Characterization and photocatalytic activity of Fe- and N-co-deposited TiO2 and first-principles study for electronic structure

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂), co-deposited with Fe and N, is first implanted with Fe by a metal plasma ion implantation (MPII) process and then annealed in N₂ atmosphere at a temperature regime of 400-600 °C. First-principle calculations show that the (Fe, N) co-deposited TiO₂ films produced additional band gap levels at the bottom of the conduction band (CB) and on the top of the valence band (VB). The (Fe, N) co-deposited TiO₂ films were effective in both prohibiting electron-hole recombination and generating additional Fe-O and N-Ti-O impurity levels for the TiO₂ band gap. The (Fe, N) co-deposited TiO₂ has a narrower band gap of 1.97 eV than Fe-implanted TiO₂ (3.14 eV) and N-doped TiO₂ (2.16 eV). A significant reduction of TiO₂ band gap energy from 3.22 to 1.97 eV was achieved, which resulted in the extension of photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ from UV to Vis regime. The photocatalytic activity and removal rate were approximately two-fold higher than that of the Fe-implanted TiO₂ under visible light irradiation.     

Unconventional photoluminescence effect of SrTiO3 thin film under UV-illumination

We find that PL intensity I(t) of SrTiO₃ thin film measured under UHV condition increases with UV-laser illumination over long time scale of ∼ 2 h. The intensity increase takes place at lower sample temperature as well, 200, 100 K, and 20 K. When O₂ and N₂ gas are introduced into the sample chamber the PL intensity decreases with the UV-illumination time, opposite to the UHV-case. We consider a quantitative thermal energy flow model of the laser-power and heat absorption by the sample, but find that temperature change of the sample is not large enough to account for the time dependent I(t). We propose photo-catalysis effect on STO surface as possible scenario of the PL intensity change.     

Highly selective epoxidation of styrene over mesoporous Au-Ti-SBA-15 via photocatalysis process: Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic application

Highly ordered Au-Ti-SBA-15 mesoporous molecular sieves were successfully synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal synthesis in acid medium, and were characterized by XRD, UV-vis, SEM, element-mapping, HRTEM, N₂ adsorption, XPS, ²⁹Si MAS NMR, NH₃-TPD and FT-IR. The as-prepared Au-Ti-SBA-15 samples were possessed of highly ordered mesostructures with larger pore diameter, pore volume and uniform mesopore size distribution. In the oxidation of styrene with H₂O₂ as the oxidant over Au-Ti-SBA-15 catalyst under photo-irradiation, reaction parameters, such as molar ratio of H₂O₂ to styrene, reaction time, solvent, the amount of catalyst, catalyst species, and the amount of 3% NaOH, were conditioned at length. As a result, highly selective epoxidation of styrene over catalyst was carried out perfectly for 10 min with high TOF of 4.75 × 10³ min⁻¹.     

WO3/TiO2纳米材料的制备及光催化性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备WO3/TiO2复合纳米光催化剂,掺入WO3、TiO2锐钛矿101峰的相对强度、平均晶粒直径与颗粒直径均减小,比表面积增大;WO3掺入摩尔比分别为2%、5%、8%时,新的LRS峰位分别出现在797、967及969cm-1;在380-460nm范围内,WO3/TiO2的反射率减小,XPS分析表明,WO3/TiO2晶体中存在W6+、W5+、W4+、和Ti4+、Ti3+。以亚甲基兰的光催化降解为反应模型,掺入WO3后,光催化活性增强,掺入摩尔比为2%时,WO3/TiO2的光催化活性最高。还讨论了光催化活性与性质的关系。     

Preparation, structure and photo-catalytic performances of hybrid Bi2SiO5 modified Si nanowire arrays

Bi₂SiO₅ modified Si nanowire array films were fabricated as photo-catalysts via dip-coating Bi(NO₃)₃ on silver-assisted electroless wet chemical etching Si nanowires and subsequently annealing. The structures and morphologies of as-prepared samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results of photocatalytic experiments indicated that the Bi₂SiO₅ modified Si nanowire arrays benefit the improvement for efficient electron-hole separation and photo-catalytic stability, thereby possessing superior photo-degradation performance. These hybrid nanowire arrays will be promising materials for photo-catalysts and degradation agents.     

微波助离子液体中纳米TiO2／PMMA复合材料的制备及光催化性能

微波加热法合成离子液体[Bmim]BF4,并以该离子液体为反应介质,在微波辐射条件下制备纳米TiO2/PMMA复合材料.用XRD,IR和TG对该复合材料进行测试和表征;并在高压汞灯下用甲基橙溶液对其进行光催化降解性能测试.结果表明,制备TiO2/PMMA复合材料的最佳条件是:离子液体1.7mL,钛酸丁酯与MMA的体积比为3.4∶1.0,微波辐射功率600W、反应温度70℃、反应时间35min.并且用[Bmim]BF4作为反应介质,能够显著提高TiO2/PMMA复合材料的光催化活性,所制备的TiO2/PMMA复合材料不需要经过高温煅烧,就表现出极高的光催化活性;TiO2负载PMMA后,复合材料的光催化活性得到了进一步的改善.该复合材料对甲基橙的降解率在1.5h就可达到98.4%,其活性明显优于未负载的纳米TiO2催化剂.     

利用时间分辨相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射技术研究光催化产氢反应动力学

基于飞秒再生放大器及飞秒光学参量放大器输出的激光脉冲, 搭建了宽带时间分辨相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射(CARS)测试装置, 并利用该装置研究了氢气与空气混合气体中氢气的相对含量, 探测相对延时与CARS光谱之间的关系. 通过调整延时, 获得了无非共振背景干扰的氢气CARS信号. 实验中测得的CARS信号强度与氢气浓度(分压)的平方呈良好的线性关系, 符合CARS理论预测. 同时测得的实验数据的信噪比表明: 在当前的实验条件下, 在氢气与空气混合气的总压为0.1 MPa时, 该装置可以对氢气的浓度进行测量, 且其检测极限可低至0.2%. 本文还利用该装置对三联吡啶苯乙炔Pt 配合物-Co 配合物-三乙醇胺(TEOA)的三元化学催化体系的产氢动力学行为进行了研究, 通过改变pH值讨论了该催化体系的产氢动力学机制. 结果表明过高的质子浓度会降低体系的产氢效率, 这可能是因为在酸性条件下, 作为质子和电子供体的三乙醇胺分解被抑制, 电子供应中断, 导致产氢反应的停止.     

Self-sensitization of tetracycline degradation with simulated solar light catalyzed by ZnO@montmorillonite

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-particles were chemically deposited onto montmorillonite (MONT) clay particles. The composite ZnO@MONT was then characterized and used as a catalyst for photo-degradation of aqueous tetracycline. Unlike earlier studies, solar simulated light can be effectively used in this work. The composite shows high efficiency as adsorbent and as a photo-degradation catalyst. Both adsorbed and dissolved tetracycline molecules undergo mineralization under the photo-catalytic conditions, and up to 94% of the contaminant gross amount is completely mineralized. Other forms of ZnO particles, commercial ZnO and synthetic ZnO particles were examined in separate experiments. The ZnO@MONT is superior to both pristine counterparts. The ability of tetracycline to sensitize the supported ZnO particles, to solar simulated light, before being photo-degraded itself, is discussed here for the first time. In addition to enhanced catalytic activity of the ZnO@MONT, the composite can be efficiently recovered and reused with no significant loss of efficiency.     

Origin of the improved photo-catalytic activity of F-doped ZnWO4: A quantum mechanical study

Two different mechanisms for improving photo-catalytic activity in different types of F-doped ZnWO₄ are tentatively proposed, based on density function theory calculations. When the lattice O atom is substituted by one F atom, our calculations show that a reduced W⁵⁺ center adjacent to the doped F atom will act as a trap for the photo-induced electron, and will thus result in a reduction of electron-hole recombination and improvement of the photo-catalytic activity. For the interstitial F-doped model, partial F 2p states mixing with O 2p states localize above the top of the valence band and act as the frontier orbital level. Electronic transitions from these localized states induce a red shift of about 54 nm of the optical absorption edge. This work shows that F-doped ZnWO₄ will be a promising photo-catalyst with favorable photo-catalytic activity in the UV region.     

Mg和Ni共掺杂的ZnO稀释磁性半导体在磁性和光催化的应用

随着引入磁性元素，氧化锌最近被广泛用作磁性半导体. 本文报告了Mg和Ni共掺杂的ZnO的纯相合成，并研究其结构、光学、磁性和光催化特性. X射线衍射分析显示其六方纤锌矿型结构具有P63mc构型且不含任何杂质. 紫外可见分光光度法表明，随着ZnO中掺杂的Mg和Ni含量增加，带隙发生变化. 磁性测量实验显示Ni和Mg共掺杂的ZnO磁性加强，带隙的稳定进一步证实其结构的稳定性，实现了其在现代自旋电子设备的磁调谐性能. 对甲基绿的光催化降解实验结果表明，Mg和Ni共掺杂ZnO的活性增强.