Photodegradation of dye pollutants catalyzed by γ-Bi2MoO6 nanoplate under visible light irradiation

Nanoplate γ-Bi₂MoO₆ is prepared by hydrothermal method. Using this material as photocatalyst, rhodamine B and methylene blue were efficiently degraded under visible light irradiation. The degradation kinetics, total organic carbon changes, and electron spin resonance detection of active oxygen species were investigated to clarify the degradation process. The experimental results indicated that the target dyes could be facilely bleached and mineralized. The formation of active oxygen species of OH and O²⁻ is detected, and they are proposed to be responsible for the degradation of the target dyes. The γ-Bi₂MoO₆ catalyst is very stable and can be reused.     

Technical study of visible light wavelength division multiplexing using polymer optical fiber

Recently there has been considerable interest in the de-velopment of polymer optical fibers (POF). The ductil-ity of polymers is an important advantage and confers onPOF easy processing, easy handling, low costs, and largecore diameter[1]. POF has an extended applicability, suchas in computer networks, local area networks, data links,automobile, optical sensors, lighting, etc.. The large corediameter, up to 1 mm or more, enables high efficienciesof fiber coupling.We have demonstrated 100-M…     

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of graphene–TiO2 composite under visible light irradiation

Novel graphene–TiO₂ (GR–TiO₂) composite photocatalysts were synthesized by hydrothermal method. During the hydrothermal process, both the reduction of graphene oxide and loading of TiO₂ nanoparticles on graphene were achieved. The structure, surface morphology, chemical composition and optical properties of composites were studied using XRD, TEM, XPS, DRS and PL spectroscopy. The absorption edge of TiO₂ shifted to visible-light region with increasing amount of graphene in the composite samples. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) was carried out using graphene–TiO₂ composite catalysts in order to study the photocatalytic efficiency. The results showed that GR–TiO₂ composites can efficiently photodegrade MO, showing an enhanced photocatalytic activity over pure TiO₂ under visible-light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the composite catalysts might be attributed to great adsorptivity of dyes, extended light absorption range and efficient charge separation due to giant π-conjugation system and two-dimensional planar structure of graphene.     

Scattering of scalar light wave from a Gaussian—Schell model medium

<正>The scattering of scalar light wave from a random medium with a correlation function of Gaussian-Schell model distribution is studied.It is shown that the properties of the scattered field,i.e.,the spectral density and the spectral degree of coherence of the scattered field,are closely related to the properties of the scattering medium,including the scaled effective radius and the scaled correlation length of the correlation function.     

Synthesis,vibrational and UV–visible studies of sodium cadmium orthophosphate

In this paper, NaCdPO₄ orthophosphate was prepared by solid-state reaction technique at high temperature. Structural, vibrational and optical properties have been investigated. X-ray powder diffraction analysis revealed that the titled compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic system with Pmnb space group. Vibrational study by means of Raman and FTIR spectroscopies confirms the existence of the (PO₄)^3? functional group. Optical properties were recorded at room temperature using UV–visible spectroscopy in the spectral range (200–800) nm. The UV–Vis absorption bands are attributed to the charge transfer from the oxygen ligands to the central phosphate atom inside the PO₄ ^3? groups. The optical absorbance was measured also to determinate the optical band gap using Kubelka–Munk function. The dispersion parameters (E₀ and E_d) of this compound were estimated using the Wemple Di-Domenico model.     

Design of a broadband active silencer using μ-synthesis

A robust spatially feedforward controller is developed for broadband attenuation of noise in ducts. To meet the requirements of robust performance and robust stability in the presence of plant uncertainties, a μ-synthesis procedure via D–K iteration is exploited to obtain the optimal controller. This approach considers uncertainties as modelling errors of the nominal plant in high frequency and is implemented using a floating point digital signal processor (DSP). Experimental investigation was undertaken on a finite-length duct to justify the proposed controller. The μ- controller is compared to other control algorithms such as the H₂ method, the H_∞ method and the filtered-U least mean square (FULMS) algorithm. Experimental results indicate that the proposed system has attained 25.8 dB maximal attenuation in the band 250–650 Hz.     

Dynamic light scattering of a concentrated multicomponent spherical particle solution

The“measured”dunamic structure function of highly concentrated and smallspherical colloidal system with a narrow distribution of particle sizes can be expressed in termsof the sum of two independent modes due to collective diffusion and polydispersity fluctuationsrespectively.The“measured”static structure functions S~M(K) is derived,and applied to cal-culate the polydispersity distribution.The relationship between the moments of the gammaparticle size distribution and the moments determined by a dynamic light scattering measure-ment is developed for the case when the particles are small and spherical.     

Anomalous infrared and visible light absorption and local structure of Ag–Au core/shell nanoparticles

We measured infrared and visible light absorption spectra and EXAFS for Ag–Au core/shell particles. The shell thickness and core diameter can be evaluated from the EXAFS results, which are almost consistent with those obtained using TEM. The influence of a thinner shell only slightly appeared in the visible absorption spectra, whereas the influence appeared strongly in the infrared absorption spectra. The spectra of the material in the vicinity of the particle surface appear in the infrared spectra. On the other hand, the spectra of the rather more internal material are observed in the visible spectra. It is thought that the influence of the core metal is different in the visible spectra from the infrared spectra. By considering the penetration depth, this phenomenon can be explained.     

Unprecedented photocatalytic activity of carbon coated/MoO3 core–shell nanoheterostructurs under visible light irradiation

We reveal that nano-scale carbon layer deposited by hydrothermal process on molybdenum oxide (MoO₃) nanowires surface significantly improve the light absorption range. Furthermore, the graphene-carbon coated MoO₃ nanocopmosite (rGO/C-MoO₃ nanocomposite) exhibits excellent chemical stability and enhanced photocatalytic activity for methylene blue in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation compared to the bare MoO₃ nanowires and carbon coated MoO₃ nanowires (C-MoO₃ nanowires). The enhanced photocatalytic activity of rGO/C-MoO₃ nanocomposite could be attributed to the extended light absorption range, better adsorptivity of dye molecules and efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. Overall, this work provides new insights that the as synthesized rGO/C-MoO₃ nanocomposite can be efficiently used as high performance photocatalysts to improve the environmental protection issues under visible light irradiation.     

Optimal levels of oxygen deficiency in the visible light photocatalyst TiO2−x and long-term stability of catalytic performance

The dependence of the visible light-responsive photocatalytic activity of oxygen deficient TiO₂ (TiO_2−x) prepared by Ar/H₂ plasma surface treatment on the degree of oxygen deficiency (x) was assessed to determine the deficiency region associated with highest performance. The highest activity was obtained at x=0.06 (TiO_1.94). The maximum visible light activity for this material, estimated from the formaldehyde (HCHO) removal rate, was three times higher than that exhibited by nitrogen-doped TiO₂ (TiO_2−xN_x). The catalytic ability was found to decrease over the first week after fabrication of the material, after which it became stable, and the performance of TiO_2−x at this point was found to be nearly equal to that of TiO_2−xN_x. The results of ab initio calculations of density of states for TiO_2−x suggest that new oxygen deficiency states emerge at almost the exact center between the valence and conduction bands when x>0.06, which increases the recombination rate between electrons and holes. Therefore the declining performance of TiO_2−x at larger x values is attributed to the emergence of new oxygen deficient states.     

Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of?novel red-emitting phosphors for light emitting diodes

The novel red-emitting phosphors K₂Ba_1−x (MoO₄)₂: xEu³⁺(0.02≤x≤0.15) phosphors were prepared by solid-state reaction and their crystal structures, photo luminescent characteristics were investigated. The results show that all samples can be efficiently excited by UV (396 nm) and blue (466 nm) light, which are coupled well with the characteristic emission from UVLED and blue LED, respectively. Their emission spectra show intense red emission at 616 nm with line spectra due to the ⁵D₀–⁷F₂ transition of Eu³⁺. The XRD and photoluminescence experimental results indicate that the K₂Ba(MoO₄)₂: Eu³⁺ phosphor crystallization optimum annealing temperature occurs at about 800°C. The optimum doping concentration of Eu³⁺ is 0.10 mol, and the critical transfer distance (Rc) among Eu³⁺ ions is calculated to be about 11.126 ?. The approach to charge compensation was used: Ba²⁺→Eu³⁺+X⁻ (X=F, Cl, Br), and the charge compensation influence on the luminescent intensity of phosphors is investigated.     

Propagation of a light pulse inside matter in a context of the Abraham–Minkowski dilemma

It is shown that a light pulse propagating in an optical medium exerts the optical pressure on the medium in the regions where leading and trailing edges are propagating. This effect is derived from analysis of unambiguous thought experiments which results contradict one other. It is shown that a magnitude of the pressure is equal to (n − 1/n)W₀, where n and W₀ is the refractive index of the medium and the momentum flux density of the same pulse in free space, respectively. The Abraham form of the momentum of light is redundant if the optical pressure is taken into account. In this case the dilemma disappears because one of the rival alternatives disappears.     

Refraction of active waves in reaction—diffusion media

The refraction of active waves is analyzed for a stable—metastable reaction—diffusion system consisting of two regions with different diffusion coefficients. The equations governing the evolution of wavefronts are derived by means of an asymptotic perturbation method for boundary layers. These equations describe non-stationary refraction near the steady state regime. It is shown that the dynamics of wavefronts separates into that in the region near the boundary and that far from the boundary.     

Exploration of the Townsend regime by discharge light emission in a gas discharge deviceExploration of the Townsend regime by discharge light emission in a gas discharge deviceExploration of the Townsend regime by discharge light emission in a gas discharge deviceExploration of the Townsend regime by discharge light emission in a gas discharge deviceExploration of the Townsend regime by discharge light emission in a gas discharge device

The Townsend discharge mechanism has been explored in a planar microelectronic gas discharge device （MGDD） with different applied voltages U and interelectrode distance d under various pressures in air. The anode and the cathode of the MGDD are formed by a transparent SnO2 covered glass and a GaAs semiconductor, respectively. In the experiments, the discharge is found to be unstable just below the breakdown voltage Ub, whereas the discharge passes through a homo- geneous stable Townsend mode beyond the breakdown voltage. The measurements are made by an electrical circuit and a CCD camera by recording the currents and light emission （LE） intensities. The intensity profiles, which are converted from the 3D light emission images along the semiconductor diameter, have been analysed for different system parameters. Dif- ferent instantaneous conductivity ~t regimes are found below and beyond the Townsend region. These regimes govern the current and spatio-temporal LE stabilities in the plasma system. It has been proven that the stable LE region increases up to 550 Torr as a function of pressure for small d. If the active area of the semiconductor becomes larger and the interlectrode distance d becomes smaller, the stable LE region stays nearly constant with pressure.     

Efficient photocatalytic degradation of acid orange 7 on metal oxide p–n junction composites under visible light

MO(=CuO, Co₃O₄, NiO)/BiVO₄ p–n junction composites were synthesized by urea-precipitation and wet impregnation method. The physicochemical and optical properties of the as-prepared materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectra. The photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared materials was investigated for decomposition of azo dye, acid orange 7. The CuO/BiVO₄ and Co₃O₄/BiVO₄ p–n junction composite photocatalysts exhibited the higher photocatalytic degradation of acid orange 7 than those of BiVO₄ and NiO/BiVO₄ as-prepared samples under visible light irradiation. We also discussed the mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity of p–n junctioned composites based on their energy band structures.     

Does a varying speed of light solve the cosmological problems?

We propose a new generalisation of general relativity which incorporates a variation in both the speed of light in vacuum (c) and the gravitational constant (G) and which is both covariant and Lorentz invariant. We solve the generalised Einstein equations for Friedmann universes and show that arbitrary time-variations of c and G never lead to a solution to the flatness, horizon or Λ problems for a theory satisfying the strong energy condition. In order to do so, one needs to construct a theory which does not reduce to the standard one for any choice of time, length and energy units. This can be achieved by breaking a number of invariance principles such as covariance and Lorentz invariance.     

Time evolution of atomic inversion in a standing wave light field

The interaction between an atomic beam of two-level atoms and a standing wave light field has been studied by the exact solution of a time-dependent quantum system developed recently. When the initial atomic state is choosen to be ground, we find that with the limit of zero detuning the atoms will oscillate between the upper and the lower levels with a decaying amplitude. The most interesting result obtained in this paper is when the initial atomic state is a particular superposition of the two levels, now the system does not oscillate at any time.     

L—shell absorption measurement and simulation of x—ray—heated constrained material

Using the newly-designed multi-layered target, we obtain a homogeneous Al sample plasma at high density, low electron temperature, and in near local thermodynamic equilibrium. L-shell resonance absorption lines of Li-like and Be-like ions, as well as satellites are clearly observed. Transition arrays such as 2s－3p, 2s²－2s3p and 2s2p－2p3p are identified. We present the calculation method based on the unresolved transition array model, and we compare the measured transmission spectrum with the calculated results. The electron temperature of the constrained sample plasma is determined to be 34eV with a variation of ±2eV.