of palladium, the detection limit is as low as 24.2 nM and the signal-to-noise ratio in fluorescence intensity can reach 85-fold. As a red emitting ratiometric sensor, Probe 1 can be potentially used for quantitative detection of palladium in living organisms.

silver halide/silver iodide@silver composite with excellent visible light photocatalytic activity for methyl orange degradation

AgBr/AgI@Ag composite photocatalyst was prepared by a handy multistep route, including controllable double-jet precipitation to synthesize cubic AgBr microcrystals, ion exchange to form AgI on AgBr surface, and visible light reduction to generate Ag nanoparticles. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance and electrochemical impedance spectra demonstrated that AgBr/AgI composite structure not only favors forming more silver nanoparticles to harvest visible light but also facilitates the transfer of charge carriers when compared with pure AgBr. Beneficial from the synergistic effect of highly effective visible light harvest and electron-hole separation, AgBr/AgI@Ag shows higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) than AgBr, AgBr@Ag, and AgBr/AgBr.