Plasmon-resonance-enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity of Ag quantum dots/TiO2 microspheres for methyl orange degradation

We successfully prepared Ag quantum dots modified TiO₂ microspheres by facile solvothermal and calcination method. The as-prepared Ag quantum dots/TiO₂ microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The Ag quantum dots/TiO₂ photocatalyst showed excellent visible light absorption and efficient photocatalytic activity for methyl orange degradation. And the sample with the molar ratio of 0.05 (Ag to Ti) showed the best visible light photocatalytic activity for methyl orange degradation, mainly because of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effects of Ag quantum dots to generate electron and hole pairs for enhanced visible light photocatalysis. Finally, possible visible light photocatalytic mechanism of Ag quantum dots/TiO₂ microspheres for methyl orange degradation was proposed in detail.     

玻璃微珠/Ag/TiO2可见光催化剂的制备与表征

通过离子交换法将Ag纳米颗粒负载于玻璃微珠的表面及浅表层,并以钛酸四丁酯的乙醇溶液为前驱体,将TiO₂负载于包含银的玻璃微珠表面,制得一种玻璃微珠/Ag/TiO₂复合光催化剂。由于纳米银的表面等离子体吸收效应,该复合光催化剂具有一定的可见光响应特性。利用XRD、SEM对样品进行表征,可发现玻璃微珠表面形成一层均匀多孔的锐钛矿TiO₂,其粒径均在50 nm左右。由漫反射光谱可得出该催化剂具有较强的可见光吸收,并在降解甲基橙溶液的试验中表现出较好的可见光催化活性。     

High temperature stability and photocatalytic activity of nanocrystalline anatase powders with Zr and Si co-dopants

TiO₂ nanopowders doped by Si and Zr were prepared by sol–gel method. The effects of Si and Zr doping on the structural, optical, and photo-catalytic properties of titania nanopowders have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. XRD results suggest that adding impurities has a significant effect on anatase phase stability, crystallinity, and particle size of TiO₂. Titania rutile phase formation in ternary system (Ti–Si–Zr) was inhibited by Zr⁴⁺ and Si⁴⁺ co-doped TiO₂ in high temperatures (500–900 °C) and 36 mol% anatase composition is retained even after calcination at 1,000 °C. The photocatalyst activity was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation kinetics of aqueous methylen orange under visible radiation. The results show that the photocatalytic activity of the 20 %Si and 15 %Zr co-doped TiO₂ nanopowders have a larger degradation efficiency than pure TiO₂ under visible light.     

Enhanced visible light photocatalysis of TiO2 by Co-modification with Eu and Au nanoparticles

TiO₂ photocatalysis has been studied widely in environment protection and energy generation applications. But, the intrinsic absence of visible light response and the high recombination rate of photo-generated charge carriers significantly limited the efficiency of photocatalysis with TiO₂ materials. Herein, a facile approach was constructed to develop visible-light-induced TiO₂ photocatalysis by co-modification with Eu and Au nanoparticles. The synthesized Au/Eu-TiO₂ material was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, DRS, XPS, and N₂ adsorption measurements. Visible light catalytic performance of the Au/Eu-TiO₂ catalyst was evaluated by using the photodegradation of RhB as a model reaction. It was shown that this Au/Eu-TiO₂ exhibited a better photocatalytic activity than the single Au modified TiO₂ (Au/TiO₂) or the single Eu modified TiO₂ catalyst (Eu/TiO₂), and also exhibited a good reusability for the targeted reaction. This remarkably improved performance of Au/Eu-TiO₂ could be attributed to the synergetic effect of Eu and Au co-decoration, which not only enhanced visible light absorption but also promoted charge carriers transfers as evidenced by DRS, XPS and transient photocurrent spectra. Moreover, a possible reaction mechanism for the Au/Eu-TiO₂ photocatalysis was proposed.     

Adsorption properties and photocatalytic activity of TiO2/activated carbon fiber composite

Photocatalysts of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and TiO₂/activated carbon fiber (TiO₂/ACF) composite were prepared by sol-gel method, followed by calcining the pure TiO₂ sols and the TiO₂/ACF sols at 500°C for 2 h in a N₂ atmosphere, respectively. These photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms measurement. Batch experiments were conducted to study the adsorption property of TiO₂/ACF composite using methylene blue as adsorbate. The adsorption data obtained from different batch experiments were analyzed using pseudo-second-order kinetic model, the experimental data can be adequately described by the pseudo-second-order equation. The photodecomposition behavior of TiO₂/ACF was investigated in aqueous solution using methylene blue as target pollutant. It was found that methylene blue could be removed rapidly from water by TiO₂/ACF, the photocatalytic decomposition was obviously improved when the photocatalyst was used. Kinetics analysis revealed that the photocatalytic decomposition reaction can be described well by a first-order rate equation.     

Preparation of an Mo and C co-doped TiO2 catalyst by a calcination–hydrothermal method, and degradation of rhodamine B in visible light

Mo and C co-doped TiO₂ photocatalysts were successfully prepared by a calcination–hydrothermal method. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, DRS, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy. Results from photocatalysis showed that 1%Mo–C4/TiO₂ had excellent visible light photocatalytic activity. This may be ascribed not only to the Mo and C doping but also to synergism between the Mo and C.     

Ag@AgI等离子体负载TiO2酸蚀纳米带的制备及可见光光催化性能的研究

采用沉积-沉淀法将AgI分散到TiO2酸蚀纳米带上,然后通过光照进而分解出Ag颗粒,最终获得了Ag@AgI等离子体负载的TiO2酸蚀纳米带(AIST)。利用UV-Vis吸收光谱、XRD、SEM对产物进行表征,并研究了可见光下对甲基橙(MO)的光催化降解性能。结果表明,纳米带酸蚀后利于AgI的沉积,Ag的表面等离子体共振效应可以增强催化剂对于可见光的吸收,使可见光下AIST的光催化降解性能显著提高。     

Preparation and characterization of highly photoactive nanocrystalline TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> powders by solvent evaporationinduced crystallization method

Highly photoactive bi-phase nanocrystalline TiO₂ photocatalyst was prepared by a solvent evaporation-induced crystallization (SEIC) method, and calcined at different temperatures. The obtained TiO₂ photocatalyst was characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET surface areas. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the photocatalytic oxidation of acetone in air. The results show that solvent evaporation can promote the crystallization and phase transformation of TiO₂ at 100°C. When calcination temperatures are below 600°C, the prepared TiO₂ powders show bimodal pore size distributions in the mesoporous region. At 700°C, the pore size distributions exhibit monomodal distribution of the inter-aggregated pores due to the collapse of the intra-aggregated pores. At 100°C, the obtained TiO₂ photocatalyst by this method shows good photocatalytic activity, and at 400°C, its photocatalytic activity exceeds that of Degussa P25. This may be attributed to the fact that the prepared TiO₂ photocatalyst has higher specific surface areas, smaller crystallite size and bimodal pore size distribution.     

Photodegradation of Rhodamine B on Sulfur Doped ZnO/TiO2 Nanocomposite Photocatalyst under Visible-light Irradiation

Sulfur doped ZnO/TiO₂ nanocomposite photocatalysts were synthesized by a facile sol‐gel method. The structure and properties of catalysts were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV‐vis diffusive reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and N₂ desorption‐adsorption isotherm. The XRD study showed that TiO₂ was anatase phase and there was no obvious difference in crystal composition of various S‐ZnO/TiO₂. The XPS study showed that the Zn element exists as ZnO and S atoms form SO^2?₄. The prepared samples had mesoporosity revealed by N₂ desorption‐adsorption isotherm result. The degradation of Rhodamine B dye under visible light irradiation was chosen as probe reaction to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the ZnO/TiO₂ nanocomposite. The commercial TiO₂ photocatalyst (Degussa P25) was taken as standard photocatalyst to contrast the prepared different photocatalyst in current work. The improvement of the photocatalytic activity of S‐ZnO/TiO₂ composite photocatalyst can be attributed to the suitable energetic positions between ZnO and TiO₂, the acidity site caused by sulfur doping and the enlargement of the specific area. S‐3.0ZnO/TiO₂ exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation after Zn amount was optimized, which was 2.6 times higher than P25.     

一维CdTe@C@TiO2-Au异质结纳米线的制备及其光催化性能

先利用一步水热法制备了具有核壳结构的CdTe@C纳米线,然后以钛酸异丙酯（TIP）作为钛源对CdTe@C纳米线进行二氧化钛包覆,最后通过原位还原HAuCl4的方法将Au纳米粒子组装到CdTe@C@TiO₂表面形成CdTe@C@TiO₂-Au一维异质结纳米复合材料。用扫描电镜（SEM）,X射线能谱（EDX）,透射电镜（TEM）,X射线衍射（XRD）,X射线光电子能谱（XPS）和紫外-可见漫反射光谱（UV-Vis DRS）等对材料进行表征。探究了CdTe@C@TiO₂-Au催化剂在模拟可见光下降解罗丹明B（RhB）的光催化性能。实验结果表明：不同催化剂对RhB的光降解率不一样,其效果依次为CdTe@C@TiO₂-Au > CdTe@C@TiO₂ > pure TiO₂,其中CdTe@C@TiO₂-Au能在270 min的模拟太阳光下对RhB的光降解率达95.3%,这主要得益于CdTe、碳层、TiO₂和具有表面等离子效应的纳米Au的共同作用。     

Photocatalytic decomposition of liquid-water on the Pt-loaded TiO2 catalysts: Effects of the oxidation states of Pt species on the photocatalytic reactivity and the rate of the back reaction

The photocatalytic decomposition of liquid water on Pt-loaded TiO₂ (Pt/TiO₂) catalysts was investigated. The results obtained by XPS and XRD measurements of the catalysts as a function of the calcination temperature as well as the photocatalytic decomposition reactions of H₂O clearly indicate that controlling the oxidation state of Pt as well as the amount of loaded Pt species are both important factors in the design of water-splitting photocatalysts having high efficiency and stoichiometry.     

Preparation and photocatalytic activity of B,Ce Co-doped TiO2 hollow fibers photocatalyst

A series of B, Ce co-doped TiO₂ (B, Ce-TiO₂) photocatalytic materials with a hollow fiber structure were successfully prepared by template method using boric acid, ammonium ceric nitrate and tetrabutyltitanate as precursors and cotton fibers as template, followed by calcination at 500°C in an N₂ atmosphere for 2 h. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements, and UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) were employed to characterize the morphology, crystal structure, surface structure, and optical absorption properties of the samples. The photocatalytic performance of the samples was studied by photodegradation phenol in water under UV light irradiation. The results showed that the TiO₂ fiber materials have hollow structures, and the fiber structure materials showed better photocatalytic properties for the degradation of phenol than pure TiO₂ under UV light. In the experiment condition, the photocatalytic activity of B, Ce co-doped TiO₂ fibers was optimal of all the prepared samples. In addition, the possibility of cyclic usage of B, Ce co-doped TiO₂ fiber photocatalyst was also confirmed, the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ fibers remained above 90% of that of the fresh sample after being used four times. The material was easily removed by centrifugal separation from the medium. It can therefore be potentially applied for the treatment of water contaminated by organic pollutants.     

Cu2O/reduced graphene oxide/TiO2 nanomaterial: An effective photocatalyst for azide-alkyne cycloaddition with benzyl halides or epoxide derivatives under visible light irradiation

Cu₂O/reduced graphene oxide/TiO₂ (Cu₂O/rGO/TiO₂) photocatalyst was synthesized under ultrasonic irradiation. The nanomaterial was identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, UV–vis absorption, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The Cu₂O/rGO/TiO₂ photocatalyst was utilized in “click” reaction for the preparation of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles via one pot multicomponent reaction of benzyl halide or epoxide derivatives with alkynes in presence of NaN₃ and triethylamine under visible light irradiation. The “click” reaction was performed under mild conditions affording good to excellent yields of the triazole compounds using low catalyst loading in short reaction times. The nanocomposite was recovered and recycled for five successive runs without a major diminution in its catalytic performance.     

Parameters controlling the photocatalytic performance of ZnO/Hombikat TiO2 composites

Commercial TiO₂ (Hombikat, UV-100) was impregnated with different loadings of zinc nitrate solution and subsequently calcined at different temperatures in order to obtain a stable homogeneous solid composite of ZnO/TiO₂. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), UV-vis and Raman spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as well as N₂ adsorption and desorption measurements. Results show that ZnO was incorporated within the TiO₂ crystals and did not form a separate bulky phase or metallic zinc. Moreover, the calcination temperature dramatically modifies the texture properties of the prepared samples compared with original Hombikat TiO₂. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared samples was evaluated by monitoring the degradation of methyl orange dye under black light illumination. Three main parameters were studied; ZnO loading, surface area and initial pH of the methyl orange solution. The variation in ZnO loading appears to have less influence on the catalytic activity than either the surface area or the pH.     

金纳米粒子的尺寸以及金-二氧化钛相互作用对表面等离激元光催化产氧的影响（英文）

表面等离激元共振效应具有独特的光-物质相互作用的性质,因而近年来被广泛的应用到太阳能转化科学领域.通过调变金属的性质(例如组分、尺寸、形貌等)可以方便地在整个太阳能光谱范围内调节其等离子共振吸收性质,从而有效地增加光催化剂的捕光效率.尽管如此,等离激元光催化目前的能量转化效率仍处于很低的水平,主要是由于光催化剂中的电荷分离以及利用效率很低.理论上可以通过控制优化金属纳米粒子的尺寸以及金属-半导体的相互作用来促进电荷分离及利用效率,从而提高光催化剂的活性.然而,关于金属纳米粒子的尺寸以及金属-半导体的相互作用在表面等离激元光催化剂中的具体作用还亟待详细研究.本文以金/二氧化钛作为典型的表面等离激元光催化剂,通过简便的焙烧后处理可同时实现金粒子尺寸和金-氧化钛界面相互作用的调控.我们发现,催化剂的可见光产氧活性随着焙烧温度呈现火山型关系,其中600 ℃处理的样品表现出最高的活性,在560 nm出的表观量子效率为0.3%,接近甚至超过文献报道的同类结果.随后通过X射线衍射、扫描电镜、光电子能谱、紫外可见光谱等表征手段系统地研究了煅烧温度对于金粒子尺寸和金-氧化钛相互作用的影响.从结果表明,通过不同温度焙烧并未改变二氧化钛自身的性质,且随着温度的升高,金尺寸在600℃之前变化较小,随后突然快速长大.在排除了不同样品的吸光性能的差异后发现,产氧活性随着Au尺寸长大而减少.从光电子能谱的结果发现,金-二氧化钛的界面相互作用随焙烧温度升高而逐步增强.进一步地,通过界面周长的归一化活性得出界面相互作用与产氧活性呈现近似线性关系.最后,通过对光沉积Au样品进行不同温度的煅烧发现大尺寸Au的粒径不随煅烧温度变化,而此时的产氧活性却随焙烧温度增加而增加,这进一步验证了界面相互作用对光催化水氧化的促进作用.综合以上结果可知,最终的等离激元诱导的可见光产氧活性是由尺寸与界面相互作用共同影响的结果,尺寸和界面相互作用的变化会共同影响热电子转移效率和表面反应效率,从而改变整体的光催化产氧效率.     

Synthesis of TiO2 on different substrates by chemical vapor deposition for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) in water

TiO₂ loaded on several substrates such as carbon fiber, aluminum plate, silica plate, and glass plate was prepared using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) in water with the presence of ethanol under Ultraviolet (UV) illumination. As‐prepared samples were characterized by X‐Ray Diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The catalyst with TiO₂ loaded on carbon fiber possessed an extremely large surface area (1,463,91 m²/g), while the other catalysts possessed small surface areas (0.05–0.21 m²/g). The photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ loaded on carbon fiber, which was determined by the conversion of Cr(VI) and the degradation of chemical oxygen demand (COD), was much higher than that of other catalysts. The reusability of TiO₂ loaded on carbon fiber catalyst exhibited almost the same activity as the fresh catalyst. The results indicated that TiO₂ loaded on carbon fiber is feasible for practical application.     

Sonochemical fabrication of fluorinated mesoporous titanium dioxide microspheres

A sonochemical-hydrothermal method for preparing fluorinated mesoporous TiO₂ microspheres was developed. Formation of mesoporous TiO₂ and doping of fluorine was achieved by sonication and then hydrothermal treatment of a solution containing titanium isopropoxide, template, and sodium fluoride. The as-synthesized TiO₂ microspheres were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier translation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and BET surface areas. The P123 template was removed completely during the hydrothermal and washing steps, which was different from the conventional calcination treatment. The as- synthesized TiO₂ microspheres had good crystallinity and high stability. Results from the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) showed that fluorination could remarkably improve the photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide.     

Physical properties of nano-titania hollow fibers and their photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of phenol

A series of nano-titania (TiO₂) photocatalytic materials with a hollow fiber structure were successfully prepared using tetra-n-butyl titanate (Ti(OC₄H₉)₄) as precursor and cotton fiber as the template. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N₂ adsorption-desorption measurements were employed to characterize the morphology, crystal structure, and surface structure of the samples. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were studied by phenol photodegradation in water under UV irradiation. The effect of calcination temperature, photocatalyst dosage, initial concentration of phenol and irradiation time on the photodegradation of phenol was studied. Results showed that the TiO₂ fiber materials have hollow structures, indicating that these materials had a large specific surface area. The fiber structure material showed better photocatalytic properties for the degradation of phenol than pure TiO₂ under UV light, and the sample calcined at 500°C exhibited the highest phenol photodegradation efficiency. In addition, the possibility of cyclic usage of the photocatalyst was also confirmed, the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ fiber remained ca. 90% of photocatalytic activity of the fresh sample after being used four times. Moreover, TiO₂ fiber was easily recovered by centrifugal separation from water.     

Atomic layer deposition of TiO2−xNx thin films for photocatalytic applications

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is recognized as the most efficient photocatalytic material, but due to its large band gap energy it can only be excited by UV irradiation. Doping TiO₂ with nitrogen is a promising modification method for the utilization of visible light in photocatalysis. In this work, nitrogen-doped TiO₂ films were grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using TiCl₄, NH₃ and water as precursors. All growth experiments were done at 500 °C. The films were characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM and UV–vis spectrometry. The influence of nitrogen doping on the photocatalytic activity of the films in the UV and visible light was evaluated by the degradation of a thin layer of stearic acid and by linear sweep voltammetry. Light-induced superhydrophilicity of the films was also studied. It was found that the films could be excited by visible light, but they also suffered from increased recombination.     

Resistive switching behavior in amorphous and crystalline TiO2 thin films by sol–gel process

We present recent studies on amorphous and crystalline TiO₂ resistive switching nonvolatile memory devices. A chemical sol–gel process is demonstrated for preparing amorphous and crystalline TiO₂ thin films with different calcination temperature. Glass/SnO₂:F/TiO₂/Cu sandwich structures are fabricated and their current–voltage characteristics are examined. We found that the switching voltage goes from 4.8 to 3.5 V and the current compliance also drops from 10 to 1 mA when calcination temperatures increased. Smooth surface of TiO₂ thin films are also observed by XRD, AFM and XPS.