Visible light-driven novel Bi2Ti2O7/CaTiO3 composite photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic activity towards NO removal

CO2-broken Ti-O bonds in the TiO6 octahedron of CaTiO3 for greatly enhanced room-temperature ferromagnetism

Preparation of two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic nanomaterials and the study of their magnetic sources are crucial for the exploration of new materials with multiple applications. Herein, two-dimensional room-temperature ferromagnetic (FM) CaTiO3 nanosheets are successfully constructed with the assistance of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO2). In this process, the SC CO2-induced strain effect can lead to lattice expansion and introduction of O vacancies. More importantly, experimentally it can be found out that the breakage of the Ti-O2 bond by CO2 directly results in the equatorial plane of the TiO6 octahedron being exposed. This leads to more opportunities for oxygen vacancies and low-valent titanium to appear, where Ti3+ can optimize the spin structure, releasing the macroscopic magnetization. Greatly improved room-temperature ferromagnetic behavior, with an optimal magnetization of 0.1661 emu g-1 and a high Curie temperature (Tc) of 300 K can be achieved.

Rationally designed CaTiO3/Mn0.5Cd0.5S/Ni3C S-scheme/Schottky integrated heterojunction for efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution

Developing effective photocatalysts to achieve stable and efficient solar-induced hydrogen production remains a significant challenge due to rapid photocarrier recombination and sluggish hydrogen evolution kinetics. Here, a multi-interfacial engineering strategy involving the decoration of metallic Ni3C onto CaTiO3/Mn0.5Cd0.5S was proposed to create an S-scheme/Schottky hybrid heterostructure with multiple carrier transport paths for effective photocatalytic H2 production. Exploiting the synergy between S-scheme heterojunction and Schottky barrier, the engineered ternary CaTiO3/Mn0.5Cd0.5S/Ni3C hybrid heterojunction exhibits outstanding photostability and significantly enhanced hydrogen evolution activity of 79.1 mmol g-1 h-1, which was about 4.55, 3.22 and 2.59 times greater than Mn0.5Cd0.5S, Mn0.5Cd0.5S/Ni3C, and CaTiO3/Mn0.5Cd0.5S, respectively. By creating an S-scheme heterojunction between CaTiO3 and Mn0.5Cd0.5S, accompanied by a robust internal electric field (IEF), spatial charge separation can be effectively accelerated while ensuring the simultaneous preservation of highly active electrons and holes. Meanwhile, Ni3C nanoparticles, acting as a Schottky-junction H2 generation cocatalyst, can efficiently trap the photoinduced electrons to establish multiple charge transfer channels and supply ample active sites for photoreduction reaction, thereby further optimizing the hydrogen generation kinetics. The integration of a Schottky barrier and S-scheme heterojunction in this research is expected to offer new perspectives for designing other highly effective hybrid catalysts for solar-to-hydrogen fuel conversion.

Bi-Enhanced BixTi(4-x)O7 Heterojunctions for Improved Photocatalytic Activity in Tetracycline Removal

The photocatalytic proficiency of Bi2Ti2O7 is hindered by its inadequate solar energy harnessing capability and swift electron-hole recombination dynamics. In the investigation, the study innovated Bi metal oxide heterostructures by embedding Bi nanoparticle-modified BixTi(4-x)O7 composites, systematically synthesizing a suite of Bi/BT materials through meticulous tuning of the Bi and Ti precursor ratios. Notably, the Bi/BT-2 series was examined for its photocatalytic performance in tetracycline (TC) degradation. The findings revealed that Bi/BT-2 exhibited remarkable TC degradation efficiency, achieving a removal rate of 99.6 %, which surpasses BT-2 by a factor of 3.25 and TiO2 by 1.67 times. Mechanistic probing unveiled that the incorporation of nanostructured Bi onto the BixTi(4-x)O7 surface introduced fresh active sites, dramatically bolstering the photocatalytic activity by augmenting the light absorption spectrum and refining charge separation processes. Moreover, an exhaustive examination of the TC degradation mechanism facilitated by Bi/BT-2 demonstrated sustained efficiency exceeding 80 % across a pH range spanning from 3 to 9, emphasizing its promising potential for practical applications. This study contributes invaluable perspectives for the design of cutting-edge metal-oxide photocatalysts tailored for environmental remediation purposes. Synopsis: The low degradation efficiency of tetracycline has posed a major challenge in bismuth titanate research. To address this, a novel approach was implemented by developing a BixTi(4-x)O7 composite catalyst modified with Bi nanoparticles. This modification forms a metal-oxide heterojunction, which significantly enhances the degradation efficiency.

Anchoring Perovskite-Like Bi4Ti3O12 and Plasmonic Bi on Defect-Rich Yellow TiO2-x for Enhanced Catalytic Activity toward Degradation of Pollutants upon Visible Light

The efficiency of heterogeneous photocatalytic processes is currently limited due to the fast recombination of photocarriers, poor light absorption, and inefficient surface catalytic characteristics. In this study, defect-rich yellow TiO2-x nanoparticles (abbreviated as D-TiO2) with high surface area and significant absorption in the visible range were integrated with perovskite-like Bi4Ti3O12 to synthesize binary D-TiO2/Bi4Ti3O12 nanocomposites. To overcome the problem of insufficient activity, we integrated the optimized D-TiO2/Bi4Ti3O12 nanocomposite with plasmonic Bi nanoparticles. Significantly, the optimized D-TiO2/Bi4Ti3O12/Bi-2 nanocomposite efficiently removed tetracycline (TC) in 50 min through production of •OH, h+, and •O2- species, whose removal rate promoted 10.6, 3.18, 5.01, and 1.84 compared with the white TiO2 (abbreviated as W-TiO2), D-TiO2, Bi4Ti3O12, and D-TiO2/Bi4Ti3O12 (20%) photocatalysts, respectively. The outstanding performance of the D-TiO2/Bi4Ti3O12/Bi photocatalyst was attributed to its quantum dot size, low resistance for charge migration, increased surface area, oxygen vacancies in D-TiO2, and developed n-n heterojunction among D-TiO2 and Bi4Ti3O12, which accelerated charge transfer and promoted the generation of active species. Furthermore, the stability tests showed that the TC degradation efficiency still reached 96% after four recycles, indicating the remarkable stability of the photocatalyst. Eventually, the biocompatible nature of the treated solution over the optimized photocatalyst was also revealed from an investigation of the growth of lentil seeds.

Fabrication of Heterostructural FeNi3-Loaded Perovskite Catalysts by Rapid Plasma for Highly Efficient Photothermal Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction

Metal-semiconductor heterostructured catalysts have attracted great attention because of their unique interfacial characteristics and superior catalytic performance. Exsolution of nanoparticles is one of the effective and simple ways for in-situ growth of metal nanoparticles embedded in oxide surfaces and their favorable dispersion and stability. However, both high-temperature and a reducing atmosphere are required simultaneously in conventional exsolution, which is time-consuming and costly, and particles often agglomerate during the process. In this work, Ca0.9Ti0.8Ni0.1Fe0.1O3-δ (CTNF) is exposed to dielectric blocking discharge (DBD) plasma at room temperature to fabricate alloying FeNi3 nanoparticles from CTNF perovskite. FeNi3-CTNF has outstanding catalytic activity for photothermal reverse water gas shift reaction (RWGS). At 350 °C under full-spectrum irradiation, the carbon monoxide (CO) yield of FeNi3-CTNF (10.78 mmol g-1 h-1) is 11 times that of pure CaTiO3(CTO), and the CO selectivity is 98.9%. This superior catalytic activity is attributed to the narrow band gap, photogenerated electron migration to alloy particles, and abundant surface oxygen vacancies. The carbene pathway reaction is also investigated through in-situ Raman spectroscopy. The present work presents a straightforward method for the exsolution of nanoalloys in metal-semiconductor heterostructures for photothermal CO2 reduction.

Effective removal of azithromycin by novel g-C3N4/CdS/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite under visible light irradiation

In this study, the visible light active pristine, binary and ternary g-C₃N₄/CdS/CuFe₂O₄ nanocomposite is prepared through a coprecipitation-assisted hydrothermal technique. The characterization of the as-synthesized catalysts was conducted using various analytical techniques. When compared with pristine and binary nanocomposites, the ternary g-C₃N₄/CdS/CuFe₂O₄ nanocomposite exhibits higher photocatalytic degradation of azithromycin (AZ) under a visible light source. Ternary nanocomposite exhibits high AZ removal efficiency of about 85% within 90 min of the photocatalytic degradation experiment. Enhanced the visible light absorption ability and the suppression of photoexcited charge carriers is also achieved by forming heterojunctions between pristine materials. The ternary nanocomposite exhibited ∼2 times higher degradation efficiency than CdS/CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and ∼3 times higher degradation efficiency than CuFe₂O₄. The trapping experiments were conducted and it shows superoxide radicals (O₂^•-) are the predominant reactive species involved in the photocatalytic degradation reaction. This study provided a promising approach for the treatment of contaminated water using g-C₃N₄/CdS/CuFe₂O₄ as a photocatalyst.

The three-dimensionally ordered microporous CaTiO3 coupling Zn0.3Cd0.7S quantum dots for simultaneously enhanced photocatalytic H2 production and glucose conversion

Glucose conversion assisted photocatalytic water splitting technology to simultaneously produce H₂ and high value-added chemicals is a promising method for alleviating the energy shortage and environmental crisis. In this work, we constructing type II heterojunction by in-situ coupling Zn_0.3Cd_0.7S quantum dots (ZCS QDs) on three-dimensionally ordered microporous CaTiO₃ (3DOM CTO) for photocatalytic H₂ production and glucose conversion. The DFT calculations demonstrate that substitution of Zn on the Cd site improves the separation and transmission of photogenerated carriers. Therefore, 3DOM CTO-ZCS composite exhibits best H₂ production performance (2.81 mmol g^-1h^-1) and highest apparent quantum efficiency (AQY) (5.56 %) at 365 nm, which are about 47 and 18 times that of CTO nanoparticles (NPs). The improved catalytic performance ascribed to not only good mass diffusion and exchange, highly efficient light harvesting of 3DOM structure, but also the efficient charges separation of type Ⅱ heterojunction. The investigation on photocatalytic mechanism indicates that the glucose is mainly converted to gluconic acid and lactic acid, and the control reaction step is gluconic acid to lactic acid. The selectivity for gluconic acid on 3DOM CTO-ZCS is 85.65 %. Our work here proposes a green sustainable method to achieve highly efficient H₂ production and selective conversion of glucose to gluconic acid.

Integrated adsorption and photocatalytic degradation based removal of ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole antibiotics using Fc@rGO-ZnO nanocomposite in aqueous systems

Ferrocene functionalized rGO-ZnO nanocomposite was synthesized via the facile hydrothermal method. ZnO was reduced over the 3-dimensional rGO framework (3D-Fc@rGO) using Camellia sinensis extract. The Fc@rGO-ZnO nanocomposite was employed for pharmaceutical degradation (sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and ciprofloxacin (CIP)) in an aqueous solution under UV C light. The physicochemical properties of the as-prepared photocatalyst were characterized using FTIR, XRD, FESEM, EDS mapping, HR-TEM, XPS, and DR-UV Vis. The as-synthesized Fc@rGO-ZnO photocatalyst performed remarkably against pristine ZnO, with a fivefold increase in removal efficiency. This superior activity was attributed to its improved light harvesting, charge carrier interface, and enhanced charge separation. Additionally, the photocatalyst obeyed the Lagergen model for pseudo-first-order kinetics. Congruously, the integrated approach of Fc@rGO and ZnO as oxidizing agents was proficient in removing >95% of antibiotics (CIP and SMX) within 180 min. Furthermore, the heterostructure configuration developed between Fc@rGO and ZnO helps in charge migration and generation of abundant •OH and •O₂^- radicals for photodegradation activities. The toxicity assessment of the treated solutions showed improved cell viability in the algal strains of Scenedesmus and Chlorella sp. Moreover, this novel approach for the synthesis of a photoactive nanocomposite is found to be low-cost and reusable for three cycles. The nanocomposite is environmentally sustainable paving the way for practical applications in the treatment of different classes of antibiotics.

Emerging homogeneous superlattices in CaTiO3 bulk thermoelectric materials

The thermal conductivity of superlattices is strongly reduced as compared to that of the parent materials due to phonon-scattering and thermal boundary resistances at the superlattice period interfaces. Herein, homogenous superlattices consisting of homogenous structural Ce_δCa_1-δTiO₃ and CaTi_1-δCe_δO₃ alternate layers were obtained through a variable-valence Ce doping, providing multi-quantum well interfaces between the alternate layers due to Ce-substitution at Ca and Ti sites, respectively. This material comprising these homogenous superlattices displayed a significantly reduced lattice thermal conductivity of 1.82 W m^-1 K^-1 and a record high zT value of 0.405 at 1031 K in CaTiO₃-based thermoelectric materials. This strategy of synthesizing homogeneous superlattices provides a cost advantage over heterogeneous superlattices prepared by the molecular beam epitaxy method and paves a route for preparing bulk superlattices with unique thermoelectric properties rooting in the quantum domain limiting effect.

Porous Defective Bi/Bi3NbO7 Nanosheets for Efficient Photocatalytic NO Removal under Visible Light

Since conventional techniques are ineffective for NO removal at low concentrations, photocatalysis has become attractive in this regard, recently. However, in practice, photocatalytic NO removal has drawbacks such as limited light absorption and the proclivity of producing toxic by-products. To address these issues, novel defective Bi/Bi3NbO7 structures with good porosity were fabricated by a solvothermal method and used for enhanced photocatalytic NO removal under visible light irradiation. The morphological and structural properties of the prepared materials were comprehensively analyzed. The optimal photocatalytic activity of pore-defective Bi/Bi3NbO7 for NO removal was 60.3%, when the molar ratios of urea and Bi(NO)3•5H2O to pristine Bi3NbO7 were 1:25 and 1:2, respectively, under the following operational conditions: NO concentration of 700 ppb, catalyst dosage of 50 mg and irradiation time of 14 min. The induced defects and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Bi nanodots made remarkable contributions to improving the photocatalytic NO removal as well as inhibiting the toxic byproduct NO2. The photocatalytic NO removal pathway over the prepared photocatalysts was further mechanistically clarified taking advantage of EPR results and scavenging experiments. Considering the increased NO generation in the atmosphere, this work may provide novel insights for designing effective porous photocatalysts to treat gaseous toxic pollutants.

One Step Synthesis of Oxygen Defective Bi@Ba2TiO4/BaBi4Ti4O15 Microsheet with Efficient Photocatalytic Activity for NO Removal

Photocatalysis is an effective technology for NO removal even at low concentrations in the ambient atmosphere. However, the low efficiency of this advanced process and the tendency of producing toxic byproducts hinder the practical application of photocatalysis. To overcome these problems, the Bi@Ba2TiO4/BaBi4Ti4O15 photocatalytic composites were successfully prepared by a one-step hydrothermal method. The as-synthesized photocatalysts exhibited an efficient photocatalytic performance and generated low amounts of toxic byproducts. X-ray diffraction studies show that Bi3+ is successfully reduced on the surface of Ba2TiO4/BaBi4Ti4O15 (BT/BBT). After L-Ascorbic acid (AA) modification, the photocatalytic NO removal efficiency of Bi@Ba2TiO4/BaBi4Ti4O15 is increased from 25.55% to 67.88%, while the production of the toxic byproduct NO2 is reduced by 92.02%, where the initial concentration of NO is diluted to ca. 800 ppb by the gas stream and the flow rate is controlled at 301.98 mL·min−1 in a 150 mL cylindrical reactor. Furthermore, ambient humidity has little effect on the photocatalytic performance of theBi@Ba2TiO4/BaBi4Ti4O15, and the photocatalyst exhibits excellent reusability after repeated cleaning with deionized water. The improved photocatalytic effect is attributed to the addition of AA in BT/BBT being able to reduce Bi3+ ions to form Bi nanoparticles giving surface plasmon effect (SPR) and generate oxygen vacancies (OVs) at the same time, thereby improving the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers, enhancing the light absorption, and increasing the specific surface areas. The present work could provide new insights into the design of high-performance photocatalysts and their potential applications in air purification, especially for NO removal.

Synthesis, Properties and Photocatalytic Activity of CaTiO3-Based Ceramics Doped with Lanthanum

The aim of this work is to study the effect of lanthanum doping on the phase formation processes in ceramics based on CaTiO3, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the ceramics as photocatalysts for the decomposition of the organic dye Rhodamine B. The methods used were scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the morphological features of the synthesized ceramics, X-ray diffraction to determine the phase composition and structural parameters, and UV-Vis spectroscopy to determine the optical properties of the ceramics. During the experiments it was found that an increase in the lanthanum dopant concentration from 0.05 to 0.25 mol leads to the formation of the orthorhombic phase La0.3Ca0.7TiO3 and the displacement from the ceramic structure of the impurity phase TiO2, which presence is typical for the synthesized ceramics by solid-phase synthesis. On the basis of the data of the X-ray phase analysis the dynamics of phase transformations depending on concentration of lanthanum was established: CaTiO3/TiO2 → CaTiO3/La2TiO5 → CaTiO3/La0.3Ca0.7TiO3 → La0.3Ca0.7TiO3. During the determination of photocatalytic activity it was found that the formation of La0.3Ca0.7TiO3 phase leads to an increase in the decomposition rate as well as the degree of mineralization.

In-situ construction of step-scheme MoS2/Bi4O5Br2 heterojunction with improved photocatalytic activity of Rhodamine B degradation and disinfection

In this paper, a novel Step-scheme MoS₂/Bi₄O₅Br₂ heterojunction was fabricated through the in-situ mechanical agitation method and the photocatalytic activity of that was examined by the photocatalytic degradation Rhodamine B (RhB) and inactivation of E.coli under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The Step-scheme MoS₂/Bi₄O₅Br₂ heterojunctions displayed the enhanced photocatalytic ability compared to pure Bi₄O₅Br₂ and MoS₂ and the MoS₂/Bi₄O₅Br₂-3% (MS/BOB-3) heterojunction exhibited the strongest photocatalytic activity which can completely inactivate the 1 × 10⁷ cfu/mL with 180 min and degrade RhB (10 mg/L) with 24 min visible light irradiation, respectively. The photocatalytic mechanism of the MoS₂/Bi₄O₅Br₂ heterojunction is was attributed to the generated active species (h⁺, ·O₂^- and ·OH) which can effectively destroy RhB molecular and cell-membrane of bacterial as demonstrated by multiple techniques such as LC-MS and fluorescence stain. Additionally, characterization results disclosed that the transfer pathway of charge carriers of constructed MoS₂/Bi₄O₅Br₂ heterojunction followed the Step-scheme channel, which not only facilitated the separation and migration of the photo-generated charge carriers, but also improved the light absorption ability of the samples and resulting in the promoted photocatalytic performance of MoS₂/Bi₄O₅Br₂ heterojunction. This work paves a new idea to develop novel bismuth oxyhalide-based photocatalytic system for wastewater purification.

Promoting photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CH4 via a combined strategy of defects and tunable hydroxyl radicals

A well-designed photocatalyst with excellent activity and selectivity is crucial for photocatalytic CO₂ conversion and utilization. TiO₂ is one of the most promising photocatalysts. However, its excessive surface oxidation potential and insufficient surface active sites inhibit its activity and photocatalytic CO₂ reduction selectivity. In this work, highly dispersed Bi₂Ti₂O₇ was introduced into defective TiO₂ to adjust its oxidation potential and the generation of radicals, further inhibiting reverse reactions during the photocatalytic conversion of CO₂. Moreover, an in situ topochemical reaction etching route was designed, which achieved defective surfaces, a contacted heterophase interface, and an efficient electron transfer path. The optimized heterophase photocatalyst exhibited 93.9% CH₄ selectivity at a photocatalytic rate of 6.8 μmol·g^-1·h^-1, which was 7.9 times higher than that of P25. This work proposes a feasible approach to fabricating photocatalysts with well-designed band structures, highly dispersed heterophase interfaces, and sufficient surface active sites to effectively modulate the selectivity and activity of CO₂ photoreduction by manipulating the reaction pathways.

Effective promotion of g-C3N4 photocatalytic performance via surface oxygen vacancy and coupling with bismuth-based semiconductors towards antibiotics degradation

In this research, the potential of bismuth chromate (BCO), a new bismuth-based semiconductor belongs to the family of Bi₂XO₆ (X = Mo, W, or Cr), was introduced by a novel 1D/2D structure consist of BCO nanobelts and N₂-freezed ultra-wrinkled graphitic carbon nitride (N-CN) nanosheets. To enhance intimate contact between BCO and N-CN (BCO/N-CN composite), surface oxygen vacancy (V_O) was created as an efficient electron transfer highway using a simple alkaline-treatment-assisted method. Various characterization techniques, including XRD, FT-IR, EPR, FE-SEM, TEM, BET, DRS, PL, EIS, and photocurrent transient analyses were conducted to elucidate the physicochemical aspects of catalysts. The synthesized catalysts were subjected to levofloxacin (LVFX) photodegradation and optimum conditions were found under LED irradiation. Under optimum conditions, about 92.5% of LVFX was catalytically degraded over V_O-rich BCO/N-CN heterojunction after 120 min of reaction, which was 2.3 folds higher than that of V_O-free composite. The obtained heterojunction maintained superior performance after five consecutive runs with no noticeable changes in the XRD and FT-IR patterns, demonstrating the high stability of synthesized nanocomposite. Thus, the proposed interfacial engineering in this study opens new insight for ameliorating the insufficient interfacial contact between components of heterojunctions. This study not only presents a new bismuth-based photocatalyst for antibiotic degradation but also sheds light on the charge migration behavior in favor of efficient Z-type heterojunction.

Persulfate assisted photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline by bismuth titanate under visible light irradiation

Tetracycline is a commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotic to prevent and cure the bacterial infections. However, the incompletely metabolic tetracycline molecules by organisms discharged into aquatic environment increase the ecological toxicity....

Vanadium doped CaTiO3 cuboids: role of vanadium in improving the photocatalytic activity

CaTiO3 has attracted enormous interest in the fields of photocatalytic dye degradation and water splitting owing to its low cost, excellent physicochemical stability and structural tunability. Herein, we have developed a simple one pot solvothermal approach which directs V into the Ti sites in the isovalent state during the synthesis of V doped CaTiO3 cuboids. The prediction of reduction in the band gap due to the formation of additional levels just beneath the conduction band edge by the first principles density functional electronic structure study is confirmed by the experimental results. The suppression of charge carrier recombination in 1.0 V leads to the highest photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue. The percentage degradation of 94.2 indicates its suitability as an excellent catalyst for photocatalytic water treatment.

Pyrochlore oxides as visible light-responsive photocatalysts

This perspective describes the use of pyrochlore oxides in photocatalysis with focus on the strategies to enhance their activity.