Solvothermal synthesis of well-defined TiO(2) mesoporous nanotubes with enhanced photocatalytic activity

High efficiency TiO(2) photocatalyst in porous nanotubes were prepared by solvothermal alcoholysis of TiOSO(4) in the presence of carbon nanotube template.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic properties of highly crystalline and ordered mesoporous TiO2 thin films

Highly crystalline and ordered mesoporous TiO2 thin films have been synthesized by stabilization of the mesostructure with confined carbon; the films exhibit 2.5% photoconversion efficiency for the water photolysis at zero-bias and Xe lamp illumination of 40 mW cm(-2).     

A facile synthesis of hierarchical flower-like TiO2 with enhanced photocatalytic activity

The hierarchical flower-like TiO₂ has been achieved by using a simple solvothermal process without any surfactants or colloidal crystals as a template. The structures of the products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis. The relationship between hierarchical structure and photocatalytic performance has been presented based on detailed characterizations. It was found that the hierarchical flower-like structure was a benefit for light absorption and significantly enhanced the photocatalytic activity.     

Facile synthesis of spiny mesoporous titania tubes with enhanced photocatalytic activity

We demonstrate here for the first time an original and facile approach to synthesizing a novel TiO(2) tube with a spiny mesoporous wall. The photocatalytic activity of the spiny mesoporous tube was greatly enhanced owing to the superior light reflecting ability of the tubular structure as well as the crosslinked spiny nanosheets.     

Defect induced nickel,nitrogen-codoped mesoporous TiO2 microspheres with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

Nickel, nitrogen-codoped mesoporous TiO₂ microspheres (Ni–N–TiO₂) with high surface area, and an effective direct band gap energy of ∼2.58 eV. Nickel sulfate used as the Ni source and ammonia gas as the N source here. The efficiency of the as-prepared samples was investigated by monitoring the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. The experimental results indicate that Ni-doped mesoporous TiO₂ microspheres show higher photocatalytic activity than mesoporous TiO₂ microspheres under visible light irradiation. It mainly due to that the electron trap level (Ni²⁺/Ni⁺) promoting the separation of charge carriers and the oxygen vacancies inducing the visible light absorption. In addition, Ni–N–TiO₂ shows enhanced activity compared with Ni–TiO₂. Codopants and dopants are found to be uniformly distributed in TiO₂ matrix. Among the all samples the 0.5% molar quantity of Ni dopant and 500 °C 2 h nitriding condition gives the highest photocatalytic activity. The treatment of ammonia gas on Ni–TiO₂ sample induced oxygen vancancies, substitutional and interstitial N. A suitable treatment by ammonia gas also promote separation of charge carriers and the absorption of visible light. The active species generated in the photocatalytic system were also investigated. The strategy presented here gives a promising route towards the development of a metal and non-metal codoped semiconductor materials for applied photocatalysis and related applications.     

介孔AgBr/TiO_2-SiO_2光催化剂的制备及其可见光催化活性

通过沉积法将光活性AgBr半导体负载到介孔TiO_2-SiO_2载体上合成了新型的AgBr/TiO_2-SiO_2复合光催化剂.采用X射线衍射仪、高分辨透射电镜、紫外-可见吸收光谱仪等分析了AgBr/TiO_2-SiO_2复合光催化剂的结构和光谱性质;并采用BET法测定了样品的比表面积和孔分布.结果表明,介孔TiO_2-SiO_2载体的比表面积为135.5m2/g,平均孔径约为3.8nm,AgBr的负载可以有效地将AgBr/TiO_2-SiO_2复合光催化剂的吸收光谱从紫外光区扩展到可见光区,且AgBr和TiO_2形成了异质结结构,强化了AgBr与介孔TiO_2-SiO_2载体的协同作用.以罗丹明B作为探针分子,评价了AgBr负载量对复合光催化剂可见光催化活性的影响.结果发现,当AgBr∶TiO_2=0.1,0.2,0.3和0.4(物质的量之比,下同)时,复合光催化剂的光催化反应速率常数分别为0.008 5、0.028 6、0.024 6和0.019 3min-1,活性先增加后减小,当AgBr∶TiO_2=0.2时,复合光催化剂表现出最高的光催化活性,并且在5次循环测试中均表现出较高的光催化活性.     

具有高光催化活性的介孔单晶TiO2薄膜的制备

光催化技术在常温下能够直接利用太阳能来驱动反应, 已成为一种理想的环境污染治理和洁净能源生产技术. 但是比较多的限制条件阻碍了光催化发展和实际应用, 如何有效解决这些限制因素成为光催化技术走向工业化应用必须解决的问题. 目前光催化材料研究存在的问题主要包括: (1)研究工作主要集中的粉体催化剂存在分离困难、难以重复利用的缺点, 开发与基底结合牢固的薄膜材料是十分必要的; (2)光催化材料本身的光响应范围影响光催化材料的应用, 拓宽催化剂材料的光吸收范围是亟待解决的; (3)光生电子和空穴的复合问题是影响光催化剂催化活性的主要因素之一, 很多方法被用来阻止电子-空穴对的复合, 如: 金属和非金属的掺杂、贵金属修饰、异质结、新型催化剂结构的设计等, 如何设计促进催化剂光生电子和空穴的分离成为光催化技术应用的重要问题.介孔单晶TiO2通过自组装的方法被制备, 成为TiO2的一种新结构材料. 介孔单晶TiO2结合了介孔材料的大比表面积、单晶材料的电荷传输快等优点, 对于光催化性能有了很大的提高. 目前介孔单晶TiO2主要是以粉体的形式存在, 但是粉体TiO2的应用受到多方面的影响, 如: 难回收不易重复利用, 与电催化结合难, 不能借助电催化提高电荷分离效率等. TiO2薄膜能够解决粉体的不足, 近年来, TiO2光催化薄膜得到广泛的研究, TiO2薄膜的制备方法很多, 主要有液相制备方法、物理气相沉积法、化学气相沉积法、电化学方法、溅射法等. TiO2薄膜主要是以纳米颗粒的形式沉积在基底上, 并且多为多晶和无定形. 而对于介孔单晶TiO2薄膜的制备和研究还没有报道. 我们通过直接焙烧一步法制备了介孔单晶TiO2薄膜, 并对TiO2薄膜的生长情况、表面结构、TiO2晶相和晶体完整程度的变化对性能的影响进行了研究. 通过调变Ti与F的比例和煅烧温度, 研究不同的制备条件对其性能的影响, 从而制备高活性TiO2薄膜. 为了进一步提高介孔单晶TiO2薄膜的活性和拓展其吸收光谱范围, 使用高温热解自组装技术一步法制备了贵金属Au负载的介孔单价TiO2薄膜, Au纳米颗粒跟TiO2有较好的结合度. 在可见光照射下, Au/TiO2异质结构中Au表面由等离子体共振效应产生的活泼电子会注入TiO2导带, 使光生电子和空穴得到分离; 同时Au具有特殊的可见光等离子体共振效应能显著改善TiO2类宽带隙半导体的可见光响应性能.实验用还原Cr(Ⅵ)作为探针反应, 考察不同Au含量对光催化性能的影响.     

Nitrogen-doped carbon enhanced mesoporous TiO2 in photocatalytic remediation of organic pollutants

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Controllable synthesis of mesoporous photocatalysts is of great interest for the photocatalytic remediation of organic pollutants from wastewater by sunlight....     

Novel one step hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2/WO3 nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activity

A novel and simple one step hydrothermal process is used to prepare TiO(2)/WO(3) nanocomposites, in which WO(3) and TiO(2) are present in hexagonal and anatase crystalline forms, respectively, and have enhanced photocatalytic activity towards trichloroethylene degradation in the gas phase.     

Flame synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles with high photocatalytic activity

Growth behaviour of TiO₂ particles, which has significant influence on their crystallinity and surface area, has been controlled by varying the process parameters of the flame aerosol synthesis. An existing method to determine the crystallinity of the powder has been modified which facilitates comparison of the degree of crystallinity of the nanoparticles synthesized by various methods. Resultant TiO₂ nanoparticles were characterized by XRD and nitrogen physisorption to determine the degree of crystallinity quantitatively and surface area, respectively, and the decomposition rate of an industrial dye, methylene blue, has been taken as the measure of the photocatalytic activity (PCA). TiO₂ nanoparticles showed improved photocatalytic activity compared to the commercial photocatalyst, Degussa P25. This is attributed to the increased degree of crystallinity and surface area of the TiO₂ nanoparticles compared to Degussa P25. The results of this study elucidate the importance of the gas-phase processes and strategy to synthesize highly active TiO₂ photocatalysts in a single step. Moreover, difference in the PCA of the nanoparticles synthesized by the similar gas-phase routes has been shown and the particles are tailor-made for improved PCA in the present study.     

Heterostructural BiOI/TiO2 composite with highly enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance

Binary BiOI/TiO₂ hybrid material was synthesized via a sol-gel method combined with chemical etching. The as-prepared powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence spectra (PLS) and photocurrent response tests. Under visible light (λ > 420 nm), BiOI/TiO₂ degraded methyl orange (MO) efficiently and displayed much higher photocatalytic activity than that of pure BiOI. Moreover, BiOI/TiO₂ can effectively promote photooxidation of other organic dyes like rhodamine B (RhB), crystal violet (CV) and methylene blue (MB). In addition, the quenching effects of different scavengers proved that reactive O ₂ ^? and h⁺ played the major role in the MO degradation. The photocatalytic activity enhancement of BiOI/TiO₂ is closely related to the strong absorption in the visible region, and the efficient charge separation derived from the matching band potentials between BiOI and TiO₂, as well as the low recombination rate of the electron-hole pairs due to the heterojunction formed between BiOI and TiO₂.     

Concomitant synthesis of highly crystalline Zn-Al layered double hydroxide and ZnO: phase interconversion and enhanced photocatalytic activity

Metal oxide/hydroxide with hierarchical nanostructures has emerged as one of the most promising materials for their unique, attractive properties and feasibility of applications in various fields. In this report, a concomitant synthesis of crystalline zinc aluminum layered double hydroxide (ZnAl-LDH) nanostructure and ZnO is presented using Al substrate as template. Studies on interconversion of ZnO to LDH phase in bulk solution under hydrothermal conditions produced Al-doped ZnO (AZO) in one case, and in other, it improves the crystallinity of LDH film templated on Al substrate. In presence of Al salt, the self-limiting growth nature of plate LDH turned to non-self-limiting. Materials obtained during phase transition, AZO in bulk solution and crystalline porous ZnAl-LDH on substrate, have been demonstrated as effective photocatalysts for decomposition of congo red in aqueous medium.     

Fluorine ions-mediated morphology control of anatase TiO2 with enhanced photocatalytic activity

This review briefly summarizes recent advances in fluorine ions-mediated morphology control of anatase TiO(2) in the forms of nanotube arrays, nanosheets with high-energy facets, and hollow spheres. The correlations between the enhanced photocatalytic activity and structural and morphological modifications of anatase TiO(2) by fluorine ions are addressed.     

Novel synthesis of high-surface-area ordered mesoporous TiO2 with anatase framework for photocatalytic applications

Ordered mesoporous TiO₂ materials with an anatase frameworks have been synthesized by using a cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (C₁₆TMABr) as a structure-directing agent and soluble peroxytitanates as Ti precursor through a self-assembly between the positive charged surfactant S⁺ and the negatively charged inorganic framework I^? (S⁺I^? type). The low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the as-prepared mesoporous TiO₂ materials indicates a hexagonal mesostructure. XRD and transmission electron microscopy results and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms measurements indicate that the calcined mesoporous TiO₂ possesses an anatase crystalline framework having a maximum pore size of 6.9 nm and a maximum Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area of 284 m² g^?1. This ordered mesoporous anatase TiO₂ also demonstrates a high photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue under ultraviolet irradiation.     

氮自掺杂暴露（001）晶面TiO2微米片的可见光光催化CO2还原性能增强

化石能源的使用可产生大量CO2,带来严重的温室效应。光催化CO2还原生产太阳燃料技术既有望缓解温室效应,又可以将低能量密度的太阳能转化为高能量密度的化学能储存起来方便使用。高效光催化材料的开发是发展光催化技术的关键。迄今,在已开发的所有半导体光催化材料中, TiO2仍是广泛研究的明星材料。在实际使用中, TiO2的光催化效率仍受限于其极弱的可见光利用率和较高的电子-空穴复合几率。近年来,越来越多的研究表明TiO2的结构与形貌特征极大地影响其光催化效率。尤其, TiO2的外露晶面设计与晶面效应研究引起了广泛关注。由于具有较高表面能和较多表面不饱和键,起初大多数理论和实验研究认为锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面是光催化活性晶面。后来,越来越多研究表明并非锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面的暴露比例越高其光催化活性就越高。最近,我们发现锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面与(101)晶面在调控光催化CO2还原性能上具有良好的协同效应。密度泛函理论计算表明,锐钛矿TiO2的(001)晶面与(101)晶面的能带结构有差异,(001)晶面的导带位置相对于(101)晶面而言较高,而(101)晶面的价带位置相对于(001)晶面而言较低。基于此我们提出,具有合适比例的锐钛矿TiO2的(001)晶面与(101)晶面的交界处可以形成最佳的表面异质结或晶面异质结。表面异质结的形成导致光生电子倾向于向(101)扩散,光生空穴倾向于向(001)扩散,从而促进光生电子-空穴分离,降低光生电子-空穴复合几率。在此工作基础上,我们直接以氮化钛为原料,氢氟酸为添加剂,通过简单的水热反应一步合成了氮自掺杂的TiO2微米片。利用X射线粉末衍射、扫描电镜、X射线光电子能谱、紫外-可见漫反射光谱、氮气吸附-脱附以及电化学阻抗谱等方法手段对所制备的光催化剂进行了基本结构与理化性质表征分析,并研究了其可见光光催化CO2还原性能。电镜照片结果表明,我们所制备的氮自掺杂锐钛矿TiO2微米片的(001)晶面与(101)晶面比例分别为65%和35%。基于我们前期研究结果, TiO2微米片的(001)晶面与(101)晶面可以形成表面异质结,具有良好的电荷分离效率,这也得到了电化学阻抗谱研究结果的证明。同时,由于N的原位掺杂,所制备的TiO2微米片具有优异的可见光捕获能力。由于可见光利用效率增强与光生电子-空穴分离效率提高这两方面的综合作用,所制备的氮自掺杂TiO2微米片具有非常好的可见光光催化CO2还原制甲醇性能,比商用P25及氮掺杂TiO2纳米粒子等参考样品的可见光光催化性能更优异。研究表明,通过原位自掺杂方法与晶面设计方法相结合,可以同时改善TiO2的可见光利用效率和光生电子-空穴分离效率,优化TiO2的可见光光催化性能,这也为后续开发新型高效光催化材料提供了新思路。     

Visible-light-driven surface reconstruction of mesoporous TiO2: toward visible-light absorption and enhanced photocatalytic activities

The surface structure of mesoporous TiO(2) is reconstructed via a visible-light-driven reaction with benzyl alcohol molecules at mild, anaerobic conditions, which substantially extends its visible-light absorption and photocatalytic activities.     

Double-shell structural polyaniline-derived TiO2 hollow spheres for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Transition Metal Chemistry - Polyaniline (PANI) is a conducting polymer which has been employed as a photosensitizer for enhancing the performance of a number of photocatalysts. Herein, we describe...