scholarly journals Cation disorder and octahedral distortion control of internal electric field, band bending and carrier lifetime in Aurivillius perovskite solid-solutions for enhanced photocatalytic activity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaideep Malik ◽  
Shubham Kumar ◽  
Priya Srivastava ◽  
Monojit Bag ◽  
Tapas Kumar Mandal

The overall photocatalytic activity shown by a semiconductor photocatalyst stems from a complex interplay of several critical factors that includes light absorption, carrier recombination dynamics, charge transfer resistance, lifetime of...

Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1349
Author(s):  
Liaochuan Jiang ◽  
Xingyuan Gao ◽  
Shaoling Chen ◽  
Jangam Ashok ◽  
Sibudjing Kawi

At present, TiO2 is one of the most widely used photocatalytic materials. However, the narrow response range to light limits the photocatalytic performance. Herein, we reported a successful construction of self-doped R-WO3/R-TiO2/CC nanocomposites on flexible carbon cloth (CC) via electrochemical reduction to increase the oxygen vacancies (Ovs), resulting in an enhanced separation efficiency of photo-induced charge carriers. The photocurrent of R-WO3/R-TiO2/CC at −1.6 V (vs. SCE) was 2.6 times higher than that of WO3/TiO2/CC, which suggested that Ovs could improve the response to sunlight. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity of R-WO3/TiO2/CC was explored using methylene blue (MB). The degradation rate of MB could reach 68%, which was 1.3 times and 3.8 times higher than that of WO3/TiO2/CC and TiO2/CC, respectively. Furthermore, the solution resistance and charge transfer resistance of R-WO3/R-TiO2/CC were obviously decreased. Therefore, the electrochemical reduction of nanomaterials enabled a promoted separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, leading to high photocatalytic activity.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (19) ◽  
pp. 6031
Author(s):  
Yi-en Du ◽  
Xianjun Niu ◽  
Xinru He ◽  
Kai Hou ◽  
Huiling Liu ◽  
...  

In this work, TiO2/CdS nanocomposites with co-exposed {101}/[111]-facets (NH4F-TiO2/CdS), {101}/{010} facets (FMA-TiO2/CdS), and {101}/{010}/[111]-facets (HF-TiO2/CdS and Urea-TiO2/CdS) were successfully synthesized through a one-pot solvothermal method by using [Ti4O9]2− colloidal solution containing CdS crystals as the precursor. The crystal structure, morphology, specific surface area, pore size distribution, separation, and recombination of photogenerated electrons/holes of the TiO2/CdS nanocomposites were characterized. The photocatalytic activity and cycling performance of the TiO2/CdS nanocomposites were also investigated. The results showed that as-prepared FMA-TiO2/CdS with co-exposed {101}/{010} facets exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity in the process of photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO), and its degradation efficiency was 88.4%. The rate constants of FMA-TiO2/CdS was 0.0167 min−1, which was 55.7, 4.0, 3.7, 3.5, 3.3, and 1.9 times of No catalyst, CdS, HF-TiO2/CdS, NH4F-TiO2/CdS, CM-TiO2, Urea-TiO2/CdS, respectively. The highest photocatalytic activity of FMA-TiO2/CdS could be attributed to the synergistic effects of the largest surface energy, co-exposed {101}/{010} facets, the lowest photoluminescence intensity, lower charge-transfer resistance, and a higher charge-transfer efficiency.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (05) ◽  
pp. 1750058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianmin Wang ◽  
Yunan Wang ◽  
Yinglei Liu ◽  
Song Li ◽  
Feng Cao ◽  
...  

CaFe2O4 nanofibers with diameters of about 130[Formula: see text]nm have been fabricated via a facile electrospinning method. The structures, morphologies and optical properties of the obtained CaF2O4 nanofibers have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–Visible UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum. The photocatalytic activities of the CaFe2O4 nanofibers are evaluated by the photo-degradation of Methyl orange (MO). The results show that the CaFe2O4 nanofibers (72%) exhibit much higher photocatalytic performance than the CaFe2O4 powders (27%) prepared by conventional method under visible light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of CaFe2O4 nanofibers could be attributed to the large surface area, high photogenerated charge carriers density and low charge transfer resistance, as revealed by photoelectrochemical measurement. And fundamentally, it could be attributed to the decreased particle size and the fibrous nanostructure. This work not only provides an efficient way to improve the photocatalytic activity of CaFe2O4, but also provides a new method for preparing materials with nanofibrous structure.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlys Bezerra ◽  
Géssica Santos ◽  
Marilia Pupo ◽  
Maria Gomes ◽  
Ronaldo Silva ◽  
...  

<p>Electrochemical oxidation processes are promising solutions for wastewater treatment due to their high efficiency, easy control and versatility. Mixed metal oxides (MMO) anodes are particularly attractive due to their low cost and specific catalytic properties. Here, we propose an innovative thermal decomposition methodology using <a>polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)</a> as a solvent to prepare Ti/RuO<sub>2</sub>–IrO<sub>2</sub> anodes. Comparative anodes were prepared by conventional method employing a polymeric precursor solvent (Pechini method). The calcination temperatures studied were 300, 400 and 500 °C. The physical characterisation of all materials was performed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy, while electrochemical characterisation was done by cyclic voltammetry, accelerated service lifetime and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Both RuO<sub>2</sub> and IrO<sub>2</sub> have rutile-type structures for all anodes. Rougher and more compact surfaces are formed for the anodes prepared using PVA. Amongst temperatures studied, 300 °C using PVA as solvent is the most suitable one to produce anodes with expressive increase in voltammetric charge (250%) and accelerated service lifetime (4.3 times longer) besides reducing charge-transfer resistance (8 times lower). Moreover, the electrocatalytic activity of the anodes synthesised with PVA toward the Reactive Blue 21 dye removal in chloride medium (100 % in 30 min) is higher than that prepared by Pechini method (60 min). Additionally, the removal total organic carbon point out improved mineralisation potential of PVA anodes. Finally, this study reports a novel methodology using PVA as solvent to synthesise Ti/RuO<sub>2</sub>–IrO<sub>2</sub> anodes with improved properties that can be further extended to synthesise other MMO compositions.</p>


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1929
Author(s):  
Alexander Rodríguez ◽  
Francisco Burgos-Flórez ◽  
José D. Posada ◽  
Eliana Cervera ◽  
Valtencir Zucolotto ◽  
...  

Neuronal damage secondary to traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a rapidly evolving condition, which requires therapeutic decisions based on the timely identification of clinical deterioration. Changes in S100B biomarker levels are associated with TBI severity and patient outcome. The S100B quantification is often difficult since standard immunoassays are time-consuming, costly, and require extensive expertise. A zero-length cross-linking approach on a cysteamine self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was performed to immobilize anti-S100B monoclonal antibodies onto both planar (AuEs) and interdigitated (AuIDEs) gold electrodes via carbonyl-bond. Surface characterization was performed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and specular-reflectance FTIR for each functionalization step. Biosensor response was studied using the change in charge-transfer resistance (Rct) from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in potassium ferrocyanide, with [S100B] ranging 10–1000 pg/mL. A single-frequency analysis for capacitances was also performed in AuIDEs. Full factorial designs were applied to assess biosensor sensitivity, specificity, and limit-of-detection (LOD). Higher Rct values were found with increased S100B concentration in both platforms. LODs were 18 pg/mL(AuES) and 6 pg/mL(AuIDEs). AuIDEs provide a simpler manufacturing protocol, with reduced fabrication time and possibly costs, simpler electrochemical response analysis, and could be used for single-frequency analysis for monitoring capacitance changes related to S100B levels.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 202
Author(s):  
Réka Barabás ◽  
Carmen Ioana Fort ◽  
Graziella Liana Turdean ◽  
Liliana Bizo

In the present work, ZrO2-based composites were prepared by adding different amounts of antibacterial magnesium oxide and bioactive and biocompatible hydroxyapatite (HAP) to the inert zirconia. The composites were synthesized by the conventional ceramic processing route and morpho-structurally analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Two metallic dental alloys (i.e., Ni–Cr and Co–Cr) coated with a chitosan (Chit) membrane containing the prepared composites were exposed to aerated artificial saliva solutions of different pHs (i.e., 4.3, 5, 6) and the corrosion resistances were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique. The obtained results using the two investigated metallic dental alloys shown quasi-similar anticorrosive properties, having quasi-similar charge transfer resistance, when coated with different ZrO2-based composites. This behavior could be explained by the synergetic effect between the diffusion process through the Chit-composite layer and the roughness of the metallic electrode surface.


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