Fabrication of anti-poisoning core-shell TiO2 photocatalytic system through a 4-methoxycalix[7]arene film

TiO₂ nanoparticles with unique crystalline-core/disordered-shell structures were synthesized in a one step process by employing 4-methoxycalix[7]arene nanoreactors. The nanoparticles were anchored on the surface of quartz beads as a monolayer and showed high visible-light driven photocatalytic activity, excellent long term durability and anti-poisoning property. Photocatalytic performance of the TiO₂ nanoparticles was tested in a packed bed and complete decolorization of methyl orange was achieved under ultraviolet light or visible light. The decolorization process followed first-order kinetics and showed different behaviors for ultraviolet and visible radiation, while the overall rates of degradation were the same.     

Solgel-hydrothermal synthesis of Tb/Tourmaline/TiO2 nano tubes and enhanced photocatalytic activity

In this study, we synthesized Tb/Tourmaline/TiO₂ nano tubes (NTs) through a solgel-hydrothermal method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectromicroscope, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The resulting Tb/Tourmaline/TiO₂ NTs exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than pure TiO₂ and TiO₂ nano particles (NPs) in the degradation of menthyl orange under UV-light. Results revealed that doping rare earth element Tb could narrow the wide band gap of TiO₂ and tourmaline could trap the photogenerated electron of TiO₂ to inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.     

具有高光催化活性的黑色TiO2（B）/锐钛矿双晶TiO2-x纳米纤维

高效TiO2基光催化材料的开发一直是催化领域的研究热点,主要的策略是如何有效地分离光生载流子.制备多晶相的TiO2材料可引入异质/相结结构使电子与空穴朝不同方向移动,从而避免电子与空穴复合;另外,在TiO2中掺杂其他金属或非金属也可以有效地降低电子与空穴的复合率,掺杂的元素作为电子捕获阱俘获光生电子,以实现电子空穴的有效分离.近些年,作为一种全新的掺杂剂,氧空穴可以有效改善TiO2的光催化活性,所制TiO2具有可见光的全光谱吸收能力,因此该类TiO2呈现出黑色.通过上述方法均可以制备出高活性TiO2基光催化材料,如果能够将这些方法耦合一起,则可能制备出活性更高的光催化剂.因此,本文将异相结结构和空穴掺杂耦合起来,用多孔钛酸盐衍生物在H2中高温焙烧制得一种全新的黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x纳米纤维.不同于其他TiO2基光催化材料,该样品仅由Ti和O元素组成,通过Ti和O元素的组合,形成了双晶结构和空穴掺杂两种特殊的结构,借助场发射(FESEM)、拉曼光谱(Raman)、氮气物理吸脱附、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、热重(TG)、紫外可见漫反射光谱(UV-Vis)和荧光光谱(PL)等表征分析了样品的结构及其光催化性能间构效关系. FESEM结果显示,黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x为长1–5mm、宽0.2mm的纤维结构, Raman结果表明,锐钛矿相在特征波段(140 cm–1左右)和TiO2(B)的特征波段(220–260 cm–1)均发生蓝移,说明该两相中均存在氧空穴;该样表面未检测到Ti3+,因此氧空穴可能分散在TiO2(B)和锐钛矿相的体相中.根据黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x和白色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2的失重差,估算出前者的O/Ti原子比为1.97.光催化降解甲基橙实验结果显示,黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x的光催化活性是白色双晶TiO2的4.2倍,锐钛矿TiO2的10.5倍,且连续反应10次后未出现失活现象,显示出了良好的光催化稳定性.前期,我们已经证明了白色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2由于具有TiO2(B)和锐钛矿的异相结结构,致使其电子空穴有效地分离,从而表现出优异的光催化活性;本文的PL结果显示,由于氧空穴的引入,异相结与氧空穴两者共同作用,进一步促进了黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x电子与空穴的有效分离,因此黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x表现出高的光催化活性.由于其特殊的结构,黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x纳米纤维将在环境与能源领域表现出良好的应用前景.     

Fabrication of PET/BiOI/SnO2 heterostructure nanocomposites for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Heterojunction BiOI/SnO₂ nanocomposites have been facilely synthesized by using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and a hydrothermal method, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanofibers (NFs) were utilized as a photocatalyst carrier to support the BiOI/SnO₂ nanocomposites. PET/BiOI/SnO₂ NFs displayed excellent photocatalytic ability towards methyl orange (MO) and tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to investigate the morphology, crystal structure and chemical state of the PET/BiOI/SnO₂ nanofibers. Photoluminescence (PL) and active species trapping experiments indicated that photoinduced charge separation promoted the formation of holes (h⁺) and superoxide radicals (•O²_-). Moreover, a photodegradation mechanism was proposed to illustrate that the formation of a Fermi level equilibrium state between semiconductors accelerated charge separation in the semiconductor. This study is meaningful for providing new inspiration to design and fabricate novel heterostructure photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic activity.     

Preparation of magnetic Fe3O4/TiO2/Ag composite microspheres with enhanced photocatalytic activity

The novel three-component Fe₃O₄/TiO₂/Ag composite mircospheres were prepared via a facile chemical deposition route. The Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ mircospheres were first prepared by the solvothermal method, and then Ag nanoparticles were anchored onto the out-layer of TiO₂ by the tyrosine-reduced method. The as-prepared magnetic Fe₃O₄/TiO₂/Ag composite mircospheres were applied as photocatalysis for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The results indicate that the photocatalytic activity of Fe₃O₄/TiO₂/Ag composite microspheres is superior to that of Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ due to the dual effects of the enhanced light absorption and reduction of photoelectron–hole pair recombination in TiO₂ with the introduction of Ag NPs. Moreover, these magnetic Fe₃O₄/TiO₂/Ag composite microspheres can be completely removed from the dispersion with the help of magnetic separation and reused with little or no loss of catalytic activity.     

Facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of B/N-codoped TiO2 hollow spheres with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity and photoelectrochemical property

B/N-codoped TiO₂ hollow spheres (B/N-THs) were synthesized by facile one-pot hydrothermal method. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (DRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The B/N-THs have large surface areas (up to 172.1 m² g⁻¹). The photocatalytic activities of as-prepared THs were evaluated by degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red dye X-3B solution under visible light irradiation. The results showed that B/N-THs exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity due to their high surface area and synergetic effect of B/N-codoped. A photocurrent–time spectrum was examined by anodic photocurrent response to characterize the electron-transferring efficiency in the process of photocatalysis reaction.     

From hollow olive-shaped BiVO4 to n-p core-shell BiVO4@Bi2O3 microspheres: controlled synthesis and enhanced visible-light-responsive photocatalytic properties

In this study, hollow olive-shaped BiVO(4) and n-p core-shell BiVO(4)@Bi(2)O(3) microspheres were synthesized by a novel sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT)-assisted mixed solvothermal route and a thermal solution of NaOH etching process under hydrothermal conditions for the first time, respectively. The as-obtained products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, and UV-vis diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy in detail. The influence of AOT and solvent ratios on the final products was studied. On the basis of SEM observations and XRD analyses of the samples synthesized at different reaction stages, the formation mechanism of hollow olive-shaped BiVO(4) microspheres was proposed. The photocatalytic activities of hollow olive-shaped BiVO(4) and core-shell BiVO(4)@Bi(2)O(3) microspheres were evaluated on the degradation of rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation (λ > 400 nm). The results indicated that core-shell BiVO(4)@Bi(2)O(3) exhibited much higher photocatalytic activities than pure olive-shaped BiVO(4). The mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity of core-shell BiVO(4)@Bi(2)O(3) microspheres was discussed on the basis of the calculated energy band positions as well. The present study provides a new strategy to enhancing the photocatalytic activity of visible-light-responsive Bi-based photocatalysts by p-n heterojunction.     

Synthesis of Au/SnO2 core-shell structure nanoparticles by a microwave-assisted method and their optical properties

Au/SnO₂ core-shell structure nanoparticles were synthesized using the microwave hydrothermal method. The optical and morphological properties of these particles were examined and compared with those obtained by the conventional hydrothermal method. In microwave preparation, the peak position of the UV-visible plasmon absorption band of Au nanoparticles was red-shifted from 520 to 543 nm, due to the formation of an SnO₂ shell. An SnO₂ shell formation was complete within 5 min. The thickness of the SnO₂ shell was 10-12 nm, and the primary particle size of SnO₂ crystallites was 3-5 nm. For the core-shell particles prepared by a conventional hydrothermal method, the shell formed over the entire synthesis period and was not as crystalline as those produced, using the microwave method. The relationship between the morphological and spectroscopic properties and the crystallinity of the SnO₂ shell are discussed.     

Fabrication of ternary dual Z-Scheme AgI/ZnIn2S4/BiVO4 heterojunction photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline under visible light

In this study, a novel ternary AgI/ZnIn₂S₄/BiVO₄(AZB) composite photocatalyst was successfully prepared by hydrothermal method and in-situ precipitation method. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and so on, and the photocatalytic activity was evaluated through photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. When the molar ratio of Bi to Ag was 1:1, the degradation rate of TC can reach 91.44 % within 150 min. The AZB heterojunction demonstrated outstanding efficiency with the apparent reaction rate constants of 0.02118 min^?1 for TC removal, was 4.68, 3.27 and 3.27 times higher than that of pure BiVO₄, AgI and ZnIn₂S₄. Based on active species trapping experiments and ESR analysis, a dual Z-Scheme pathways among BiVO₄, AgI and ZnIn₂S₄ for effective separation of photogenerated charges was recommended. This work provided a promising insight for the design of ternary dual Z-scheme heterojunction with multilevel electron transfer to present greater photo-absorption, charge separation, and photodegradation for environmental decontamination.     

CeO2/NaNbO3复合物的水热合成及其光催化性能的提高

钙钛矿型NaNbO3由于其非线性光学、铁电、离子导电性、高声速、光催化性能和光折变等优良性能而备受关注. 在光催化反应中, 宽禁带宽度(≈ 3.24 eV)使NaNbO3具有较高的导带底(CBM)和较低的价带顶(VBM). 因此, 它表现出强烈的光氧化和光还原能力. 众所周知, 钙钛矿型光催化剂光电子激发和传输能力的增强归因于其较高的对称性. 因此, 具有高对称性的立方NaNbO3有利于电子激发和转移. 但是, 一些固有的缺点, 包括电荷分离效率低、量子产率差和光催化活性差等, 限制了其在光催化领域的实际应用. 为了解决这些问题, 一种有效的方法是与其他半导体结合, 形成具有改善光催化活性的异质结复合物. CeO2作为传统的催化剂在光催化领域得到了广泛研究. CeO2具有稳定、无毒的特点, 是一种n型半导体. 目前, 研究人员已经发现CeO2与不同半导体的耦合可以提高CeO2的光催化活性. 这归因于能级水平的适当匹配.本文通过简易水热法制备了高活性的CeO2/NaNbO3异质结复合物, 并采用X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM, HRTEM)和紫外-可见漫反射光谱(DRS)等表征技术研究了所制光催化剂的物相结构、样品形貌和光学性能. 所制样品的光催化活性通过光催化降解无色抗菌环丙沙星(CIP)和染料罗丹明B(RhB)证实. 结果表明,在紫外和可见光照射, CeO2/NaNbO3复合物比纯NaNbO3具有更高的光催化活性. 此外, CeO2/NaNbO3复合物中CeO2的最佳质量比为2.0 wt%. 紫外光照射下光催化性能的显著提高是由于CeO2/NaNbO3异质结的形成不仅提高了光生电荷在界面范围内的迁移速率, 而且降低了光激发产生的电子和空穴的复合率. 可见光照射下内置电场的存在促进了电子和空穴的分离, 提高了光催化性能. 此外, 利用光致发光(PL)光谱、光电流、电化学阻抗谱和捕获实验证明了样品的光催化反应机理.捕获实验结果表明, ·OH自由基、·O2-自由基和空穴都参与了RhB的光催化降解过程. 最后, 探讨了提高光催化活性的可能机理.     

Cascaded electron transition in CuWO_4/CdS/CDs heterostructure accelerating charge separation towards enhanced photocatalytic activity

CuWO_4,as an n-type oxide semiconductor with a bandgap of 2.2 eV,has stimulated enormous interest as a potential broad-spectrum-active photocatalyst for environmental pollution remediations.However,rapid charge recombination greatly hinders its practical applications.Herein,we present a cascaded electron transition pathway in a ternary heterostructure consisting of CdS quantum dots,carbon dots(CDs) and CuWO_4 hollow spheres,which proves to greatly facilitate the photogenerated electron-hole separation,and eventually boosts the degradation efficiency of phenol and congo red by 100% and 46%compared to bare CuWO_4.The enhanced performance of the CuWO_4/CdS/CDs heterostructure mainly originates from the unidirectional electron migration from CdS to CuWO_4 and then to the organics through CDs.This work elucidates the electron transfer kinetics in multi-phase system and provides a new design paradigm for optimizing the properties of CuWO_4 based photocatalysts.     

Carbon nitride polymer sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays with enhanced visible light photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performance

Novel carbon nitride polymer sensitized TiO(2) nanotube arrays with high photocatalytic activity and photoelectrochemical response under visible light irradiation are prepared by electrodeposition.     

Ag2S/Ag2WO4微米棒的声化学合成、表征及其高光催化性能

TiO2作为一种光催化剂广泛应用于各种污染物的降解.但是它较大的宽禁带(~3.2 eV)导致其很难吸收可见光,因此寻找窄禁带的具有可见光响应的半导体光催化剂成为近年来光催化研究的热点.在众多窄禁带光催化剂中,纯 Ag2S在降解污染物方面并不出色,但是作为一种窄禁带的直接带隙半导体,它在加快电子迁移和提高光量子效率方面表现出色.目前有许多高催化活性的 Ag2S异质结复合半导体光催化剂的报道,如 Ag2Mo3O10-Ag2S, TiO2-Ag2S, ZnS-Ag2S和NiO-Ag2S等. Ag2WO4是一种具有新颖物理化学性质的半导体材料,在催化、传感器、抗菌和光致发光等方面有着广泛应用.但是, Ag2WO4的理论带隙较宽,约为3.5 eV,而且光照下Ag2WO4很容易产生光化学腐蚀而分解出单质银,作为光催化剂存在太阳光利用率低和稳定性较差等缺点.声化学是一种特殊纳米材料的合成方法.它主要是利用超声空化产生特殊的物理化学环境来强化化学键的生成,同时实现半导体从无定形态到固定晶型转变.本文采用超声辅助共沉淀法制备了长为0.2?1μm、直径为20?30 nm的 Ag2S/Ag2WO4微米棒复合光催化剂.利用 X射线衍射(XRD)、N2物理吸附、扫描电镜、透射电镜、光电子能谱、光致发光谱(PL)和紫外-可见漫反射吸收光谱(UV-vis DRS)和光电流等手段对所制 Ag2S, Ag2WO4和 Ag2S/Ag2WO4进行了表征.结果表明,合成的样品比表面积较小(2.7?3.6 m2/g). UV-vis DRS测试表明,声化学处理能有效拓宽 Ag2S/Ag2WO4在可见光区的吸收范围,提高其可见光响应性能.另外, PL和光电流测试结果证实,在声化学制备的 Ag2S/Ag2WO4体系中,光生电子(e?)-空穴(h+)的复合过程被极大地限制,具有较高的 e?-h+分离效率.以金卤灯为光源进行了光催化降解染料亚甲基蓝的性能测试.结果表明,声化学合成的 Ag2S/Ag2WO4的反应速率常数(0.150 min?1)分别为单纯 Ag2WO4(0.031 min?1)和 Ag2S (0.004 min?1)的4.7和29.8倍.自由基捕获实验表明,在 Ag2S/Ag2WO4光催化降解甲基橙过程中主要的活性物种为超氧自由基(?O2?)和光生空穴(h+).此外,声化学合成的 Ag2S/Ag2WO4表现出很好的光催化稳定性.循环使用3次后,该样品对亚甲基蓝的光催化活性仍高达80.4%,而纯 Ag2WO4几乎完全失活. Ag2S/Ag2WO4具有很高的光催化活性的原因,一方面是声化学处理提高了催化剂的结晶度,同时生成了独特的棒状结构;另一方面是在超声作用下, Ag2S和 Ag2WO4两相紧密接触形成异质结,促进了可见光的吸收和光生 e?与 h+的分离.     

压力诱导相变原位构建BiVO4/Bi0.6Y0.4VO4型异质结增强光催化全解水性能

光催化完全分解水制氢是一个在粉末颗粒中实现多个串行物理化学步骤的复杂反应过程.这一过程在理论上具有体系简单、成本低、易操作等特点.然而,单步光激发系统中通常存在严重的光生载流子复合,这极大地制约了光催化的整体效率.利用能带结构不同的半导体合理构建异质结催化剂被认为是解决这一难题的重要途径之一.特别是近年来,S型异质结概念的提出为设计异质结结构以及分析不同半导体之间的载流子迁移问题提供了新的思路.本文以小粒径BiVO₄/Bi_0.6Y_0.4VO₄(BYV)为研究对象,首先利用"共沉淀-晶化"的方法制备了BYV固溶体纳米颗粒,随后利用压力诱导固溶体中四方相钒酸铋结构转变为单斜相,从而构建了BiVO₄/Bi_0.6Y_0.4VO₄复合光催化剂.XRD,Raman,HRTEM,HAADF-EDS的结果表明,经过高压后处理的BYV固溶体表面会出现粒径约为5 nm单斜钒酸铋纳米颗粒,实现了原位构建异质结结构.随后载流子动力学的相关表征以及Au选择性光沉积的结果表明,在光照条件下,所构建异质结中的光生电子主要分布在BYV固溶体上,而在表面形成的单斜相钒酸铋颗粒主要起到了类似"空穴"捕获的作用.这种在异质结中的载流子迁移路径符合S型异质结机理.电化学、稳态荧光光谱以及瞬态荧光光谱的表征结果表明,相比于单一固溶体,在S型异质结这种两步激发系统中所存在的载流子迁移路径能够大幅促进光生载流子分离,从而提高了小粒径BYV的光催化完全分解水性能.综上,构建S型异质结是一种解决小粒径光催化剂中载流子分离能力差的有效途径.同时,压力诱导材料晶型转变实现原位构建异质结的制备方法也为提高光生载流子分离效率提供了新的研究思路与机遇.     

O/F-substitution in BiVO4: Defect structures,phase stability and optical properties

In a recent experimental study it has been shown, that fluorine-containing bismuth vanadate (F:BiVO₄) reveals enhanced photoelectrochemical activity compared to pristine BiVO₄. This work is a combined experimental and theoretical analysis of structural and electronic properties of F:BiVO₄. A theoretical analysis of three different possible defect models for F:BiVO₄ was carried out. The structures are optimized with the PBE + U method employing the GPAW program code. The most stable defect configuration corresponds to fluorine incorporation accompanied by the formation of cation vacancies, which is in good agreement with experimental results. The diffraction pattern of the calculated defect structure is compared to measured XRD data. Both, experiment and theory, predict a small band gap narrowing under O/F-substitution. For the measurements diffuse reflectron spectra were collected. Furthermore the influence of fluorine incorporation on the phase stability was investigated experimentally by high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction measurements at different temperatures and compared to theoretical results collected by DFT calculations.     

Construction of 2D-2D TiO2 nanosheet/layered WS2 heterojunctions with enhanced visible-light-responsive photocatalytic activity

Constructing nanocomposites that combine the advantages of composite materials, nanomaterials, and interfaces has been regarded as an important strategy to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂. In this study, 2D-2D TiO₂ nanosheet/layered WS₂ (TNS/WS₂) heterojunctions were prepared via a hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the photocatalysts were systematically characterized. Layered WS₂ (～4 layers) was wrapped on the surface of TiO₂ nanosheets with a plate-to-plate stacked structure and connected with each other by W=O bonds. The as-prepared TNS/WS₂ heterojunctions showed higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB under visible-light irradiation, than pristine TiO₂ nanosheets and layered WS₂. The improvement of photocatalytic activity was primarily attributed to enhanced charge separation efficiency, which originated from the perfect 2D-2D nanointerfaces and intimate interfacial contacts between TiO₂ nanosheets and layered WS₂. Based on experimental results, a double-transfer photocatalytic mechanism for the TNS/WS₂ heterojunctions was proposed and discussed. This work provides new insights for synthesizing highly efficient and environmentally stable photocatalysts by engineering the surface heterojunctions.     

Black BiOCl with disorder surface structure prepared by Fe reduction and the enhanced photocatalytic activity

Black bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) with disordered surface structure has been prepared by a facile Fe reduction method and successfully used as a visible-light photocatalyst. XRD and FESEM results showed that black BiOCl has pure BiOCl phase with plate-like structure. The as-prepared black sample exhibited a broad absorption covered the whole visible light region. The high-resolution TEM images revealed the disordered surface structure, which could be the reason for the black color of BiOCl. The disordered surface was not only responsible for the visible-light absorption but also played a vital role in improving the separation of photo-induced electrons and holes. Methyl orange (MO) photocatalytic degradation experiments showed that the black sample exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than the pristine BiOCl under visible light irradiation. A possible formation mechanism of black BiOCl under Fe reduction was also proposed in our research work.     

Synthesis of ZnTiO3/tourmaline/Ni foam catalyst and enhanced photocatalytic performance

ZnTiO₃/tourmaline loaded on the nickel foam (ZnTiO₃/tourmaline/Ni-foam) is prepared by a facile coating method. Morphology and structure of the photocatalyst were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electrons microscopy (SEM), raman spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (UV–vis DRS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The photocatalytic properties of the materials were tested by using the Rhodamine B (RhB) solution as the target pollutant. The results indicates that the ZnTiO₃/tourmaline/Ni foam exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than that of ZnTiO₃ and ZnTiO₃/Ni foam under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, and its degradation rate was up to 99.2%. Moreover, the degradation rate remained at 91.3% after eight consecutive photocatalytic reaction cycles. The outstanding photocatalytic performances of ZnTiO₃/tourmaline/Ni foam was mainly attributed to the existence of tourmaline, which can help to inhibit the recombination of electron-hole paris, and the proper pore structure of the carrier. Meanwhile, the trapping experiments indicated that ·O₂^– was the main active species in the photocatalytic degradation of RhB.     

PdO nanoparticles decorated TiO2 film with enhanced photocatalytic and self-cleaning properties

Magnetron sputtering and gas aggregation source (GAS) approaches were combined for the preparation of columnar TiO₂ structures decorated with PdO nanoparticles (NPs). The totally solvent-free synthesis approach provides good control of surface coverage, size, morphology, and stoichiometry of PdO NPs in comparison to wet chemical synthesis methods. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the heat treatment led to the formation of a mixed oxide state PdO/PdO₂ on the TiO₂ layer. A steady equilibrium between PdO (oxidation by free and adsorbed ?OH) and PdO₂ (reduced by trapped photogenerated electrons) phases under UV irradiation seems to provide an efficient electron-hole pair separation. Such robust PdO–TiO₂ thin films have a strong potential for use as photocatalytic and self-cleaning windows or similar out-door technical surfaces.