Zhishun Wei

Enhanced photocatalytic, electrochemical and photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanotubes arrays modified with Cu, AgCu and Bi nanoparticles obtained via radiolytic reduction

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Noble metal-modified octahedral anatase titania particles with enhanced activity for decomposition of chemical and microbiological pollutants

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The effect of anatase and rutile crystallites isolated from titania P25 photocatalyst on growth of selected mould fungi

Antifungal properties of anatase and rutile crystallites isolated from commercial titania P25 photocatalyst were investigated by mycelium growth in the dark and under indoor light. Investigated fungi, i.e., Pseudallescheria boydii, Scedosporium apiospermum, Pseudallescheria ellipsoidea, Scedosporium aurantiacum, Aspergillus versicolor, Aspergillus flavus, Stachybotrys chartarum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus melleus, were isolated from air and from moisture condensed on walls. Anatase and rutile were isolated from homogenized P25 (homo-P25) by chemical dissolution, and then purified by washing and thermal treatment. For comparison, homo-P25 was also thermally treated at 200 °C and 500 °C. Titania samples were characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). It was found that properties of titania, i.e., band-gap energy, impurities adsorbed on the surface, nanoparticle aggregation, and kind of fungal structure, highly influenced resultant antifungal activities. It is proposed that some fungi could uptake necessary water and nutrient from titania surface. It was also found that even when differences in mycelium growth were not significant, the sporulation and mycotoxin generation were highly inhibited by light and presence of titania.

Influence of Post-Treatment Operations on Structural Properties and Photocatalytic Activity of Octahedral Anatase Titania Particles Prepared by an Ultrasonication-Hydrothermal Reaction

The influence of changes in structural and physical properties on the photocatalytic activity of octahedral anatase particles (OAPs), exposing eight equivalent {101} facets, caused by calcination (2 h) in air or grinding (1 h) in an agate mortar was studied with samples prepared by ultrasonication (US; 1 h)–hydrothermal reaction (HT; 24 h, 433 K). Calcination in air at temperatures up to 1173 K induced particle shape changes, evaluated by aspect ratio (AR; d001/d101 = depth vertical to anatase {001} and {101} facets estimated by the Scherrer equation with data obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns) and content of OAP and semi-OAP particles, without transformation into rutile. AR and OAP content, as well as specific surface area (SSA), were almost unchanged by calcination at temperatures up to 673 K and were then decreased by elevating the calcination temperature, suggesting that calcination at a higher temperature caused dull-edging and particle sintering, the latter also being supported by the analysis of particle size using XRD patterns and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images. Time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) showed that the maximum signal intensity (Imax), corresponding to a product of charge-carrier density and mobility, and signal-decay rate, presumably corresponding to reactivity of charge carriers, were increased with increase in AR, suggesting higher photocatalytic activity of OAPs than that of dull-edged particles. Grinding also decreased the AR, indicating the formation of dull-edged particles. The original non-treated samples showed activities in the oxidative decomposition of acetic acid (CO2 system) and dehydrogenation of methanol (H2 system) comparable to and lower than those of a commercial anatase titania (Showa Denko Ceramics FP-6), respectively. The activities of calcined and ground samples for the CO2 system and H2 system showed almost linear relations with AR and Imax, respectively, suggesting that those activities may depend on different properties.

Silver- and copper-modified decahedral anatase titania particles as visible light-responsive plasmonic photocatalyst

Abstract. Decahedral anatase particles (DAPs) with eight equivalent (101) facets and two (001) facets were prepared by the gas-phase process. Monometallic and bimetallic photocatalysts were prepared by photodeposition of silver and copper on DAP. It was found that the method of metal deposition (sequential/simultaneous) is crucial for resultant properties and thus for photocatalytic performance. The fastest hydrogen evolution during metal deposition was observed for copper deposited on premodified DAP with silver (DAP/Ag/Cu), probably due to partial coverage of silver with fine clusters of Cu and thus facilitation of proton adsorption and reduction on well-dispersed Cu nanoclusters. Although DAP/Ag/Cu exhibited the fastest rate of hydrogen evolution, single-modified DAP with silver exhibited the best performance for oxidative decomposition of organic compounds under vis irradiation.

Noble metal-modified faceted anatase titania photocatalysts: Octahedron versus decahedron

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Noble metal-modified titania with visible-light activity for the decomposition of microorganisms

Commercial titania photocatalysts were modified with silver and gold by photodeposition, and characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). It was found that silver co-existed in zero valent (core) and oxidized (shell) forms, whereas gold was mainly zero valent. The obtained noble metal-modified samples were examined with regard to antibacterial (Escherichia coli (E. coli)) and antifungal (Aspergillus niger (A. niger), Aspergillus melleus (A. melleus), Penicillium chrysogenum (P. chrysogenum), Candida albicans (C. albicans)) activity under visible-light irradiation and in the dark using disk diffusion, suspension, colony growth (“poisoned food”) and sporulation methods. It was found that silver-modified titania, besides remarkably high antibacterial activity (inhibition of bacterial proliferation), could also decompose bacterial cells under visible-light irradiation, possibly due to an enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species and the intrinsic properties of silver. Gold-modified samples were almost inactive against bacteria in the dark, whereas significant bactericidal effect under visible-light irradiation suggested that the mechanism of bacteria inactivation was initiated by plasmonic excitation of titania by localized surface plasmon resonance of gold. The antifungal activity tests showed efficient suppression of mycelium growth by bare titania, and suppression of mycotoxin generation and sporulation by gold-modified titania. Although, the growth of fungi was hardly inhibited through disc diffusion (inhibition zones around discs), it indicates that gold does not penetrate into the media, and thus, a good stability of plasmonic photocatalysts has been confirmed. In summary, it was found that silver-modified titania showed superior antibacterial activity, whereas gold-modified samples were very active against fungi, suggesting that bimetallic photocatalysts containing both gold and silver should exhibit excellent antimicrobial properties.

Silver-modified octahedral anatase particles as plasmonic photocatalyst

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Mono- and Dual-modified Titania with a Ruthenium(II) Complex and Silver Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Compounds

Abstract Ruthenium(II) complex with the phosphonate anchoring groups of [Ru(tbbpy)2(4,4′-(CH2PO3H2)2bpy)]2+ (RuIICP2, tbbpy= 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine) and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were used as single or comodifiers on titania surface. For the dual modified titania, two deposition sequences were applied to obtain Ag/RuIICP2 and RuIICP2/Ag, in which at first ruthenium(II) or silver was deposited on titania, respectively. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the existence of modifiers, and the effect of ruthenium(II) on the properties of Ag NPs regarding their crystallite sizes and oxidation states distributions. Photocatalytic activities of the modified titania were investigated for oxidative decomposition of acetic acid and 2-propanol, and anaerobic dehydrogenation of methanol. Under UV/Vis irradiation for the methanol dehydrogenation, co-modified titania of Ag/RuIICP2 showed the best activity, while for acetic acid degradation, singly modified titania with silver showed the highest activity. In contrary, under visible light irradiation, singly fabricated titania with ruthenium(II) complex possessed the highest photocatalytic performance for 2-propanol oxidation. For all the three tested photocatalytic degradation reactions, Ag/RuIICP2 exhibited better photocatalytic activities than RuIICP2/Ag, indicating the different properties caused by opposite deposition sequences, e.g., DRS indicated the smaller sizes of metal NPs and XPS suggested the binding of ruthenium(II) to Ag NPs for RuIICP2/Ag, which in consequence influenced the overall photocatalytic outcome.