Zhongzi Xu

Graphene strongly wrapped TiO2 for high-reactive photocatalyst: A new sight for significant application of graphene

A new idea was employed to simultaneously reduce graphene oxide (GO) and wrap it on the surface of high-reactive anatase TiO2 for fabricating novel TiO2-graphene (GP) hybrid materials. The process was based on the surface negatively charged property of GO. With the introduction of strong chemical interaction between TiO2 and GP, the GP wrapped TiO2 gives a strong red-shift of the light absorption edge and a further narrowed bandgap compared to that of GP randomly supported TiO2. This structure can also significantly enhance the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. Furthermore, in contrast to the normal anatase TiO2, as-prepared TiO2 is dominated with the high-reactive {001} facet. The superiority of the formed core-shell structure is confirmed by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) under the xenon lamp and visible light irradiation. New photocatalytic mechanisms are also proposed based on the obtained results. This work may open a new doorway for new significant application of GP to prepare more GP-based high-reactive photocatalysts for environmental protection.

Controlled synthesis of NaYF4 nanoparticles and upconversion properties of NaYF4:Yb, Er (Tm)/FC transparent nanocomposite thin films.

Monodisperse oleic acid stabilized pure NaYF(4) nanoparticles with controlled size and shape have been successfully synthesized by changing the initial reaction temperature. Transparent nanocomposite thin films consisting of NaYF(4):Yb, Er (Tm) upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) and fluorocarbon resin (FC) are deposited on the slide glass by dip-coating method. The results show that these nanocomposite thin films exhibit intense green and blue upconversion photoluminescence under 980 nm laser excitation and higher transparency than blank substrate. The NaYF(4):Yb,Er (Tm) nanoparticles and NaYF(4):Yb,Er (Tm)/FC nanocomposite thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), SEM/back-scattered electron (BSE), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-Vis spectrophotometer (UVPC), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. These nanocomposite thin films can be potentially used in solar cells field.

Heat treatment temperature effect on the microstructure and optical properties of Dy2(WO4)3 powders

Dy2(WO4)3 powders were synthesized through liquid-phase reaction. The structure transformation of Dy2(WO4)3 powders were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The optical absorption and photoluminescence properties were characterized by UV-vis-infra diffuse reflectance spectra and fluorescence spectra. The Dy2(WO4)3 host could absorb deep UV light and transfer the energy of UV light to Dy3+ ions, which convert the high-energy UV light to blue light (482 nm, 4F9/2→6H15/2) and yellow light (547 nm, 4F9/2→6H13/2). The Dy2(WO4)3 powders could also absorb near UV light and exhibit blue and yellow emissions near 482 and 547 nm, respectively. Heat treating promoted the crystallization and regulated the micro-structure of Dy2(WO4)3 hosts. The bands of W-Od anti-symmetric stretching vibration exhibited red shift with the increasing of sintering temperature. The W-Ob-W groups tended to combine with each other to form W-Oc-W groups after heat treating. These regulation of micro-structure had influence on the luminescent color of Dy2(WO4)3. The samples could emit yellow-green, white-yellow and white light under the excitation of 350 nm after being treated at 600, 800 and 1 000 °C, respectively. The prepared Dy2(WO4)3 powders have potential to act as UV absorber for solar cell to improve the conversion efficiency and also exhibit potential for white light LED.