Hao Yong Yin

Photocatalytic activities of Mo-doped Bi2WO6 three-dimensional hierarchical microspheres

The Mo-doped Bi(2)WO(6) three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical microspheres from nanoplates have been synthesized by a hydrothermal route. The products were characterized in detail by multiform techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-vis absorption spectrum. The results of the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine-B (RhB) in aqueous solution showed that molybdenum ions doping greatly improved the photocatalytic efficiency of Bi(2)WO(6) 3D hierarchical microspheres. The Mo-doped Bi(2)WO(6) microspheres with atomic ratio of Mo-W of 0.05 had the best activity in photodegradation of RhB in aqueous solution under 500 W Xe lamp light irradiation.

Au nanoparticle modified carbon paper electrode for an electrocatalytic oxidation nitrite sensor

In this article, the direct electrochemical behavior of nitrite at a Au nanoparticles (AuNPs)/carbon paper (CP) electrode made using a rapid electrochemical deposition method was investigated. The morphology of the AuNPs on the CP surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The existence of the Au element was verified by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The crystal structure of the AuNPs was verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was applied to evaluate the electrochemical behavior of nitrite oxidation. Under the optimum conditions, the AuNPs/CP electrode exhibited a very strong response to nitrite; the oxidation peak current linearly increased with increasing nitrite in the ranges of 1 μM to 30 μM and 40 μM to 100 μM with correlation coefficients of 0.99883 and 0.99789, and a low detection limit of 0.093 μM. The suggested sensor demonstrated high sensitivity, good reproducibility and good recovery.

The solvothermal synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic activity of Zn2+ doped BiOBr hierarchical nanostructures

Novel, visible light-induced, Zn-doped BiOBr hierarchical nanostructures were successfully prepared by solvothermal methods. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated using RhB as the target pollutant. The Zn-doped BiOBr hierarchical nanostructures exhibited significantly enhanced visible light-induced photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of RhB compared with pure BiOBr. The Zn-doped BiOBr with RZn = 0.1 (RZn is defined as the atomic ratio of Zn to Bi) showed the highest photocatalytic activity with decolorization efficiency of almost 100% after 15 min. The enhanced photocatalytic ability could be attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Moreover, the role of the active species was also evaluated by adding different scavengers during the photodegradation of RhB. A possible mechanism for the enhancement of visible light performance of Zn-doped BiOBr photocatalysts was also proposed on basis of the experimental results.

Rapid, simple and low-cost fabrication of BiOBr ultrathin nanocrystals with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

BiOBr ultrathin nanocrystals were prepared by a rapid, simple and low-cost route, and characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses. The size of the resulting BiOBr ultrathin nanocrystals is about 60–100 nm in width and 15–20 nm in thickness. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated in terms of the degradation of RhB. Compared with BiOBr three-dimensional microspheres and P25-TiO2, the BiOBr ultrathin nanocrystals exhibited the best visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity.

Electrochemical formation and characterisation of poly(3-methylthiophene)/WO3 nanocomposite films

Stable poly(3-methylthiophene)/WO3 (PMeT/WO3) nanocomposite films have been prepared by a two-step electrochemical method. At first the WO3 film was grown by a potentiostatic method in tungsten electrolytes, and then PMeT was deposited on the WO3 film by a potentiodynamic polymerisation method in 2 M solutions of 3-methylthiophene in 1-butyl-3-metyllimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM]PF6). The products are characterised in detail by multiform techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopies (FTIR). The obtained PMeT/WO3 film displays a significant enhancement of electrochemical activity and a higher stability than that of pure PMeT films.

Electrodeposition of Poly(3-Chlorothiophene) Film on WO3 Surfaces in an Ionic Liquid

Poly(3-chlorothiophene) (PCT) was electrochemically polymerized on the surface of tungsten oxide (WO3) in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-metyllimidazolium hexafluorophosphate by a potentiodynamic method. The PCT/WO3 films were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Cyclic voltammetric experiment results showed that the electrochemical activity of the PCT/WO3 composite film was significantly improved due to the contribution of unique structure and interactions between PCT and WO3.