Effect of thickness on the photophysics and charge carrier kinetics of graphitic carbon nitride nanoflakes

The thickness of graphitic carbon nitride nanoflake has an obvious effect on its bandgap and charge carrier kinetics.     

Electrochemical determination of mesoscopic phenomena, defect states in CdSe nanocrystals and charge carrier manipulability

The review gives an overview of cyclic voltammetry measurements performed on CdSe nanocrystals (so called Quantum Dots). Data of relevant publications is gathered and newly interpreted to give complete insights in charge transfer processes at QD surfaces. In specific, it is focused on the size-dependent electronic properties (Quantum-Size-Effect), the characterisation of surface defects, and the characterisation of hybrid nanocrystal/conducting polymer composites. First two authors contribute equally to this work Correspondence: Thomas Nann, School of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich NR4 7TJ, U.K.     

Polarization energies,transport gap and charge transfer states of organic molecular crystals

A self-consistent calculation of electronic polarization in organic molecular crystals and thin films is presented in terms of charge redistribution in nonoverlapping molecules in a lattice. The polarization energies P₊ and P₋ of a molecular cation and anion are found for anthracene and perelynetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), together with binding energies of ion pairs and transport gaps of PTCDA films on metallic substrates. The 500 meV variation of P₊+P₋ with film thickness agrees with experiment, as do calculated dielectric tensors. Comparisons are made to submolecular calculations in crystals.     

Photogeneration and transport of charge carriers in polysilylenes

The attachment of π-conjugated chromophores that absorb the radiation with long wavelengths to poly(methylphenylsilylene) ( 1 ) via reactions of its formylated derivative is described. Some of the polymers obtained show improved photostability and higher quantum photogeneration efficiency in comparison with the parent polymer. Photoconductive ultra-thin layers can be prepared from polar derivatives of ( 1 ) by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique.     

Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Degradation of Disulfoton in Aqueous TiO2 Suspensions: Parameter and Reaction Pathway Investigations

The photocatalytic degradation of organophosphorus insecticide disulfoton is investigated by having titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as a photocatalyst. About 99% of disulfoton is degraded after UV irradiation for 90 min. The effects of the solution pH, catalyst dosage, light intensity, and inorganic ions on the photocatalytic degradation of disulfoton are also investigated, as well as the reaction intermediates which are formed during the treatment. Eight intermediates have been identified and characterized through a mass spectra analysis, giving insight into the early steps of the degradation process. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the degradation pathways of disulfoton. The results suggest that possible transformation pathways may involve in either direct electron or hole transfer to the organic substrate. The photodegradation of disulfoton by UV/TiO₂ exhibits pseudo‐first‐order reaction kinetics and a reaction quantum yield of 0.267. The electrical energy consumption per order of magnitude for photocatalytic degradation of disulfoton is 85 kWh/(m³ order).     

纳米TiO2光催化降解CH3OH、HCHO及HCOOH反应的研究

以纳米TiO2为催化剂，采用主波长为364nm的汞灯为光源，分别研究了浓度为0.1mol/L的甲醇、甲醛和甲酸水溶液的光催化氧化反应速率，用TEM、XRD、SSA和FT-IR对催化剂进行了表征，通过气相色谱测定反应物和生成物的浓度变化。并用Langmuir-Hinshelwood方程进行计算，证明该组反应均为零级反应，根据红外光谱的检测结果，提出了甲醇光催化的反应机理。     

Surface photovoltage phase spectroscopy study of the photo-induced charge carrier properties of TiO2 nanotube arrays

By using the surface photovoltage(SPV) technique based on a lock-in amplifier,surface states located 3.1 eV below the conduction band of TiO 2 have been detected in TiO 2 nanotube arrays prepared by anodization of titanium foil in fluoride-based ethylene glycol solution.The photo-induced charge transportation behavior of TiO 2 nanotube arrays was also studied by qualitatively analyzing their SPV phase spectra measured under different external bias.When a negative bias was applied,carriers excited from surface states have the same transportation properties as those excited from the valence band;in contrast,when a positive bias was applied,these two kinds of photo-excited carriers exhibit different transportation behavior.     

锐钛矿(001)与(101)晶面在光催化反应中的作用

采用水热法制备了(001)和(101)晶面暴露的单晶锐钛矿TiO₂颗粒. 利用光还原沉积贵金属(Au, Ag, Pt)和光氧化沉积金属氧化物(PbO₂, MnO_x)的方法研究了暴露的锐钛矿(001)和(101)晶面在光催化中的作用. 通过透射电子显微镜(TEM)、扫描电子显微镜(STM)、能量色散X射线光谱仪(EDX)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)的表征, 发现发生光还原反应生成的贵金属粒子主要沉积在暴露的锐钛矿(101)晶面上, 而发生光氧化反应产生的金属氧化物颗粒主要沉积在暴露的锐钛矿(001)晶面上. 此结果表明光激发产生的电子与空穴主要并分别分布在单晶锐钛矿TiO₂的(101)与(001)晶面上, 并在其上参与光催化还原反应和氧化反应. 同时也表明暴露的不同晶面对光生电荷具有分离效应. 基于本研究可以认为同时暴露分别进行氧化和还原反应的晶面可以有效促进光催化反应.     

Pseudolattice theory of charge transport in ionic solutions: Corresponding states law for the electric conductivity

A statistical mechanical framework for charge transport in ionic liquid–solvent mixtures based on the existence of a statistical lattice structure (pseudolattice) throughout the whole range of concentration is reported. The ion distribution is treated in a mean-field Bragg–Williams-like fashion, and the ionic motion is assumed to take place through hops between cells of two different types separated by non-random-energy barriers of different heights depending on the cell type. Assuming non-correlated ion transport, the electrical conductivity is shown to have a maximum, arising from the competition between the concentration of charge carriers in the bulk medium and their mobilities in the pseudolattice. An explicit expression for the concentration at which this maximum occurs is given in terms of microscopic parameters, and the electrical conductivity normalized by its maximum value (κ/κ_max) is shown to follow rather closely a universal corresponding states law in concentration space when represented against the ionic concentration scaled by its value at the conductivity maximum (?_α/?_max). Ion–ion and ion–solvent interactions are explicitly considered combining the path probability method for charge transport in solid electrolytes and the Bragg–Williams approximation for interparticle interactions, and their impact on the deviations of experimental data from the universal behavior of non-correlated transport analyzed. The theoretical predictions are shown to satisfactorily predict experimental values of electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions of conventional electrolytes and of mixtures of room temperature molten salts with typical solvents.     

Efficient charge separation in TiO2 films sensitized with ruthenium(II)-polypyridyl complexes: hole stabilization by ligand-localized charge-transfer states

We have studied the interfacial electron-transfer dynamics on TiO(2) film sensitized with synthesized ruthenium(II)-polypyridyl complexes--[Ru(II)(bpy)(2)(L(1))] (1) and [Ru(II)(bpy)(L(1))(L(2))] (2), in which bpy=2,2'-bipyridyl, L(1)=4-[2-(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridinyl-4-yl)vinyl]benzene-1,2-diol, and L(2)=4-(N,N-dimethylaminophenyl)-2,2'-bipyridine-by using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The presence of electron-donor L(2) and electron-acceptor L(1) ligands in complex 2 introduces lower energetic ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer (LLCT) excited states in addition to metal-to-ligand (ML) CT manifolds of complex 2. On photoexcitation, a pulse-width-limited (<100 fs) electron injection from populating LLCT and MLCT states are observed on account of strong catecholate binding on the TiO(2) surface. The hole is transferred directly or stepwise to the electron-donor ligand (L(2)) as a consequence of electron injection from LLCT and MLCT states, respectively. This results an increased spatial charge separation between the hole residing at the electron-donor (L(2)) ligand and the electron injected in TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs). Thus, we observed a significant slow back-electron-transfer (BET) process in the 2/TiO(2) system relative to the 1/TiO(2) system. Our results suggest that Ru(II) -polypyridyl complexes comprising LLCT states can be a better photosensitizer for improved electron injection yield and slow BET processes in comparison with Ru(II)-polypyridyl complexes comprising MLCT states only.     

Surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag metallized SnO2 particles: Exploration of metal induced gap states and characteristic properties of Ohmic junction

Ag metallization on the surface of SnO₂ catalyst was performed by the photoreduction method, and its presence was confirmed by the (111), (200), (220), and (311) hkl planes of Ag metal by powder X-ray diffraction technique. Further lattice parameters “a” and “c” of the SnO₂ tetragonal unit cell show prominent changes on metallization. Ultraiolet-visible absorption spectrum of Ag-SnO₂ shows the extended adsorption in the visible region up to almost ~565 nm due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. Percentage composition of the elements present in the SnO₂ and Ag-SnO₂ samples were confirmed by the energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and the inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopic analysis techniques, and the spherical morphology of these samples were confirmed by the scanning electron microscopy. The photoluminescence technique confirms the reduction of recombination of photogenerated charge carriers by 44% in the case of Ag-SnO₂. The metal-metal oxide contact was found to be Ohmic rather than Schottky. The higher activity of the Ag-SnO₂ nanoparticles are correlated to the SPR effect, metal-induced gap states, inherently created structural defects, the ability of Sn to show multiple oxidation states, variation in the surface oxygen concentration, and also to the Ohmic junction. Synergistic effect between electronic/intrinsic defect energy levels of Ag-SnO₂ photocatalyst with the redox potential of the fast red dye leads to the higher quantum efficiency.     

Photoluminescence emission behavior on the reduced band gap of Fe doping in CeO2-SiO2 nanocomposite and photophysical properties

Fe/CeO₂-SiO₂ nanocomposite was synthesized via hydrothermal method. Bond length of nanocomposite was determined through FTIR analysis, while Raman analysis showed lattice relaxation of CeO₂ phase in Fe/CeO₂-SiO₂. TEM, XRD and DLS-PSA revealed an increase in size of Fe/CeO₂-SiO₂ as compared to CeO₂-SiO₂ which was attributed to have more oxygen vacancies in CeO₂ after doping of iron. Lattice contraction was also observed in some phases of CeO₂ in Fe/CeO₂-SiO₂ nanocomposite as compared to CeO₂-SiO₂ nanocomposite. This contraction was used for determination of Fe content incorporated in CeO₂ [1 1 1] phase. The band gap values of Fe/CeO₂-SiO₂ nanocomposite were found reduced after doping of Fe by factors of 0.62 and 0.55 eV, respectively. Photoluminescence study of the materials was carried out to study the different type of transitions occurring after absorption of electromagnetic radiation. Photoluminescence intensity at 2.12 eV was found enhanced after doping of Fe due to increased oxygen vacancy. Photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites was studied with the degradation of chlorpyrifos pesticide.     

Investigation of the kinetics of a TiO2 photoelectrocatalytic reaction involving charge transfer and recombination through surface states by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

In this paper, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) mathematical model of TiO2 photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) reactions involving charge transfer and recombination through surface states was developed. The model was used to study the kinetics of photoelectrocatalytic decomposition of salicylic acid. The model simulation results show that the appearance of two distinguishable semicircles in the EIS response depends on the charging of surface state and light intensity. The experimental results demonstrated that similar phenomena to the theoretical simulation results. The model provides a way to obtain the rate constants for the photoelectrochemical reactions of surface states mediating charge transfer and recombination. The applied potential changes not only the recombination rate constant but also the charge-transfer rate constant. Moreover, the experimental EIS results here and those previous published on PEC degradation reactions can be explained by the present model satisfactorily. The relevance of surface states was discussed briefly. The results demonstrated that EIS is a powerful tool for studying the kinetics of PEC decomposition of organic pollutants on TiO2 electrodes.     

Preparation of High-Orderly TiO2 Nanotubes in Organic Solution and Characterization of C-doped TiO2

"High-orderly TiO2 nanotube arrays were fabricated by anodic oxidation of pure titanium substrate in organic electrolyte containing fluoride. Different morphological nanotubes of titania were obtained through controlling the different anodization voltages and durations. The length of the longest nanotubes was approximately 60 1m and the length-to-width aspect ratio was about 600. The nanotube layers were then annealed at different temperatures (450, 550, and 650 oC) in air for 2 h. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-Ray (EDS) and UV-Vis spectrometer. The XRD results demonstrated that the as-anodized samples were amorphous and the structure changed to antanse and rutile when the samples were annealed at higher temperature. The EDS microanalysis indicated the presence of carbon in the TiO2 nanotubes. The result of degradation of methylene blue showed clearly that the photocatalytic activity of C-doped TiO2 nanotubes increased by 10%."     

TiO_2纳米管阵列光电极的电化学阻抗及动力学特性分析

采用声电化学阳极氧化法,在无机溶剂(H3PO4+NaF水溶液)和有机溶剂(NH4F+水+乙二醇)体系电解液中加20V直流电压制得TiO2纳米管(TNT)阵列,其中无机溶剂样品(记为TNT-A)的管长为650nm,有机溶剂样品(记为TNT-E)的管长为2μm.基于X射线衍射(XRD)图谱、场发射扫描电子显微镜图(FESEM)、紫外-可见漫反射光谱(UV-VisDRS)的表征和电流-时间(I-t)曲线、Mott-Schottky图和电化学阻抗谱(EIS)的分析可知,在空气中经500℃煅烧后,TNT-E的吸光性能明显好于TNT-A的吸光性能.在紫外光((365±15)nm)辐照下,测得TNT-E的平均光电流密度与TNT-A的仅差0.05mA·cm-2,这是由于管长的增长增大了电荷转移电阻,并使得传质路径增长,增大了反应所需克服的势垒,降低了电极的反应速率,两者的电荷载流子密度分别为5.31×1020与9.86×1020cm-3.     

CuWO4促进金红石TiO2光催化降解苯酚及其可能机理

已知金红石光催化降解水中有机物的活性远低于锐钛矿和板钛矿。本文报道,加入少量钨酸铜能显著加快金红石光催化降解水中苯酚。反应速率增加的幅度不仅远高于在相同煅烧温度（600 ℃）下制得的锐钛矿和板钛矿,而且随金红石煅烧温度（150-800 ℃）的增加持续增加。这些现象说明通过加入助催化剂钨酸铜,高温焙烧温度合成的金红石所具有的高的固有光催化活性可以被开发出来。此外,在过量苯酚存在下,H₂O₂的生成量随钨酸铜的加入量而先增加后减少,并且该趋势与苯酚降解速率基本一致。钨酸铜的这种正效应归结于固态的钨酸铜,而不是溶于水中的铜离子。（光）电化学测试表明,体系发生了从受光激发的金红石到钨酸铜的电子转移。这将提高光生载流子的分离效率,从而增大了O₂还原和苯酚降解的速率。     

Theoretical study of the charge carrier mobilities of the molecular materials tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and 2,5-bis(1,3-dithiolan-2-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene (BDH-TTP)

Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) is a kind of fused ring aromatic compound containing four sulfur atoms in one molecule, which is well known as a charge transport material. In order to calculate the charge mobility of this semiconductor, Marcus electron transfer theory and the embedded model, which can give small intramolecular reorganization energies, were employed. The calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental values, so the above computing model is appropriate to assess the electrical property of TTF. On this basis, we predicted the charge mobility of 2,5-bis(1,3-dithiolan-2-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene (BDH-TTP) crystals, for which the molecular structure is similar to TTF. The calculated results indicated that BDH-TTP is a p-type material, which has a better performance than TTF in hole transfer due to larger hole coupling and the smaller hole injection barrier. In addition, the direct coupling (DC) and the site energy correction (SEC) methods were used to calculate the charge transfer integrals. Although the results were slightly different, the qualitative trends were the same. Furthermore we took into account the anisotropic transfer properties of TTF and BDH-TTF, since obviously the mobilities along one dimension are larger than those along three dimensions. Finally, natural bond orbital analysis was used to study the interactions in all of the dimers.     

Geometrically active atomic states and the formation of molecules in their normal shapes

We present a theory of molecular formation according to which the shape of polyhedral or coordination compounds is fixed to a very good approximation by the shape of a particular state (or states) of the central atom, which is activated by spin and spacial coupling of optimal strength between this state, called the geometrically active atomic state (GAAS) and the state of the ligands. For a molecule with a central atom, spacial coupling of optimal strength, means that the shape of the GAAS fixes the position of the ligands according to the maximum overlap principle of the Heitler–London, Slater, and Pauling theory of covalent bonding, whereby much of the energy lowering from the free atom limit is obtained by the maximization of the contribution of the exchange integrals. Hence, a direct causal relationship between the shape of the GAAS and the shape of the molecular state at equilibrium seems to exist. This relationship implies a picture of diabatic connection between the geometrically asymptotic region and the equilibrium region, which is driven by the coupled GAAS and provides the “why” of molecular shape. Since the latter is fixed by the shape of the GAAS (in cases of electronic complexity or of molecular instability it is possible that more than one GAAS contribute simultaneously), prediction of the shape of certain large systems can be made based on the a priori recognition of the corresponding GAAS. The concept of the shape of atomic states defined and computed quantum mechanically from the probability distribution ϱ(cos θ₁₂) of the angle θ₁₂ that the position vectors of two electrons form in the given atomic state. Specifically, it is deduced from the distribution's maxima which provide the most probable values of θ₁₂. As shown previously [Y. Komninos and C. A. Nicolaides, Phys. Rev. A 50 , 3782 (1994)], ϱ(cos θ₁₂) is obtainable directly from the state-specific expression for the Coulomb interaction, where the R^k integrals are replaced by Legendre polynomials P_k, multiplied by normalization constants and radial overlaps. The theory is demonstrated by explaining the shape of BeH₂, BH₂, CH₄, SiH₄, H₂O, H₂S, NH₃, PH₃, SF₆, and TiH₄ in terms of the shapes of the following GAAS. Be: 2s2p ³P⁰, B: 2s2p^{2 4}P, C: 2s2p^{3 5}S⁰, Si: 3s3p^{3 5}S⁰, O: 2s2p^{5 3}P⁰, S: 3s²3p³3d ³P⁰, N: 2s2p^{4 4}P, P: 3s3p³3d ⁴P⁰, S: 3s3p³3d^{2 7}F⁰, and Ti: 3d²4s4p ⁵G⁰. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 67: 321–328, 1998     

Influence of carbon source on the anatase and brookite mixed phase of the C-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activity

Choosing resorcinol, phloroglucinol, ethylene glycol and glycerol as carbon sources, respectively, C-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles are prepared via hydrothermal method. Here glucose is first used to determine the optimal C-doping amount and reaction environment. The experimental results reveal that adding small amount of carbon in TiO₂ can change the phase structure of the TiO₂, the self-characteristic of carbon source influences the ratio of anatase to brookite in the mixed phase structures, and the carbon source with no benzene ring can lead to a high content of brookite phase. The mixed crystal phases show lower band gap energy and less photogenerated electronic-hole recombination. Furthermore, a high content of hydroxyls in carbon source and a high ratio of brookite phase in the mixed crystal phases are beneficial to the photocatalytic performance.     

不对称沉积合成PdS-CdSe@CdS-Au一维纳米异质结构及其光解水制氢性能

提高光催化剂在光照射下产生的电子/孔穴分离效率是一个关键的科学问题之一,目前也是一个很大的挑战. 最近,在纳米尺度, 通过材料设计, 在窄带半导体上沉积助催化剂(比如引进双助催化剂)形成异质结构, 能够建立内建电场, 从而使电子和空穴快速分离和传输, 显示出很好的可见光量子效率. 对于异质结构, 纳米结构半导体如硫化镉具有表面积大、规整形貌、电子和空穴迁移路径短等优势. 用纳米半导体硫化镉制备异质结构光催化剂已有很多报道, 大多数研究集中于单一助催化剂来提高光催化活性, 对于纳米结构的设计制备研究较少; 对于稳定性研究, 侧重于利用超薄碳膜包敷策略来提高光催化的稳定性. 因此, 复杂纳米异质结构的精准合成和稳定性仍是个不小的挑战. 我们研究组发展了一种催化剂制备方法, 可选择性地将Au纳米颗粒和PdS纳米颗粒分别沉积于一维硫化镉纳米棒的两端, 并将所制备的催化剂应用于可见光光催化分解水制氢反应中.本文报道了一种高选择性沉积助催化剂的新方法, 制备了PdS-CdSe@CdS-Au一维纳米异质结构. 首先用高温分解法和种子法制备了核壳结构的CdSe@CdS纳米棒, 预先沉积纳米金在纳米棒的一端, 然后PdS通过阳离子交换法高度选择性地沉积到纳米棒的另一端, 形成火柴棒纳米结构. HRTEM结果显示Au和Pd分别高选择性地沉积在纳米棒顶的两端, 助催化剂和纳米棒之间有一个清晰的界面, 非外延生长. 紫外-可见吸收光谱显示, Au和PdS与CdSe@CdS纳米棒之间有很强的电子耦合效应, 相应的荧光光谱也显示, 顶端的助催化剂使CdSe@CdS发生强的荧光淬灭效应. 将PdS-CdSe@CdS-Au一维纳米异质结构用于光催化分解水制氢, 发现5 h内产氢达到1100 μmol, 是相应Au-CdSe@CdS催化剂产氢速率的2个数量级.同时考察了它的光催化稳定性, 发现双助催化剂形成的火柴棒型纳米结构稳定性大大提高, 经过4 h光照仍能保持很好的形貌.通过对照实验考察了PdS-CdSe@CdS-Au一维纳米异质结构的形成机理. 一端金纳米颗粒的形成主要是由于顶端曲率的Gibbs-Thompson效应和纳米棒顶端组成分布不对称的缘故, 而PdS的顶端高选择性沉积是在阳离子交换过程中两端化学性质发生变化等原因造成的. 最后提出了光催化性能提高机理, 主要是由于电子和空穴在一维纳米棒上快速向相反方向分离和传输, 既大大提高了光催化制氢效率, 也大大提高了光催化稳定性.