Photocatalytic hydrogen production from water over M-doped La2Ti2O7 (M = Cr, Fe) under visible light irradiation (lambda > 420 nm)

In the search for efficient photocatalysts working under visible light, we have investigated the effect of cation substitution on a layered perovskite, La2Ti2O7. Among various metal dopants, only Cr and Fe induced intense absorption of visible light (lambda > 400 nm), and only these catalysts produced H2 photocatalytically from water in the presence of methanol under visible light irradiation (lambda > 420 nm). The polymerized complex method was found to be more efficient for fabrication of the present catalysts producing a more homogeneous structure than the solid-state reaction. The characterization by XRD, UV-vis DRS, XPS, and XANES revealed that doped Cr and Fe were present in the Cr3+ and Fe3+ states substituting for Ti sites in the La2Ti2O7 lattice. The theoretical calculation indicated that the most significant feature in the electronic band structure of the metal-doped La2Ti2O7 was the formation of a partially filled 3d band in the band gap of La2Ti2O7, while the contribution of these dopants on the valence band was negligible. Excitation of electrons from this localized interband to the conduction band of La2Ti2O7 was responsible for visible light absorption and the H2 evolution from water under visible light.     

Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12纳米线的可见光催化性能

研究了用一步水热法制备的掺镧钛酸铋(Bi_3.25La_0.75Ti₃O₁₂, BLT)纳米线的光学和可见光催化性能, 并对其晶体结构和微观结构用X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)和高分辨透射电子显微镜(HRTEM)等手段进行了表征. 结果表明, 制备的纳米线为纯相的Bi_3.25La_0.75Ti₃O₁₂, 平均直径约为25 nm. 室温光致发光谱(PL)显示BLT纳米线在433和565 nm附近有较强的发射峰, 分别对应激子发射和表面缺陷发光. 紫外-可见漫反射光谱(UV-Vis DRS)表明BLT样品的带隙能约为2.07 eV. 利用可见光(λ>420 nm)照射下的甲基橙降解实验评价了BLT样品的光催化性能. 结果表明, BLT的光催化活性比商用TiO₂催化剂P25、掺氮TiO₂和纯相钛酸铋(Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂, BIT)高得多. BLT光催化剂具有更高催化活性的原因是La³⁺离子掺杂拓展了BIT对可见光的吸收范围, 同时抑制了BIT的光生电子-空穴的复合.     

New cubic perovskite Na(Cu2.5Ti0.5)Ti4O12 with square planar coordination of Ti4+

A new perovskite, Na[Cu(2.5)Ti(0.5)]Ti4O12, has been synthesized using a conventional solid-state technique. Neutron and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction studies in combination with density measurements and bond-valence calculations have revealed that the material crystallizes in the cubic Im space group (a = 7.38472(2) A, Z = 2) with the square-plane site accommodating 16.7% of Ti4+. This is the highest level of non-Jahn-Teller cation substitution for Cu2+ reported to date for CaCu3Ti4O12-type perovskites prepared at ambient pressure.     

Origin of photoactivity of nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide under visible light

Nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (N-TiO2), a photocatalytic material active in visible light, has been investigated by a combined experimental and theoretical approach. The material contains single-atom nitrogen impurities that form either diamagnetic (Nb-) or paramagnetic (Nb*) bulk centers. Both types of Nb centers give rise to localized states in the band gap of the oxide. The relative abundance of these species depends on the oxidation state of the solid, as, upon reduction, electron transfer from Ti3+ ions to Nb* results in the formation of Ti4+ and Nb-. EPR spectra measured under irradiation show that Nb centers are responsible for visible light absorption with promotion of electrons from the band gap localized states to the conduction band or to surface-adsorbed electron scavengers. These results provide a characterization of the electronic states associated with N impurities in TiO2 and, for the first time, a picture of the processes occurring in the solid under irradiation with visible light.     

3-D ordered macroporous cuprous oxide: Fabrication, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties

Cuprous oxide 3-D ordered macroporous material was constructed by electrochemical deposition using a polystyrene colloidal crystal as template. The highly ordered macroporous structure with a hexagonal array can be extended over hundreds of square micrometers. The photonic stop bands of both the PS colloidal crystal and Cu2O 3DOM were found. Due to the highly ordered porous structure, the optical absorption and the charge carrier transportation are better in Cu2O 3DOM than in bulk Cu2O, which makes the reduction of oxygen faster on Cu2O 3DOM than on bulk Cu2O under visible light illumination. The higher photocurrent efficiency under visible light illumination makes the 3DOM Cu2O more suitable for solar applications.     

具有贵金属行为的等离子Bi纳米颗粒负载到还原TiO2微米球及其高效全光谱光催化产氧（英文）

化石燃料的快速消耗导致了严重的环境问题,特别是全球变暖和雾霾.寻找替代传统化石能源的清洁能源是当务之急.光催化水分解技术被认为是将太阳能转化为绿色可再生能源的一种很有前景的方法.作为一种用于光催化的半导体材料,需要满足三个条件:(1)带隙要高于水分解的电压(1.23 e V);(2)带边缘位置应跨越氢还原电位和氧氧化电位;(3)在光催化过程中,光催化材料应具有抗光腐蚀的稳定性.然而,水氧化的半反应是非常困难的,主要是涉及到复杂的四电子氧化过程和O-O键形成的高激活能量.TiO2是光催化剂中最重要的材料之一,因为它具有成本低,无毒,光稳定性好等优点。但TiO2的可见光利用率低,载流子复合率高,光催化效率受到严重限制.通过H2还原可以引入Ti3+,还原得到的TiO2带隙变窄,具有较好的可见光催化产氧活性.由于贵金属纳米粒子具有表面等离子体共振(SPR)效应,将贵金属(如金或者银)与TiO2结合是将光催化剂的光吸收边扩展到更长的波长一种有效途径.然而,贵金属的价格限制了它们的商业化,因此需要低成本的金属作为替代品.最近,金属铋(Bi)被证明是贵金属的理想替代品,具有明显的SPR效应,在可见光甚至近红外范围具有优异的光吸收性能.通过光还原,化学还原,水热还原等还原方法,可以方便地获得金属Bi.然而,通过原位沉积的方法将金属Bi纳米粒子直接沉积到半导体表面仍然是一个很大的挑战.本文采用双金属有机骨架衍生的合成策略,通过调节合成温度,将金属Bi原位沉积到还原TiO2微球表面(Bi@R-TiO2).采用X射线衍射,扫描电镜,透射电镜, X射线光电子能谱,漫反射光谱,光致发光光谱,阻抗,光电流响应等表征技术对制备样品的结构和光学性能进行了研究.结果表明,通过乙二醇可以将Ti4+还原为Ti3+得到还原的TiOx, Bi3+同时也被还原为金属Bi.当退火温度控制在300 oC时,相应的Bi@R-TiO2-300表现出最高的全光谱光催化产氧活性(4728.709μmolh–1g–1),分别是的纯TiO2和Bi-Ti双金属有机框架的5.9和9.5倍.这可归因于以下三点:(1)金属Bi作为"电子受体",加速了TiO2向Bi的载流子转移;(2)负载到还原TiO2表面的金属Bi具有SPR效应可以增强可见光和近红外光的吸收能力;(3) Ti3+的产生进一步减小TiO2的禁带宽度.     

Photophysical and photocatalytic properties of SrTiO3 doped with Cr cations on different sites

Usually, SrTiO3 monodoped with Cr cations at the Ti4+ site hardly shows visible light photocatalytic activity. Revealing the origin of this issue is important for us to find an alternative approach to make SrTiO3 active under visible light irradiation. In this paper, two Cr-doped SrTiO3-(Sr0.95Cr0.05)TiO3 and Sr(Ti0.95Cr0.05)O3-were synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction method, and their photophysical and photocatalytic properties were studied comparatively. It was found that both (Sr0.95Cr0.05)TiO3 and Sr(Ti0.95Cr0.05)O3 showed considerable absorption to visible light. However, their photocatalytic activities for H2 evolution from aqueous methanol solution under visible light irradiation were significantly different: the H2 evolution rate over (Sr0.95Cr0.05)TiO3 (approximately 21 micromol/h) was more than 100 times that over Sr(Ti0.95Cr0.05)O3 (approximately 0.2 micromol/h). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis results revealed that the Cr cations doped at the Sr2+ site were all trivalent state (Cr3+), while those doped at the Ti4+ site were mixed valent states (Cr3+ and Cr6+). The different photocatalytic activities of H2 evolution are supposed to closely relate to the different valent states of Cr doped at different sites (Sr2+ or Ti4+) in SrTiO3. Possible electronic structures of (Sr0.95Cr0.05)TiO3 and Sr(Ti0.95Cr0.05)O3 were proposed in relation to their photophysical and photocatalytic properties.     

Preparation of Cu-doped TiO2 via refluxing of alkoxide solution and its photocatalytic properties

Cu-doped TiO₂ was prepared by the refluxing of a mixture of copper and titanium alkoxides. The refluxing improved the Cu²⁺ dispersion in the TiO₂ and formed effective Ti–O–Cu bonds. The impurity states due to the highly dispersed Cu²⁺ were presumed to trap the electrons in the conduction band of the TiO₂ and prevent charge recombination of the electrons and holes. Consequently, the prolonged charge separation duration was suggested to enhance the photocatalytic activity of the Cu-doped TiO₂. This enhancement was confirmed by the hydroxyl radical generation and organic compound degradation. The Ti–O–Cu bonds and electronic interaction between Cu and Ti should effectively promote the electron trapping. The Cu-doped TiO₂ exhibited a visible light-induced activity due to the transition from the TiO₂ valence band to the Cu²⁺ impurity states.     

Preparation,characterization and enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ni<Superscript>2+</Superscript> doped titania under solar light

Anatase TiO₂ was prepared by sol-gel method through the hydrolysis of TiCl₄. Ni²⁺ was doped into the TiO₂ matrix in the concentration range of 0.02 to 0.1 at.% and characterized by various analytical techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction revealed only anatase phase for all the samples, while diffuse reflectance spectral studies indicated a red shift in the band gap absorption to the visible region. The photocatalytic activities of these photocatalysts were probed for the degradation of methyl orange under natural solar light. The photocatalyst with optimum doping of 0.08 at.% Ni²⁺, showed enhanced activity, which is attributed to: (i) effective separation of charge carriers and (ii) large red shift in the band gap to visible region. The influence of crystallite size and dopant concentration on the charge carrier trapping — recombination dynamics is investigated.     

Mechanism of photocatalytic activities in Cr-doped SrTiO3 under visible-light irradiation: an insight from hybrid density-functional calculations

We used hybrid density-functional calculations to clarify the effect of substituting chromium for titanium (Cr(Ti)) on photocatalytic activities of Cr-doped SrTiO(3). A singly negative Cr(Ti)?, which is relevant to a lower oxidation state of Cr, is advantageous for the visible light absorption without forming electron trapping centers, while other charge states are inactive for the photocatalytic reaction. Stabilizing the desirable charge state (Cr(Ti)?) is feasible by shifting the Fermi level towards the conduction band. Our theory sheds light on the photocatalytic properties of metal-doped semiconductors.     

Bandgap Engineering and Mechanism Study of Nonmetal and Metal Ion Codoped Carbon Nitride: C+Fe as an Example

Bandgap narrowing and a more positive valence band (VB) potential are generally considered to be effective methods for improving visible‐light‐driven photocatalysts because of the significant enhancement of visible‐light absorption and oxidation ability. Herein, an approach is reported for the synthesis of a novel visible‐light‐driven high performance polymer photocatalyst based on band structure control and nonmetal and metal ion codoping, that is, C and Fe‐codoped as a model, by a simple thermal conversion method. The results indicate that compared to pristine graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C₃N₄), C+Fe‐codoped g‐C₃N₄ shows a narrower bandgap and remarkable positively shifted VB; as a result the light‐absorption range was expanded and the oxidation capability was increased. Experimental results show that the catalytic efficiency of C+Fe‐codoped g‐C₃N₄ for photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) increased 14 times, compared with pristine g‐C₃N₄ under visible‐light absorption at λ>420 nm. The synergistic enhancement in C+Fe‐codoped g‐C₃N₄ photocatalyst could be attributed to the following features: 1) C+Fe‐codoping of g‐C₃N₄ tuned the bandgap and improved visible‐light absorption; 2) the porous lamellar structure and decreased particle size could provide a high surface area and greatly improve photogenerated charge separation and electron transfer; and 3) both increased electrical conductivity and a more positive VB ensured the superior electron‐transport property and high oxidation capability. The results imply that a high‐performance photocatalyst can be obtained by combining bandgap control and doping modification; this may provide a basic concept for the rational design of high performance polymer photocatalysts with reasonable electronic structures for unique photochemical reaction.     

Co doped ZnO nanowires as visible light photocatalysts

High aspect ratio cobalt doped ZnO nanowires showing strong photocatalytic activity and moderate ferromagnetic behaviour were successfully synthesized using a solvothermal method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities evaluated for visible light driven degradation of an aqueous methylene orange (MO) solution were higher than for Co doped ZnO nanoparticles at the same doping level and synthesized by the same synthesis route. The rate constant for MO visible light photocatalytic degradation was 1.9·10⁻³ min⁻¹ in case of nanoparticles and 4.2·10⁻³ min⁻¹ in case of nanowires. We observe strongly enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity for moderate Co doping levels, with an optimum at a composition of Zn_0.95Co_0.05O. The enhanced photocatalytic activities of Co doped ZnO nanowires were attributed to the combined effects of enhanced visible light absorption at the Co sites in ZnO nanowires, and improved separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers at optimal Co doping.     

Magnetic and electronic properties of CaCu3Cr4O12 and CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12 by first-principles density functional calculation

The electronic and magnetic properties of CaCu3Cr4O12 and CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12 are investigated by the use of the full-potential linearized augumented plane wave (FPLAPW) method. The calculated results indicate that CaCu3Cr4O12 is a ferrimagnetic and half-metallic compound, in good agreement with previous theoretical studies. CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12 is a ferrimagnetic semiconductor with a small gap of 0.136 eV. In both compounds, because Cr4+ 3d (d2) and Cr3+ 3d (d3) orbitals are less than half filled, the coupling between Cr-Cu is antiferromagnetic, whereas that between Cu-Cu and Cr-Cr is ferromagnetic. The total net spin moment is 5.0 and 3.0 microB for CaCu3Cr4O12 and CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12, respectively. In CaCu3Cr4O12, the 3d electrons of Cr4+ are delocalized, which strengthens the Cr-Cr ferromagnetic coupling. For CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12, the doping of nonmagnetic ion Sb5+ reduces the Cr-Cr ferromagnetic coupling, and the half-filled Cr3+ t2g (t2g3) makes the chromium 3d electrons localized. In addition, the ordering arrangement of the octahedral chromium and antimony ions also prevents the delocalization of electrons. Hence, CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12 shows insulating behavior, in agreement with the experimental observation.     

在FTO导电玻璃上电化学沉积高效可见光光电化学分解水Cu2O/g-C3N4异质结膜

近几十年来,光电化学分解水制氢作为一种洁净的、能持续利用太阳能的技术受到极大关注.在众多光催化材料中,p型半导体氧化亚铜(Cu2O)被认为是最有前途的可见光光电分解水材料之一.理论上,它的光能转换为氢能的效率可达到18.7%.然而,目前所报道的Cu2O光转换效率远远低于此值;同时,纯Cu2O在光照条件下的稳定性较差.研究表明,Cu2O与其它半导体复合可以增强其光电转换效率和提高稳定性.如Cu2O和能带匹配的石墨相氮化碳(g-C3N4)复合后,光催化性能和稳定性都有较大提高.但目前所报道的Cu2O/g-C3N4复合物几乎都是粉末状催化剂,不便于回收和重复使用.本文首先采用电化学方法在FTO导电玻璃上沉积Cu2O薄膜,采用溶胶凝胶法制备g-C3N4纳米颗粒材料,然后采用电化学法在Cu2O薄膜表面沉积一层g-C3N4纳米颗粒,得到了Cu2O/g-C3N4异质结膜.分别利用X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、高分辨透射电子显微镜(HRTEM)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、紫外可见光谱(UV-Vis)和光电化学分解水实验分析了Cu2O/g-C3N4异质结的组成结构、表面形貌、光吸收性能及催化剂活性和稳定性.XRD和HRTEM表征显示,本文成功合成了Cu2O/g-C3N4异质结材料,SEM图表明g-C3N4纳米颗粒在Cu2O表面分布均匀,大小均一.可见光光电化学分解水结果显示,异质结薄膜的光电化学性能比纯的Cu2O和g-C3N4薄膜材料有极大提高.当在Cu2O表面沉积g-C3N4的时间为15 s时,得到样品Cu2O/g-C3N4-15异质结膜,其在–0.4 V和可见光照射条件下,光电流密度达到了–1.38 mA/cm2,分别是纯Cu2O和g-C3N4薄膜材料的19.7和6.3倍.产氢速率也达到了0.48 mL h–1 cm–2,且产氢和产氧的速率之比约为2,说明此异质结材料在可见光作用下能全分解水.经过三次循环实验,光电化学分解水的效率仅降低10.8%,表明该材料具有良好的稳定性.根据UV-Vis表征和光电化学性能对比,Cu2O/g-C3N4-15的光电性能最好,但其光吸收性能并不是最好,说明光电化学性能与光吸收不是成正比关系,主要是由于Cu2O和g-C3N4两个半导体相互起到了协同作用.机理分析表明,Cu2O/g-C3N4异质结薄膜在光照下,由于两者能带匹配,Cu2O的光生电子从其导带转移到g-C3N4的导带上,g-C3N4价带上的空隙转移到Cu2O的价带上,从而降低了光生电子和空隙的复合,提高了其光催化性能.由于g-C3N4的导带位置高于H2O(或H+)还原为H2的电势,Cu2O的价带位置低于H2O(或OH–)还原为O2的电势,所以在外加–0.4 V偏压和可见光照射条件下,Cu2O/g-C3N4能全分解水,光生载流子越多,光电化学分解水的速率越大.综上所述,在Cu2O薄膜上沉积g-C3N4后得到的异质结薄膜具有高效的光能转换为氢能性能.     

Ce掺杂K_2La_2Ti_3O_(10)催化剂的可见光高效催化制氢的研究

采用高温固相法合成了铈掺杂的K2La2Ti3O10催化剂,利用X射线衍射(XRD)、紫外-可见漫反射(UV-visDRS)、透射电镜(TEM)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)对催化剂进行了表征.考察了催化剂的可见光催化分解甲醇水溶液制氢的活性,并对可见光催化机理进行了分析.研究表明,铈的掺杂没有改变K2La2Ti3O10的微晶结构,并使催化剂粒径有所减小.紫外可见漫反射分析表明禁带宽度为2.3eV左右,对可见光具有较高吸收.XPS表明La和Ti为+3和+4价,而Ce则是+3和+4的混合价态.担载2wt%Pt后,在可见光下光催化活性大大提高,当铈的掺杂量为0.5mol%(即Ce取代La的摩尔百分量)时,光催化活性达到最大,产氢速率为0.05mmol/h;光照5h后产氢量为0.22mmol,而纯K2La2Ti3O10的产氢量只有0.037mmol.     

Ab initio study on the electronic, magnetic, and mechanical properties of CaCu3V4O12

The electronic, magnetic, and mechanical properties of CaCu3V4O12 are investigated by use of the density functional theory method. The calculated results indicate that CaCu3V4O12 is a half-metallic and ferrimagnetic compound. The magnetic coupling for Cu-V is antiferromagnetic, while those for Cu-Cu and V-V are ferromagnetic. The obtained elastic constants suggest that the compound is mechanically stable. The calculated oxidation states and density of states reveal the existence of a mixed valence for Cu and V. This supports the experimental observation of the mixed valence in Ca(2+)Cu(2+)Cu2(+)(V2(5+)V2(4+))O12.     

在光催化还原CO2中具有高催化效率的八面体Cu2O修饰的TiO2纳米管

光催化还原CO2生成烃类燃料是一种可同时解决全球变暖和能源危机问题的最有效途径之一。尽管这方面的研究已经取得了一定的进展,但是整体的光催化转换效率还非常低。因此,需要发展更加高效的催化剂。由于半导体材料禁带宽度与太阳光谱相匹配,人们已经对其进行了广泛研究。其中TiO2因具有无毒、强氧化性以及良好的光学和电学性质等而成为最主要的研究对象。但是对于光催化还原CO2反应来说, TiO2仍存在很多不足,如只能吸收太阳光谱中的紫外光,光生载流子会快速结合,以及光生空穴的强氧化能力等,这些都限制了其光催化还原CO2的效率。采用窄禁带宽度半导体修饰TiO2是解决上述不足的有效途径之一。本文采用简单的电化学方法成功制备了一种由窄禁带半导体Cu2O修饰的TiO2纳米管(TNTs)的复合物,并运用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)以及X射线光电子能谱(XPS)表征了所制备复合物的形貌、化学组成和结晶度。表征结果显示,所制备的TiO2为整齐排列的纳米管阵列结构;复合物中的纳米颗粒为Cu2O;当电化学沉积Cu2O的时间为5 min时,得到的Cu2O纳米颗粒初步呈类八面体结构。随着沉积时间的增加, Cu2O颗粒尺寸增加,具有八面体结构。 XRD和XPS结果表明, TiO2纳米管为锐钛矿,八面体Cu2O纳米颗粒的主要暴露晶面为(111)面。我们还进一步研究了不同量Cu2O纳米颗粒修饰的TiO2纳米管复合物在可见光以及模拟太阳光下光催化还原CO2的能力。在可见光下,由于自身的禁带宽度,纯净的TiO2纳米管没有任何光催化还原CO2的能力;经过Cu2O纳米颗粒的修饰,复合物显现出明显的光催化还原CO2的能力,其中经过30 min Cu2O沉积的TNTs具有最高的光催化效率。在模拟太阳光下,经过15 min Cu2O沉积的TNTs具有最高的光催化效率。在所有光催化还原CO2过程中,主要碳氢产物为甲烷。为了深入地理解该复合体系在还原CO2中的高催化效率,我们对催化剂进行了进一步的表征。紫外-可见漫反射光谱表明, Cu2O八面体纳米颗粒的沉积将TNTs的吸收光谱拓展到了可见光区域,提高了复合物对太阳光的吸收能力。此外,我们还通过测试所制样品的光电流反应、荧光发射光谱以及电化学阻抗谱,研究了催化剂中光生电子和空穴的分离和迁移能力。结果表明,适量的Cu2O沉积提高了复合物对光的吸收能力,增加了光生载流子的数量,从而使更多的光生载流子参与光催化反应。综上,本文首次报道了八面体Cu2O纳米颗粒修饰TNTs复合物的光催化还原CO2的能力。在一定量的Cu2O纳米颗粒修饰下,该复合物在光催化还原CO2生成烃类反应中表现出高效性。经过一系列详细的表征和讨论,我们认为其高效性主要源于三个方面：(1) TNTs的管状结构为反应物的吸附提供了大量的活性位点,同时一维的管状结构更有利于光生载流子的运载,从而提高了电子和空穴的分离;(2) Cu2O纳米颗粒的修饰提高了催化剂对光的吸收,促进催化剂最大程度地利用太阳光;(3) TiO2和Cu2O之间导带以及价带位置的匹配,在减少光生载流子复合的同时也降低了TiO2价带上空穴的氧化能力,从而抑制了CO2还原产物的再氧化过程。     

Electrodeless determination of the trap density, decay kinetics, and charge separation efficiency of dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO(2)

We have studied photoinduced charge separation in a bare, 3.4 microm thick layer of nanocrystalline ("nc") anatase TiO(2) and an nc-TiO(2) layer coated with free-base 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (H(2)TPPC) using the electrodeless flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave-conductivity technique (FP-TRMC). Photoconductivity transients, resulting from the formation of mobile, conduction band electrons in the semiconductor have been measured on excitation with 3 ns pulses of UV (300 nm) and visible (410-700 nm) light. The product of the yield of formation of mobile charge carriers, phi, and the sum of their mobilities, Sigmamicro, has been determined from the maximum conductivity for light intensities varying from approximately 10(12) to approximately 10(16) photons/cm(2)/pulse. For the bare nc-TiO(2) layer at 300 nm and the coated layer at all wavelengths, phiSigmamicro initially increased with increasing intensity, reached a maximum, and eventually decreased at high intensities. The initial increase is attributed to the gradual filling of (surface) electron trapping sites. This effect was absent when the samples were continuously illuminated with background irradiation at 300 nm with an intensity of 6 x 10(13) photons/cm(2)/s (40 microW/cm(2)), thereby presaturating the trapping sites prior to the laser pulse. The trap-free mobility of electrons within these 9 nm nanoparticles is estimated to be 0.034 cm(2)/Vs at 9 GHz. The eventual decrease in phiSigmamicro at intensities corresponding to an electron occupancy of more than one electron per particle is unaffected by background illumination, and is attributed to a decrease in micro due to electron-electron interactions within the semiconductor particles. The photoconductivity action spectrum of the coated nc-TiO(2) layer closely followed the photon attenuation spectrum in the visible of the porphyrin, with a charge separation efficiency per absorbed photon of 18% at the Soret band maximum. The after-pulse decay of the photoconductivity showed a power law behavior over a time scale of nanoseconds to several hundreds of microseconds, which is attributed to multiple trapping and detrapping events at chemical or physical defects within the semiconductor matrix.     

Photoconductivity in the Visible Region of the Spectrum for Systems of Poly-N-epoxypropylcarbazole – Heterometallic Complexes

We have studied the photoconducting properties of poly-N-epoxypropylcarbazole films with additions of the compounds [M(II)(L)][MnCl₄] (M(II) is Cu, Ni; L is 4,6,6-trimethyl-1,9-diamino-3,7-diazanona-3-ene) in the visible region of light. We have shown that absorption of light and photogeneration of charge carriers are due to excitation of molecules of heterometallic complexes, formation, transport, and trapping of nonequilibrium charge carriers in the polymer matrix. An increase in the photoconductivity in a magnetic field may be connected with the effect of the magnetic properties of the heterometallic complexes on recombination of charge carriers.     

One‐pot self‐assembly and photoreduction synthesis of silver nanoparticle‐decorated reduced graphene oxide/MIL‐125(Ti) photocatalyst with improved visible light photocatalytic activity

In recent years, tremendous research efforts have been made towards developing metal–organic framework (MOF)‐based composites for photocatalytic applications. In this work, bipyramid‐like MIL‐125(Ti) frustum enwrapped with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and dispersed silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was fabricated using an efficient one‐pot self‐assembly and photoreduction strategy. The as‐obtained materials were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, and X‐ray photoelectron, ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopies. It is found that the as‐prepared Ag/rGO/MIL‐125(Ti) ternary hybrids have large surface area, microporous structure, enhanced visible light absorption and prolonged lifetime of charge carriers. Compared with pure MIL‐125(Ti) and its binary counterparts, the ternary composite exhibits more efficient photocatalytic performance for Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation from water under visible light irradiation. The photodegradation rate of RhB on Ag/rGO/MIL‐125(Ti) is 0.0644 min^?1, which is 1.62 times higher than that of the pure MIL‐125(Ti). The improved photocatalytic performance is ascribed to the indirect dye photosensitization, the Ag NP localized surface plasmon resonance, the Ti³⁺–Ti⁴⁺ intervalence electron transfer and the synergistic effect among MIL‐125(Ti), Ag NPs and rGO. Ag NPs serve as an efficient ‘electron reservoir’ and rGO as an electron transporter and collector. Therefore, this work provides a new pathway into the design of MOF‐based composites for application in environmental and energy fields. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.