Xianzhi Fu

Bio: Xianzhi Fu is an academic researcher from Fuzhou University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Photocatalysis & Catalysis. The author has an hindex of 80, co-authored 278 publications receiving 26345 citations.

Defective TiO2 with oxygen vacancies: synthesis, properties and photocatalytic applications

Abstract: Titanium dioxide (TiO2), as an important semiconductor metal oxide, has been widely investigated in the field of photocatalysis. The properties of TiO2, including its light absorption, charge transport and surface adsorption, are closely related to its defect disorder, which in turn plays a significant role in the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. Among all the defects identified in TiO2, oxygen vacancy is one of the most important and is supposed to be the prevalent defect in many metal oxides, which has been widely investigated both by theoretical calculations and experimental characterizations. Here, we give a short review on the existing strategies for the synthesis of defective TiO2 with oxygen vacancies, and the defect related properties of TiO2 including structural, electronic, optical, dissociative adsorption and reductive properties, which are intimately related to the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. In particular, photocatalytic applications with regard to defective TiO2 are outlined. In addition, we offer some perspectives on the challenge and new direction for future research in this field. We hope that this tutorial minireview would provide some useful contribution to the future design and fabrication of defective semiconductor-based nanomaterials for diverse photocatalytic applications.

TiO2−Graphene Nanocomposites for Gas-Phase Photocatalytic Degradation of Volatile Aromatic Pollutant: Is TiO2−Graphene Truly Different from Other TiO2−Carbon Composite Materials?

Abstract: The nanocomposites of TiO2−graphene (TiO2−GR) have been prepared via a facile hydrothermal reaction of graphene oxide and TiO2 in an ethanol−water solvent. We show that such a TiO2−GR nanocomposite exhibits much higher photocatalytic activity and stability than bare TiO2 toward the gas-phase degradation of benzene, a volatile aromatic pollutant in air. By investigating the effect of different addition ratios of graphene on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2−GR systematically, we find that the higher weight ratio in TiO2−GR will decrease the photocatalytic activity. Analogous phenomenon is also observed for the liquid-phase degradation of dyes over TiO2−GR. In addition, the key features for TiO2−GR including enhancement of adsorptivity of pollutants, light absorption intensity, electron−hole pairs lifetime, and extended light absorption range have also been found in the composite of TiO2 and carbon nanotubes (TiO2−CNT). These strongly manifest that TiO2−GR is in essence the same as other TiO2−carbon (carb...

An amine-functionalized titanium metal-organic framework photocatalyst with visible-light-induced activity for CO2 reduction.

Abstract: Let your light shine: the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to the formate anion under visible light irradiation is for the first time realized over a photoactive Ti-containing metal-organic framework, NH(2)-MIL-125(Ti), which is fabricated by a facile substitution of ligands in the UV-responsive MIL-125(Ti) material.

Synthesis of a carbon nitride structure for visible-light catalysis by copolymerization

Abstract: and nonmetallic elements (N, C, B) creates localized/ delocalized states in the band gap and thus extends its optical absorption to the visible region, but doping usually comes with accelerated charge recombination and lower stability of the doped materials. Meanwhile, various other inorganic, non-TiO2-based, visible-light catalysts have been developed (e.g., metal oxides, nitrides, sulfides, phosphides, and their mixed solid solutions), whereby Ga, Ge, In, Ta, Nb, and W are the main metal constituents. However, sustained utilization of solar energy calls for the development of more abundant and stable catalysts working with visible light, and this has remained challenging so far. Recently, a polymeric semiconductor on the basis of a defecteous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), was introduced as a metal-free photocatalyst which fulfills the basic requirements for a water-splitting catalyst, including being abundant, stable, and responsive to visible light. In the following, we use the notation “g-C3N4” to describe this class of materials rather than the idealized structure. The most active system is in fact presumably an N-bridged “poly(tri-s-triazine)”, already described by Liebig as “melon”. A semiconductor structure with band edges straddling the water redox potential was revealed for melon by DFT calculations, albeit electrochemical analysis is still awaited. g-C3N4 is considered to be the most stable phase of covalent carbon nitride, and facile synthesis of the melon substructure from simple liquid precursors and monomers allows easy engineering of carbon nitride materials to achieve the desired nanostructures via soft-chemical processing routes and methods. For instance, a high surface area (67–400 mg ) can be imparted on g-C3N4 materials by polymerization of cyanamide on a silica template, which results in photocatalytically more active g-C3N4 nanostructures. [8] Metal-doped gC3N4 can also be conveniently obtained by polymerization of dicyandiamine in the presence of metal salts, and thus multifunctionalization of such materials for a variety of applications can be achieved. Most importantly, the electronic and optical properties of carbon nitride, regarded as a polymer semiconductor, are in principle adjustable by organic protocols. Such organic protocols have been widely used to control the performance of traditional p-conjugated polymers, for example, to improve solar-cell efficiencies by constructing copolymerized donor–acceptor structures, or to modify electronic properties by co-blending with p/n-type organic dopants. Our aim was to use such organic modifications to extend the insufficient light absorption of g-C3N4 (a result of its large band gap of 2.7 eV, which corresponds to wavelengths shorter than 460 nm) towards the maximum of the solar spectrum. Here we demonstrate that the optical absorption of carbon nitride semiconductor materials is extendable into the visible region up to about 750 nm by simple copolymerization with organic monomers like barbituric acid (BA). The electronic and photoelectric properties of the modified carbon nitrides were then investigated to elucidate their enhanced activity for hydrogen production from water containing an appropriate sacrificial reagent with visible light. In principle, BA can be directly incorporated into the classical carbon nitride condensation scheme (Scheme 1). New carbon nitride structures were therefore synthesized by dissolving dicyandiamide with different amounts of BA in water, followed by thermally induced copolymerization at 823 K. For simplicity, the resulting samples are denoted CNBx, where x (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2) refers to the weighedin amount of BA. The structure, texture, and electrochemical properties of these materials were characterized, and their photochemical performance analyzed. Their XRD patterns (Figure S1, Supporting Information) are dominated by the characteristic (002) peak at 27.48 of a graphitic, layered structure with an interlayer distance of d = [*] J. Zhang, X. Chen , Prof. X. Fu, Prof. X. Wang State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Photocatalysis Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002 (China) E-mail: xcwang@fzu.edu.cn

Metal‐Containing Carbon Nitride Compounds: A New Functional Organic–Metal Hybrid Material

Abstract: [*] Prof. X. C. Wang, X. F. Chen, Prof. X. Z. Fu Research Institute of Photocatalysis State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Photocatalysis Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002 (PR China) E-mail: xcwang@fzu.edu.cn; xzfu@fzu.edu.cn Prof. X. C. Wang, Dr. A. Thomas, Prof. M. Antonietti Department of Colloid Chemistry Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces Research Campus Golm, 14476 Potsdam (Germany)

Heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting

Abstract: This critical review shows the basis of photocatalytic water splitting and experimental points, and surveys heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting into H2 and O2, and H2 or O2 evolution from an aqueous solution containing a sacrificial reagent Many oxides consisting of metal cations with d0 and d10 configurations, metal (oxy)sulfide and metal (oxy)nitride photocatalysts have been reported, especially during the latest decade The fruitful photocatalyst library gives important information on factors affecting photocatalytic performances and design of new materials Photocatalytic water splitting and H2 evolution using abundant compounds as electron donors are expected to contribute to construction of a clean and simple system for solar hydrogen production, and a solution of global energy and environmental issues in the future (361 references)

Semiconductor-based Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

Abstract: 2.3. Evaluation of Photocatalytic Water Splitting 6507 2.3.1. Photocatalytic Activity 6507 2.3.2. Photocatalytic Stability 6507 3. UV-Active Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 6507 3.1. d0 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6507 3.1.1. Ti-, Zr-Based Oxides 6507 3.1.2. Nb-, Ta-Based Oxides 6514 3.1.3. W-, Mo-Based Oxides 6517 3.1.4. Other d0 Metal Oxides 6518 3.2. d10 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6518 3.3. f0 Metal Oxide Photocatalysts 6518 3.4. Nonoxide Photocatalysts 6518 4. Approaches to Modifying the Electronic Band Structure for Visible-Light Harvesting 6519

Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4)-Based Photocatalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis and Environmental Remediation: Are We a Step Closer To Achieving Sustainability?

Abstract: As a fascinating conjugated polymer, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has become a new research hotspot and drawn broad interdisciplinary attention as a metal-free and visible-light-responsive photocatalyst in the arena of solar energy conversion and environmental remediation. This is due to its appealing electronic band structure, high physicochemical stability, and “earth-abundant” nature. This critical review summarizes a panorama of the latest progress related to the design and construction of pristine g-C3N4 and g-C3N4-based nanocomposites, including (1) nanoarchitecture design of bare g-C3N4, such as hard and soft templating approaches, supramolecular preorganization assembly, exfoliation, and template-free synthesis routes, (2) functionalization of g-C3N4 at an atomic level (elemental doping) and molecular level (copolymerization), and (3) modification of g-C3N4 with well-matched energy levels of another semiconductor or a metal as a cocatalyst to form heterojunction nanostructures. The constructi...

Understanding TiO2 photocatalysis: mechanisms and materials.

Abstract: Jenny Schneider,*,† Masaya Matsuoka,‡ Masato Takeuchi,‡ Jinlong Zhang, Yu Horiuchi,‡ Masakazu Anpo,‡ and Detlef W. Bahnemann*,† †Institut fur Technische Chemie, Leibniz Universitaẗ Hannover, Callinstrasse 3, D-30167 Hannover, Germany ‡Faculty of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, 1 Gakuen-cho, Sakai Osaka 599-8531, Japan Key Lab for Advanced Materials and Institute of Fine Chemicals, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China

Metal-free efficient photocatalyst for stable visible water splitting via a two-electron pathway

Abstract: The use of solar energy to produce molecular hydrogen and oxygen (H2 and O2) from overall water splitting is a promising means of renewable energy storage. In the past 40 years, various inorganic and organic systems have been developed as photocatalysts for water splitting driven by visible light. These photocatalysts, however, still suffer from low quantum efficiency and/or poor stability. We report the design and fabrication of a metal-free carbon nanodot-carbon nitride (C3N4) nanocomposite and demonstrate its impressive performance for photocatalytic solar water splitting. We measured quantum efficiencies of 16% for wavelength λ = 420 ± 20 nanometers, 6.29% for λ = 580 ± 15 nanometers, and 4.42% for λ = 600 ± 10 nanometers, and determined an overall solar energy conversion efficiency of 2.0%. The catalyst comprises low-cost, Earth-abundant, environmentally friendly materials and shows excellent stability.