Synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles with mesoporous anatase wall and high photocatalytic activity

Mesoporous titanium dioxide nanosized powder with high specific surface area and anatase wall was synthesized via hydrothermal process by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant-directing agent and pore-forming agent. The resulting materials were characterized by XRD, nitrogen adsorption, FESEM, TEM, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The as-synthesized mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles have mean diameter of 17.6 nm with mean pore size of 2.1 nm. The specific surface area of the as-synthesized mesoporous nanosized TiO2 exceeded 430 m2/g and that of the samples after calcination at 600 degrees C still have 221.9 m2/g. The mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles show significant activities on the oxidation of Rhodamine B (RB). The large surface area, small crystalline size, and well-crystallized anatase mesostructure can explain the high photocatalytic activity of mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles calcined at 400 degrees C.     

Synthesis of anatase TiO2 in a vinyl-containing ionic liquid and its enhanced photocatalytic activity

TiO₂ microspheres were synthesized by the sol–gel method using the ionic liquid (IL) 1-vinyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide (VPIM⁺I^?) as a reaction medium, then calcined at 500 °C. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The phase of TiO₂ microspheres is anatase, and VPIM⁺I^? is able to favor the growth of anatase phase and prevents the collapse of small pores. The photocatalytic activity of TiO₂-IL was tested by degradation of 2-nitrophenol under UV light illumination. The photocatalytic activity of TiO₂-IL was higher than that of samples prepared in the reaction medium without VPIM⁺I^?.     

Chemical synthesis, structural characterization, optical properties, and photocatalytic activity of ultrathin ZnSe nanorods

Ultrathin ZnSe nanorods in the cubic phase have been synthesized by the reaction of selenium and zinc oleate for 30 min at 240 °C. These nanorods showed an average diameter of 2.4 nm, which is much smaller than the Bohr size of bulk ZnSe. Thus, they exhibited a remarkable quantum size effect in terms of their optical properties. The formation of the ultrathin nanorods could be attributed to the oriented attachment mechanism, which was supported by the structure of the nanorods and the control experiments. The ultrathin nanorods were transferred into an aqueous solution by ligand exchange. The performance of these nanorods as a catalyst was examined, using the photodegradation of methyl orange as a model reaction. It was found that the ultrathin nanorods possessed better photocatalytic activities than conventional ones.     

制备条件对稀土掺杂TiO2物理性质和光催化降解吡唑草胺性能的影响

多相光催化是一种非常有效的降解各种水污染物的方法.本文以稀土(镝和镨)掺杂的TiO2为光催化剂,考察了制备条件对其物理性质和光催化性能的影响.采用溶胶-凝胶法和不同条件(反应温度450,550,650oC;反应时间4,8,12 h)的固态反应法制备了TiO2样品.运用X射线衍射分析了该样品的晶相,发现只存在锐钛矿相,并得到Raman光谱的证实.同时采用扫描电镜观察了样品的结构和粒径;以BET法计算了其比表面积;运用紫外-可见光漫反射光谱测得了样品的带隙能量.通过测量紫外光照射下常用除草剂吡唑草胺的降解速率评价了样品的光催化活性,反应过程中吡唑草胺的浓度用高效液相色谱分析.结果表明,稀土掺杂使得TiO2吸收边红移,并提高了其光催化活性;制备时最优的固态反应条件为550oC反应8 h.     

Structural,optical and photocatalytic activity of cerium doped zinc aluminate

Zinc aluminate and cerium-doped zinc aluminate nanoparticles are synthesised by co-precipitation method. Ammonium hydroxide is used as a precipitating agent. The synthesised compounds are characterised by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Ultraviolet diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Surface area measurements. The photocatalytic activity of zinc aluminate and cerium doped zinc aluminate nanoparticles are studied under the UV light and visible light taking methylene blue as a model pollutant. The amount of catalyst, concentration of dye solution and time are optimised under UV-light. Degradation of methylene blue under the UV-light is found to be 99% in 20 min with 10 mg of cerium doped catalyst. Compared to visible light degradation, the degradation of dye under UV-light is higher. Cerium doping in zinc aluminate (ZnAl₂O₄:Ce³⁺) increased the photocatalytic activity of zinc aluminate.     

Al掺杂对锐钛矿型TiO2光催化性能影响的研究

采用平面波赝势(PWPP)方法进行密度泛函(DFT)计算,研究了Al掺杂对锐钛矿晶体能带、态密度的影响.分析发现掺杂后Al原子3s和3p轨道上的电子虽然对晶体的价带和导带贡献不大,却诱使导带发生较大程度下移,禁带宽度减小,理论预测可以发生红移.采用低温燃烧合成法制备了Al掺杂锐钛矿型纳米TiO2,紫外-可见吸收光谱检测和甲基橙降解实验证明,Al掺杂TiO2光吸收强度增强,吸收带边界发生红移;光催化性能较纯TiO2有所改善.理论计算结果与实验结果相符.     

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.     

Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic properties of surface-modified, silver-doped ZnO

Hydrothermal synthesis of silver-doped modified ZnO was carried out in the presence of a surface modifier. The experimental conditions were maintained constant (ZnO = 4 M; T = 250 °C; P = autogenous; Solvent = 1 N HCl; Duration = 24 h). Caprylic acid was used as a surface modifier with varying concentration from 0.1 to 2 mL. The experiments were carried out with Ag doping from 1 to 5 wt%. Hydrophobic silver-doped ZnO modified with caprylic acid was subjected to a systematic characterization using powder XRD, SEM, FTIR, and photocatalytic properties using Indigo Carmine dye.     

Synthesis of TiO2/ZrO2/SiO2 powders and their structural,optical and photocatalytic properties

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Ternary oxide powders based on titania, zirconia and silica have been synthesized by the sol–gel method. The characterization of the powders was performed...     

Synthesis, mesomorphic and optical properties of isothiocyanatotolanes

The synthesis, mesomorphic properties and UV absorption spectra of laterally fluorine substituted, and the corresponding unsubstituted, 4'-alkyl-, 4'-alkoxy-, 4'-alkylcyclohexyl-, 4'-alkylbicyclo [2,2,2]octyl- and 4'-alkylcyclohexylethyl-4-isothiocyanatotolanes are described. Multicomponent broad range nematic mixtures with birefringence values higher than 0.4 and moderate viscosities are developed.     

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.     

Synthesis, surface morphology, and photoluminescence properties of anatase iron-doped titanium dioxide nano-crystalline films

Iron (Fe)-doped (0 to 4%) TiO(2) nano-crystalline (nc) films with the grain size of about 25 nm have been deposited on n-type Si (100) substrates by a facile nonhydrolytic sol-gel processing. X-ray diffraction measurements prove that the films are polycrystalline and present the pure anatase phase. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra indicate that the chemical valent state of Fe element is +3 and the Fe(3+) ions replace the Ti(4+) sites. The Fe dopant effects on the surface morphology, microstructure, and dielectric functions of the nc-Fe/TiO(2) films have been studied by atomic force microscope, ultraviolet Raman scattering and spectroscopic ellipsometry. With increasing Fe composition, the intensity of Raman-active mode B(1g) increases, while that of the A(1g) phonon mode decreases. The dielectric functions have been uniquely extracted by fitting ellipsometric spectra with the Adachi's dielectric function model and a four-phase layered model. It is found that the real part of dielectric functions in the transparent region and the optical band gap slightly decrease with the Fe composition due to the introduction of acceptor level Fe t(2g). Finally, the composition and temperature dependence of the surface and lattice defects in the Fe/TiO(2) films have been investigated by photoluminescence spectra in detail. At room temperature, the emission intensities decrease with increasing Fe compositions since the Fe incorporation could prolong the radiative lifetime and/or shorten the non-radiative lifetime. By analyzing the low temperature photoluminescence spectra, the intensities and positions of five emission peaks and shoulder structure can be unambiguously assigned. The phenomena could be reasonably explained by the physical mechanisms such as oxygen vacancies, localized excitons, self-trapped excitons, and indirect transitions, which are strongly related to the electronic band structure perturbed by the Fe doping.     

Synthesis and structures of a new series of silver-vanadate hybrid solids and their optical and photocatalytic properties

Three new silver-vanadate hybrid solids, [Ag(bpy)]4V4O12 x 2 H2O (I), [Ag(dpa)]4V4O12 x 4 H2O (II), and Ag4(pzc)2V2O6 (III) (bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine, dpa = 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)-ethane, pzc = pyrazinecarboxylate), were synthesized by hydrothermal methods and characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction (I, P2(1)/c, Z = 4, a = 11.375(2) A, b = 14.281(4) A, c = 13.598(3) A, beta = 91.46(1) degrees; II, P2(1)/c, Z = 8, a = 13.5748(3) A, b = 15.3372(4) A, c = 14.1854(3) A, beta = 114.1410(9) degrees; III, P1, Z = 2, a = 3.580(1) A, b = 11.839(4) A, c = 19.321(7) A, alpha = 89.110(7) degrees, beta = 87.719(9) degrees, gamma = 86.243(8) degrees), thermogravimetric analysis, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance. The structures of I and II are constructed from neutral {Ag4V4O12}n layers of clusters that are pillared via the coordination of organic ligands (bpy for I and dpa for II) to the Ag sites in each layer. Conversely, the structure of III is composed of a three-dimensional {Ag2(pzc)(+)}n coordination network with channels containing {VO3(-)}n chains. The lattice water molecules can be removed upon heating to > or = 180 degrees C for I (reversibly) and to > or = 120 degrees C for II (irreversibly). All three decompose with the removal of organic ligands at higher temperatures of > 200-300 degrees C. Their optical bandgap sizes were measured to be 2.77 eV for I, 2.95 eV for II, and 2.45 eV for III, which decrease most notably as a result of the band widening for the more extended vanadate structure in III. All three hybrid solids are photocatalytically active for the decomposition of methylene blue under UV light (lambda < 400 nm; 1.01, 0.64, and 2.65 mg L(-1) h(-1) for I, II, and III, respectively), while only III exhibits a high activity under visible-light irradiation (lambda > 400 nm; 1.20 mg L(-1) h(-1) ). These new hybrid solids are among the first reported to exhibit high photocatalytic activities under either ultraviolet or visible-light irradiation and have also been analyzed with respect to the effect of the different organic ligands on their atomic- and electronic-structures.     

Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of novel zinc germanate nano-materials

We report the first instance of a hydrothermal synthesis of zinc germanate (Zn₂GeO₄) nano-materials having a variety of morphologies and photochemical properties in surfactant, template and catalyst-free conditions. A systematic variation of synthesis conditions and detailed characterization using X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and small angle X-ray scattering led to a better understanding of the growth of these particles from solution. At 140 °C, the zinc germanate particle morphology changes with pH from flower-shaped at pH 6.0, to poly-disperse nano-rods at pH 10 when the Zn to Ge ratio in the synthesis solution is 2. When the Zn to Ge ratio is reduced to 1.25, mono-disperse nano-rods could be prepared at pH 7.5. Nanorod formation is also independent of the addition of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), in contrast to previous reports. Photocatalytic tests show that Zn₂GeO₄ nano-rods (by weight) and flower shaped (by surface area) are the most active for methylene blue dye degradation among the synthesized zinc germanate materials.     

Structural,optical, electrical,and photocatalytic properties of manganese doped zinc oxide nanocrystals

Manganese-doped and undoped ZnO nanocrystals were synthesized via wet-chemical methods. The structure, physico-chemical, electrical and optical properties of the as-prepared products were characterized by using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PLS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The photocatalytic activity of Mn-doped ZnO nanocrystal (mixed phases) has been examined under the visible-irradiation by using photocatalytic oxidation of rhodamine B (RhB) dye as a model reaction, and compared with that of known system such as pure ZnO nanocrystal (single-phase). The results showed that Mn doped ZnO nanocrystals bleaches RhB much faster than undoped ZnO upon its exposure to the visible light. The enhancement of the photocatalytic activity was discussed as an effect due to the Mn doping in the Mn-doped ZnO semiconductors, which shifts the optical absorption edge to the visible region and alters the electron-hole pair separation conditions. These factors are responsible for the higher photocatalytic performance of Mn/ZnO composites.     

二氧化钛纳米管的制备与光催化活性

用阳极氧化法,室温条件下在含NH4F和H2O的电解液(丙三醇+NH4F+H2O;乙二醇+NH4F+H2O)中制备了TiO2纳米管阵列。用环境扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)表征二氧化钛纳米管阵列的微观形貌和物相结构。在丙三醇电解液中,电压为60 V,65 V,70 V,75 V制备的纳米管直径依次为160、170、190、220 nm。对甲基橙(10 mg/L)降解测试TiO2纳米管阵列的光催化性能。研究结果表明:在100 V阳极电压制备经过500℃退火处理后的TiO2纳米管阵列的光催化效果最好,其光催化降解率在光照时间120 min时达到89.2%。     

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of ZnO-Au25 nanocomposites

ZnO-Au₂₅ nanocomposites were synthesized by doping Au₂₅ nanoclusters into the porous ZnO nanospheres. It was notable that the ultrasmall Au₂₅ nanoclusters possessed uniform sizes and fine dispersibility on the porous ZnO supports. A considerable correlation between the loading of Au₂₅ nanoclusters and the photocatalytic activity was found. Compared with the pure ZnO nanospheres, the ZnO-Au₂₅ nanocomposites exhibited more efficient photocatalytic activity in terms of degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in an aqueous solution. In addition, the possible photocatalytic mechanisms are discussed in this work. This strategy may be helpful for preparing other novel hybrid nanocomposites with well-defined structures and superior performances.     

Synthesis, structure, and nonlinear optical properties of diarylpolyynes

A series of alpha,omega-diarylpolyynes has been synthesized. In addition to the synthesis of three hexaynes (3a-c), a notably improved synthesis of 1,16-diphenylhexadecaoctayne (5) is described. The third-order nonlinear optical characteristics for these molecules have been studied and show a substantial increase in molecular hyperpolarizability (gamma) as a function of increasing length. The unusual solid-state structures of compounds 3a and 3b are reported.     

Optical properties of lanthanide-doped lamellar nanohybrids.

In this article a detailed study of the optical properties of lanthanide doped lamellar nanohybrids synthesized by the "benzyl alcohol route" is presented. The synthetic approach results in the formation of a highly ordered lamellar nanocomposite consisting of yttrium or gadolinium oxide crystalline layers with a confined thickness of about 0.6 nm, separated from each other by organic layers of intercalated benzoate molecules. When the inorganic layers are doped with optically-active lanthanide ions they show outstanding emission properties in the green (Tb(3+)), red (Eu(3+)) and near infrared (Nd(3+)). The local environment of the emitting ions and the energy transfer processes involving the phenyl ring of the benzoate complexes and the lanthanide ions are presented, as well as radiance and lifetime measurements. The radiance values are comparable and in some cases even larger than those of standard phosphors, proving that these nanohybrids can compete, from an emission efficiency point of view, with commercial phosphors. Furthermore, in these nanohybrids it is possible by simply changing the excitation wavelength, to tune the emission colour chromaticity without loosing the radiance.