Review on the criteria anticipated for the fabrication of highly efficient ZnO-based visible-light-driven photocatalysts

High strain piezoelectric ceramics are the state-of-the-art materials for high precision, positioning devices. A comprehensive review of the latest developments of the various types of perovskite piezoelectric ceramic systems is presented herein, with special attention given to three promising families of lead-free perovskite ferroelectrics: the barium titanate, alkaline niobate and bismuth perovskites. Included in this review are details of phase transition behavior, strain enhancement approaches, material reliabilities as well as the status of some promising applications. This current review describes both compositional and structural engineering approaches that are intended to achieve enhanced strain properties in perovskite piezoelectric ceramics. The factors that affect the strain behavior of high-strain perovskite piezoelectric ceramics are addressed. The reliability characteristics of these high-strain ferroelectrics as well as the recent approaches to the long-term electrical, thermal and time-stability enhancement are summarized. Several promising applications of high-strain perovskite materials are introduced, which take advantages of their characteristics; examples include high-energy storage, pyroelectric and electro-caloric effect and luminescent properties.

Progress in high-strain perovskite piezoelectric ceramics

Nanoscale Bi-based photocatalysts are promising candidates for visible-light-driven photocatalytic environmental remediation and energy conversion. However, the performance of bulk bismuthal semiconductors is unsatisfactory. Increasing efforts have been focused on enhancing the performance of this photocatalyst family. Many studies have reported on component adjustment, morphology control, heterojunction construction, and surface modification. Herein, recent topics in these fields, including doping, changing stoichiometry, solid solutions, ultrathin nanosheets, hierarchical and hollow architectures, conventional heterojunctions, direct Z-scheme junctions, and surface modification of conductive materials and semiconductors, are reviewed. The progress in the enhancement mechanism involving light absorption, band structure tailoring, and separation and utilization of excited carriers, is also introduced. The challenges and tendencies in the studies of nanoscale Bi-based photocatalysts are discussed and summarized.

Review on nanoscale Bi-based photocatalysts

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a promising strategy for addressing the worldwide environmental pollution and energy shortage issues. However, unlike TiO2 with good photostability, the intrinsic drawback of photoinduced decomposition, i.e., photocorrosion, of semiconductors significantly challenges durable photocatalysis. In this review, the photocorrosion mechanisms of typical semiconductors and different characterization methods proposed for monitoring the photocorrosion process of semiconductor-based composite photocatalysts are elaborated. Dedicated emphasis is put on the strategies for improving the anti-photocorrosion property of semiconductor-based photocatalysts, including modifying the crystal structure or morphology of semiconductors, doping with heteroatoms, hybridizing with various semiconductors and/or cocatalysts, and regulating the photocatalytic reaction conditions. Finally, we cast a personal prospect on the future development of the rational design of corrosion-controlled semiconductor-b...

Photocorrosion Inhibition of Semiconductor-Based Photocatalysts: Basic Principle, Current Development, and Future Perspective

Visible light photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline over TiO2

Synthesis of Pt/BiFeO3 heterostructured photocatalysts for highly efficient visible-light photocatalytic performances

A novel heterostructured CuO/BiFeO3 composite photocatalyst was successfully prepared through a simple combination of hydrothermal and impregnation process. CuO was uniformly deposited on the surface of BiFeO3 particles with a p–n heterojunction formed at the interface between CuO and BiFeO3. CuO/BiFeO3 heterostructured photocatalysts improved the UV/Vis spectral absorption ability, and exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activities for photodegradation of methylorange or a colorless compound (i.e., phenol) under visible light. In addition, after five recycles for the photodegradation of methylorange, CuO/BiFeO3 did not exhibit significant loss of photocatalytic activity, confirming its stability and long‐time reusability. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be mainly ascribed to the p–n heterojunction structure between CuO and BiFeO3, which could significantly facilitate the separation and transfer of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. On the basis of the calculated energy bands, the photocatalytic mechanism was also proposed.

Facile Synthesis of Highly Efficient p–n Heterojunction CuO/BiFeO3 Composite Photocatalysts with Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Activity

Oxygen vacancy-rich mesoporous ZrO2 with remarkably enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance

Vanadium-based materials have been extensively studied as promising cathode materials for zinc-ion batteries because of their multiple valences and adjustable ion-diffusion channels. However, the sluggish kinetics of Zn-ion intercalation and less stable layered structure remain bottlenecks that limit their further development. The present work introduces potassium ions to partially substitute ammonium ions in ammonium vanadate, leading to a subtle shrinkage of lattice distance and the increased oxygen vacancies. The resulting potassium ammonium vanadate exhibits a high discharge capacity (464 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1) and excellent cycling stability (90% retention over 3000 cycles at 5 A g-1). The excellent electrochemical properties and battery performances are attributed to the rich oxygen vacancies. The introduction of K+ to partially replace NH4+ appears to alleviate the irreversible deammoniation to prevent structural collapse during ion insertion/extraction. Density functional theory calculations show that potassium ammonium vanadate has a modulated electron structure and a better zinc-ion diffusion path with a lower migration barrier.

Jiangying Wang

Papers

Synthesis of Pt/BiFeO3 heterostructured photocatalysts for highly efficient visible-light photocatalytic performances

Facile Synthesis of Highly Efficient p–n Heterojunction CuO/BiFeO3 Composite Photocatalysts with Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Activity

Oxygen vacancy-rich mesoporous ZrO2 with remarkably enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance

Potassium Ammonium Vanadate with Rich Oxygen Vacancies for Fast and Highly Stable Zn-Ion Storage.

Synthesis of pure-phase BiFeO3 nanopowder by nitric acid-assisted gel