scholarly journals N-Doped K3Ti5NbO14@TiO2 Core-Shell Structure for Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Activity in Environmental Remediation

Catalysts ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Gao ◽  
Chen Wang ◽  
Qixiang Xu ◽  
Hongjie Lv ◽  
Ting Chen ◽  
...  

A novel N-doped K3Ti5NbO14@TiO2 (NTNT) core-shell heterojunction photocatalyst was synthesized by firstly mixing titanium isopropoxide and K3Ti5NbO14 nanobelt, and then calcinating at 500 °C in air using urea as the nitrogen source. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) spectra. Anatase TiO2 nanoparticles were closely deposited on the surface of K3Ti5NbO14 nanobelt to form a nanoscale heterojunction structure favorable for the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. Meanwhile, the nitrogen atoms were mainly doped in the crystal lattices of TiO2, resulting in the increased light harvesting ability to visible light region. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of NTNT was ascribed to the combined effects of morphology engineering, N doping and the formation of heterojunction. A possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Lan ◽  
Vo Hoang Anh ◽  
Hoang Duc An ◽  
Nguyen Phi Hung ◽  
Dao Ngoc Nhiem ◽  
...  

In this study, C-N-S-tridoped TiO2 composite was fabricated from TiO2 prepared from ilmenite ore and thiourea by means of hydrothermal method. The obtained material was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that C-N-S-tridoped TiO2 material has a large specific surface area, showing good photocatalytic activity on the degradation of antibiotic tetracycline in visible light region. The study on the mechanism of tetracycline photodegradation using the liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry was performed. It was found that tetracycline has been degraded over C-N-S-tridoped TiO2 catalyst into many different intermediates which can eventually be converted into CO2 and H2O. The kinetics of photocatalytic decomposition of tetracycline were investigated. In addition, the obtained material could catalyze well the degradation of other antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol) and dyes (rhodamine-B, methylene blue, and organe red). The catalyst was stable after five recycles with slight loss of catalytic activity, which indicates great potential for practical application of C-N-S-tridoped TiO2 catalyst in treatment of wastewater containing tetracycline in particular or antibiotics in general.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 679
Author(s):  
Philani V. Hlophe ◽  
Langelihle N. Dlamini

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for the removal and photodegradation of pesticides in water. Characteristics such as large surface area, crystalline structure and catalytic properties give MOFs an advantage over other traditional adsorbents. The application of MOFs in environmental remediation is hindered by their ability to only absorb in the UV region. Therefore, combining them with an excellent charge carrier 2D material such as black phosphorus (BP) provides an attractive composite for visible-light-driven degradation of pesticides. In the study, a nanocomposite of black phosphorus and MIL-125(Ti), defined as BpMIL, was prepared using a two-stage hydrothermal and sonication route. The as-prepared composite was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. These techniques revealed that the circular and sheet-like morphology of the nanocomposites had minimum charge recombination, allowing them to be effective photocatalysts. Furthermore, the photocatalysts exhibited extended productive utilization of the solar spectrum with inhibited recombination rate and could be applied in visible-light-driven water treatment. The photodegradation of diazinon in water was studied using a series of BpMIL (4%, 6% and 12% by mass) nanocomposites as a photocatalyst. The optimal composite was determined to be 4%BpMIL. The degradation parameters were optimized and these included photocatalyst dosage, initial diazinon concentration and pH of the solution. The optimal conditions for the removal and degradation of diazinon were: neutral pH, [diazinon] = 20 mg/L, photocatalyst dosage = 0.5 g/L, achieving 96% removal of the pesticide after 30 min with 4%BpMIL, while MIL-125(Ti) showed 40% removal. The improved photodegradation efficiency of the 4%BpMIL composite was attributed to Ti3+-Ti4+ intervalence electron transfer and the synergistic effect between MIL-125(Ti) and BP. The photodegradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with a rate constant of 1.6 × 10−2 min−1.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang-Juan Lee ◽  
Chi-Lun Hong ◽  
Valentina Batalova ◽  
Gennady Mokrousov ◽  
Jerry Wu

Nitrogen modified zinc sulfide photocatalysts were successfully prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface area analysis. Thermal decomposition of the semisolid was carried out under nitrogen conditions at 500°C for 2 hours, and a series of nitrogen-doped ZnS photocatalysts were produced by controlling inflow flow rate of nitrogen at 15–140 mL/min. Optical characterizations of the synthesized N-doping ZnS substantially show the shifted photoabsorption properties from ultraviolet (UV) region to visible light. The band gaps of nitrogen-doped ZnS composite catalysts were calculated to be in the range of 2.58~2.74 eV from the absorptions edge position. The 15N/ZnS catalyst shows the highest photocatalytic activity, which results in 75.7% degradation of Orange II dye in 5 hrs by visible light irradiation, compared with pristine ZnS and higher percentage N-doping ZnS photocatalysts.


NANO ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1650114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Li ◽  
Jianwei Li ◽  
Caiqin Han ◽  
Xinsheng Zhao ◽  
Haipeng Chu ◽  
...  

Few-layered MoS2 nanostructures were successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method without the addition of any catalysts or surfactants. Their morphology, structure and photocatalytic activity were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectra and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, respectively. These results show that the MoS2 nanostructures synthesized at 180[Formula: see text]C exhibit an optimal visible light photocatalytic activity (99%) in the degradation of Rhodamine B owing to the relatively easier adsorption of pollutants, higher visible light absorption and lower electron–hole pair recombination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1035 ◽  
pp. 1043-1049
Author(s):  
Di Xiang ◽  
Chang Long Shao

A simple route has been developed for the synthesis of Ag2O/ZnO heterostructures and the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy analysis. Considering the porous structure of Ag2O/ZnO, the photocatalytic degradation for the organic dyes, such as eosin red (ER), methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB), under visible light irradiation was investigated in detail. Noticeably, Ag2O/ZnO just took 40 min to degrade 96 % MB. The rate of degradation using the Ag2O/ZnO heterostructures was 2.3 times faster than that of the bare porous ZnO nanospheres under visible light irradiation due to that the recombination of the photogenerated charge was inhibited greatly in the p-type Ag2O and n-type ZnO semiconductor. So the Ag2O/ZnO heterostuctures showed the potential application on environmental remediation.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089270572094421
Author(s):  
Guo Liu ◽  
Ting-Ting Li ◽  
Xiao-Fang Song ◽  
Jin-Yu Yang ◽  
Jiang-Tao Qin ◽  
...  

A new type of N-isopropyl acrylamide/high-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose/graphite carbon nitride (NIPAAm/HHPC/g-C3N4) smart hydrogel-based photocatalyst with thermally driven characteristic was successfully prepared by electron beam pre-radiation polymerization and radiation cross-linking methods. The agglomeration and loss of g-C3N4 nanosheets can be avoided effectively, and ensured high photocatalytic activity under visible light, once the g-C3N4 nanosheets are uniformly dispersed into the skeleton of a thermosensitive NIPAAm/HHPC hydrogel. NIPAAm/HHPC/g-C3N4 (NHC) hydrogel was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The microstructure of NHC was further characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller. The adsorption–photocatalytic removal rate of rhodamine B reached 71.4% at the mass ratio of g-C3N4 of 0.8% (NHC-0.8%) hydrogel in an aqueous medium under visible light. The thermal shrinkage ratio can reach 90.6% at 60°C after 5 min and could effectively achieve the function of recycling-free in a portable photocatalytic reaction device under the optimal conditions. Possible mechanism of adsorption–photocatalysis and thermally driven recycling-free on NHC hydrogel was also obtained. These thermally driven recycling-free characteristic and highly photocatalytic properties of the hybrid hydrogel-based photocatalyst show that it can be used as a promising new material with extensive applications in wastewater treatment.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Wafi ◽  
Erzsébet Szabó-Bárdos ◽  
Ottó Horváth ◽  
Mihály Pósfai ◽  
Éva Makó ◽  
...  

Catalysts for visible-light-driven oxidative cleaning processes and antibacterial applications (also in the dark) were developed. In order to extend the photoactivity of titanium dioxide into the visible region, nitrogen-doped TiO2 catalysts with hollow and non-hollow structures were synthesized by co-precipitation (NT-A) and sol–gel (NT-U) methods, respectively. To increase their photocatalytic and antibacterial efficiencies, various amounts of silver were successfully loaded on the surfaces of these catalysts by using a facile photo-deposition technique. Their physical and chemical properties were evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM–EDS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The photocatalytic performances of the synthesized catalysts were examined in coumarin and 1,4-hydroquinone solutions. The results showed that the hollow structure of NT-A played an important role in obtaining high specific surface area and appreciable photoactivity. In addition, Ag-loading on the surface of non-hollow structured NT-U could double the photocatalytic performance with an optimum Ag concentration of 10−6 mol g−1, while a slight but monotonous decrease was caused in this respect for the hollow surface of NTA upon increasing Ag concentration. Comparing the catalysts with different structures regarding the photocatalytic performance, silverized non-hollow NT-U proved competitive with the hollow NT-A catalyst without Ag-loading for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic oxidative degradations. The former one, due to the silver nanoparticles on the catalyst surface, displayed an appreciable antibacterial activity, which was comparable to that of a reference material practically applied for disinfection in polymer coatings.


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