Exploring the Reactivity of Multicomponent Photocatalysts: Insight into the Complex Valence Band of BiOBr

The band structure of multicomponent semiconductor photocatalysts, as well as their reactivity distinction under different wavelengths of light, is still unclear. BiOBr, which is a typical multicomponent semiconductor, may have two possible valence‐band structures, that is, two discrete valence bands constructed respectively from O 2p and Br 4p orbitals, or one valence band derived from the hybridization of these orbitals. In this work, aqueous photocatalytic hydroxylation is applied as the probe reaction to investigate the nature and reactions of photogenerated holes in BiOBr. Three organic compounds (microcystin‐LR, aniline, and benzoic acid) with different oxidation potentials were selected as substrates. Isotope labeling (H₂¹⁸O as the solvent) was used to determine the source of the O atom in the hydroxyl group of the products, which distinguishes the contribution of different hydroxylation pathways. Furthermore, a spin‐trapping ESR method was used to quantify the reactive oxygen species (^.OH and ^.OOH) formed in the reaction system. The different isotope abundances of the hydroxyl O atom of the products formed, as well as the reverse trend of the ^.OH/^.OOH ratio with the oxidative resistance of the substrate under UV and visible irradiation, reveal that BiOBr has two separate valence bands, which have different oxidation ability and respond to UV and visible light, respectively. This study shows that the band structure of semiconductor photocatalysts can be reliably analyzed with an isotope labeling method.     

Investigation of Electron Behavior in Nano‐TiO2 Photocatalysis by Using In Situ Open‐Circuit Voltage and Photoconductivity Measurements

The in situ open‐circuit voltages (V_oc) and the in situ photoconductivities have been measured to study electron behavior in photocatalysis and its effect on the photocatalytic oxidation of methanol. It was observed that electron injection to the conduction band (CB) of TiO₂ under light illumination during photocatalysis includes two sources: from the valence band (VB) of TiO₂ and from the methanol molecule. The electron injection from methanol to TiO₂ is slower than that directly from the VB, which indicates that the adsorption mode of methanol on the TiO₂ surface can change between dark and illuminated states. The electron injection from methanol to the CB of TiO₂ leads to the upshift of the Fermi level of electrons in TiO₂, which is the thermodynamic driving force of photocatalytic oxidation. It was also found that the charge state of nano‐TiO₂ is continuously changing during photocatalysis as electrons are injected from methanol to TiO₂. Combined with the apparent Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model, the relation between photocatalytic kinetics and electrons in the TiO₂ CB was developed and verified experimentally. The photocatalytic rate constant is the variation of the Fermi level with time, based on which a new method was developed to calculate the photocatalytic kinetic rate constant by monitoring the change of V_oc with time during photocatalysis.     

Zr/Ti摩尔比对锶锆钛复合氧化物在可见光下光催化性能的影响

通过分步沉积法制备了不同Zr/Ti 摩尔比的锶锆钛(SZT)复合氧化物催化剂, 以X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)、紫外-可见(UV-Vis)漫反射光谱等表征手段考察不同Zr/Ti 摩尔比下SZT催化剂的结构形态, 以可见光下光催化降解亚甲基蓝为模型反应考察样品的光催化活性. 结果表明: Zr/Ti 摩尔比<1 时SZT催化剂发生Zr⁴⁺与Ti⁴⁺同质替换, 引起晶格缺陷, 光催化活性小幅提高; Zr/Ti 摩尔比≥1 时SZT催化剂产生SrZrO₃/Ti_nO_2n-1 (n=4, 9)的新晶相, Ti_nO_2n-1 (n=4, 9)的存在有利于光生电子-空穴的传导与分离, 可大幅提高催化剂光催化活性. 其中, SZT-5/5 表现出最高的光催化活性, 其一级反应速率常数达到0.2133 min^-1, 是同等光照条件下纯SrTiO₃样品(0.0158 min^-1)的13.5倍.     

复合光催化剂CdS-Pt/TiO2制备及可见光光解海水制氢性能

水热法制备了单斜CdS与Pt/TiO2复合的光催化剂.通过X射线衍射、紫外-可见漫反射光谱、荧光光谱、扫描电子显微镜和BET方法对催化剂进行了表征.以可见光光解纯水和海水制氢为探针反应,考察了CdS-Pt/TiO2光催化剂的活性.结果表明:海水中无机盐的存在有利于电子给体捕获光生空穴,提高了电子和空穴的分离效果;海水中单斜CdS可转化为立方和六方混合晶相.最佳条件下,催化剂光解海水制氢活性比纯水提高了33%,而且有较高的稳定性.     

ZnO/CdS复合材料的合成与可见光催化性能

采用喷雾辅助气相沉积法在水热法合成的ZnO纳米线上沉积CdS纳米颗粒。采用X射线衍射仪（XRD）、激光拉曼仪（Raman）、扫描电镜（SEM）、透射电镜（TEM）、X射线光电子能谱分析谱（XPS）和紫外可见漫反射光谱等测试手段对复合光催化剂进行表征。结果表明,3~10 nm的CdS纳米粒子修饰在直径约为100 nm ZnO纳米线的表面。XPS和Raman表明复合材料中ZnO和CdS之间存在化学相互作用。可见光催化降解罗丹明B实验结果表明ZnO/CdS复合材料的催化性能优于单相CdS或ZnO,沉积时间为30 s合成的ZnO/CdS速率常数分别是CdS和ZnO的2.91和4.03倍,且具有较高的稳定性。ZnO/CdS复合材料光催化性能增强的可能原因为光吸收范围的拓展和光生载流子分离效率的提高。     

BiFeO3空间选择性光化学还原Ag及光催化活性

采用溶胶-凝胶法和光还原沉积法制备出Ag改性的纳米BiFeO₃粒子,对复合材料进行了FESEM、XRD、XPS、FTIR、UV-Vis/DRS等分析和表征。考察了波长365nm以上的光照下,铁磁性材料的空间选择性光化学反应对复合材料的结构、形貌以及光谱性质的影响。以罗丹明B为模拟污染物,考察了纳米Ag-BiFeO₃粒子的可见光光催化活性以及稳定性。结果表明：通过光化学沉积,不仅增强了BiFeO₃在200~800nm光照下的响应,而且抑制了光腐蚀现象,提高了BiFeO₃的稳定性。在波长大于400nm的光照射12h后单纯纳米BiFeO₃粒子对罗丹明B脱色率约为74%,而Ag-BiFeO₃复合材料6h后约为90%,并且重复使用3次后光催化效果基本不变。     

形貌可控ZnO微纳米结构的水热合成及光催化性能

以乙醇胺为辅助溶剂,采用水热合成法,制备了花状、梭状和剑状的ZnO微纳米结构。采用扫描电镜（SEM）、Ｘ射线衍射（XRD）、光致发光光谱（PL）和拉曼光谱等测试手段对样品的形貌、结构、晶相等进行了表征。结果表明所有样品均为六方纤锌矿结构ZnO;其形貌和结晶度可通过改变物质的量的配比n_Zn²⁺/n_OH^-来调控。探讨了反应物配比对产物形貌结构的影响,乙醇胺对不同形貌ZnO的制备起到至关重要作用。以亚甲基蓝为目标降解物,采用紫外-可见吸收光谱（UV-Vis）并结合低温氮吸附-脱附比表面测试（BET）,研究了花状、梭状和剑状ZnO的光催化活性。结果表明,与商用ZnO相比,制备的ZnO具有更好的光催化活性;样品催化活性与其比表面积不成正比,具有最小比表面积的花状ZnO拥有最好的光催化活性,这可能是由于其低的结晶度和特殊的花状形貌所致。     

SnS2纳米材料的水热合成及光催化性质

在不同的表面活性剂和硫源的条件下,采用水热法制备了多种形貌的SnS₂纳米材料,详细讨论了反应条件对其形貌和性质的影响,并采用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、和BET比表面积法对制备的样品的物相、形貌和组成进行了表征,通过光催化降解罗丹明B研究了所得样品的光催化性能。结果表明：表面活性剂和硫源对产物的结构和形貌起到了重要的作用。当Sn⁴⁺与表面活性剂的物质量的比为1：1时,样品均为纯的六方相SnS₂。采用柠檬酸三钠为表面活性剂、硫脲为硫源时制得的SnS₂纳米片具有最大的比表面积,同时表现出了最优的光催化性能。     

自掺杂TiO2纳米管：液相制备及光催化性能

采用水合肼（N₂H₄·H₂O）作为还原剂,在液相环境中制备了自掺杂TiO₂纳米管阵列（NTs）。利用FE-SEM、EDS、XPS、XRD、Raman、UV-Vis/NIR分光光度法以及半导体特性分析系统（Keithley 4200 SCS）分别对样品的形貌,晶体结构,光学特性以及电学性能进行了表征。结果表明：通过这种方法制备的自掺杂TiO₂NTs在带隙中引入了大量的氧空位,创造了氧空位能级,从而提高了样品的电导率,有效提高光生电子-空穴对的产生、分离和传输。此外,由于氧空位的作用,使得TiO₂NTs的带隙变窄,增强了可见光吸收能力,致使样品具有较高的光催化活性,并通过降解甲基橙溶液对样品的光催化活性进行评估。结果显示当光照150min后,自掺杂TiO₂NTs对甲基橙溶液的降解率达73%,并且这种催化剂便于回收和重复使用。     

Cu/Ni助催化剂对TiO2光催化制取苯酚性能的影响

以TiO₂纳米粒子为主催化剂, 采用“浸渍-还原法”构筑了铜、镍共负载的二氧化钛基光催化系统。以苯为起始原料, H₂O₂为氧化剂, 研究了Cu/Ni助催化剂对TiO₂可见光催化制取苯酚性能的影响并对Cu/Ni助催化剂的作用机制进行了探讨。结果表明, 在可见光照射下, 纯TiO₂纳米粒子对苯氧化制取苯酚反应没有催化活性。铜、镍的引入可以明显地增强TiO₂可见光催化制取苯酚的活性。当使用负载有铜、镍的TiO₂作为催化剂时, 苯酚的产率可达到18%。结果还表明Cu、Ni之间存在着很强的协同作用。在该协同作用下, Cu、Ni共负载的TiO₂纳米粒子表现出了较单一金属负载的TiO₂纳米粒子高得多的光催化活性。