Photocatalysis

About: Photocatalysis is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 67088 publications have been published within this topic receiving 2145233 citations. The topic is also known as: photocatalyst.

Synthesis and characterization of high efficiency and stable Ag3PO4/TiO2 visible light photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B solutions

Abstract: A facile and reproducible method for the synthesis of Ag3PO4/TiO2 visible light photocatalyst has been developed to improve the photocatalytic activity and stability of Ag3PO4. The innovation of this method is to in situ deposit Ag3PO4 nanoparticles onto the TiO2 (P25) surface forming a heterostructure. The improved activity of the Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterostructured photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation is attributed to the increased surface area and enhanced absorption of MB and RhB. Furthermore, depositing Ag3PO4 onto the surface of TiO2 facilitates electron–hole separation that leads to the elevated photocatalytic activity. The heterostructured Ag3PO4/TiO2 photocatalyst significantly decreases the loading of noble metal Ag from 77 wt% to 47 wt%, thereby significantly reducing the cost for the practical application of Ag3PO4 photocatalyst.

Iron terephthalate metal–organic framework: Revealing the effective activation of hydrogen peroxide for the degradation of organic dye under visible light irradiation

Abstract: Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), a new class of porous crystalline materials, have attracted great interest as a promising candidate for sustainable energy and environmental remediation. In this study, we demonstrate that an iron terephthalate metal–organic framework MIL-53(Fe) synthesized by a facile solvothermal reaction was capable of activating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to achieve high efficiency in photocatalytic process. It could completely decompose the 10 mg L−1 Rhodamine B (RhB) in the presence of a certain amount of H2O2 under visible light irradiation within 50 min. The catalytic activities were found to be strongly affected by the various operating parameters, such as solution pH, initial dye concentration, and H2O2 dosage. The activation effects of MIL-53(Fe) were investigated through the detection of hydroxyl radicals ( OH) and transient photocurrent responses, which revealed that the H2O2 behaved in two ways during the catalytic process: (i) it could be catalytically decomposed by MIL(Fe)-53 to produce OH radicals through the Fenton-like reaction; (ii) it could capture the photogenerated electrons in the conduction band of excited MIL-53(Fe) to form OH radicals under visible light irradiation. The ability of such iron-based MOFs to activate H2O2 may enable rational design of advanced MOF-based catalysts for environmental remediation.

Noble metal-like behavior of plasmonic Bi particles as a cocatalyst deposited on (BiO)2CO3 microspheres for efficient visible light photocatalysis

Abstract: Novel plasmonic Bi nanoparticles deposited in situ in (BiO)2CO3 microspheres (Bi/BOC) were fabricated via a one-pot hydrothermal treatment of bismuth citrate, sodium carbonate, and thiourea. Different characterization techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, UV–vis DRS, PL, time-resolved fluorescence spectra, and photocurrent generation, were performed to investigate the structural and optical properties of the as-prepared samples. The results indicated that the Bi nanoparticles were generated on the surface of (BiO)2CO3 microspheres via the in situ reduction of Bi3+ by thiourea. The Bi nanoparticle deposited (BiO)2CO3 microspheres were employed for the photocatalytic removal of NO in air under visible light irradiation, and the sample exhibited a drastically enhanced photocatalytic activity and oxidation ability. The highly enhanced activity was attributed to the cooperative contribution of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, the efficient separation of electron–hole pairs, and the prolonged lif...