Coupling effect of piezomaterial and DSA catalyst for degradation of metronidazole: Finding of induction electrocatalysis from remnant piezoelectric filed

New insight on interfacial charge transfer at graphitic carbon nitride/sodium niobate heterojunction under piezoelectric effect for the generation of reactive oxygen species

Piezocatalytic removal of metronidazole (MET) using graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4, GCN)/sodium niobate (NaNbO3) heterojunction was investigated under ultrasonication. Herein, optimized GCN(50)/NaNbO3 heterojunction achieved 87.2% MET removal within 160 min (k = 0.0138 min-1). A new pathway for the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via GCN(50)/NaNbO3 piezocatalytic heterojunction was identified. The type-II heterojunction formulated using optimized GCN(50)/NaNbO3 was found to generate hydroxyl radical (.OH); however, it was thermodynamically not feasible. The main reasons are; (i) piezopotential generated converted type-II to S-scheme heterojunction and resulted in the participation of high oxidizing potential holes in valence band (VB) of NaNbO3, and (ii) formation of depletion region at the GCN-water interface and subsequent improvement in the redox potential of holes, and (iii) piezopotential generated at NaNbO3 provided bias to GCN and established a piezo-electrocatalytic system. The higher screening of piezopotential in presence of external ions was found to reduce the generation of .OH. Overall, self-powered NaNbO3 has great ability to improve interfacial charge transfer at GCN(50)/NaNbO3 to form ROS.

Piezo-photocatalytic properties of BaTiO3/CeO2 nanoparticles with heterogeneous structure synthesized by a gel-assisted hydrothermal method

BaTiO3/CeO2 nanoparticles with heterogeneous structure were successfully synthesized via a gel-assisted hydrothermal method. The molar ratio of Ti/Ce was set as 1 : 0, 0.925 : 0.075, 0.9 : 0.1; 0.875 : 0.125, and 0.85 : 0.15 in the dried gels. Affected by the values of Ti/Ce, the particle sizes of hydrothermal products decreased obviously, and the surface of nanoparticles became rough and even had small protrusions. XRD, SEM, HRTEM, XPS, DRS, ESR, and PFM were used to characterize the nanoparticle textures. We speculated that the main body and surface of nanoparticles were BaTiO3 and CeO2 protrusions, respectively. The catalytic performance of BaTiO3/CeO2 nanoparticles was characterized by their abilities to degrade RhB in water under different external conditions (light irradiation, ultrasonic oscillation, or both). In all test groups, BaTiO3/CeO2 nanoparticles with a Ti/Ce molar ratio of 0.875 : 0.125 in the initial dried gel exhibited the strongest catalytic ability when light irradiation and ultrasonication were applied simultaneously owing to the appropriate amount of Ce3+ and oxygen vacancies.

Thin Films (FTO/BaTiO3/AgNPs) for Enhanced Piezo-Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Ciprofloxacin in Wastewater

In this study, we investigate the ability of barium titanate/silver nanoparticles (BaTiO₃/AgNPs) composites deposited on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass using tape-casting method to produce piezoelectric thin film (FTO/BaTiO₃/AgNPs) for piezocatalytic, photocatalytic, and piezo-photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) in wastewater. The prepared piezoelectric materials (BaTiO₃ and BaTiO₃/AgNPs) were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, UV-DRS, TGA, PL, BET, EIS, and chronoamperometry. The UV-DRS showed the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of BaTiO₃ at a wavelength of 505 nm. The TEM images revealed the average Ag nanoparticle size deposited on the surface of BaTiO₃ to be in the range of 10-15 nm. The chronoamperometry showed that the photoreduction of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto BaTiO₃ (BTO) resulted in a piezo-electrochemical current enhancement from 0.24 to 0.38 mA. The composites (FTO/BaTiO₃/AgNPs) achieved a higher degradation of MB and CIP when the photocatalysis and piezocatalysis processes were merged. Under both ultrasonic vibration and UV light exposure, FTO/BTO/AgNPs degraded about 72 and 98% of CIP and MB from wastewater, respectively. These piezoelectric thin films were shown to be efficient and reusable even after five cycles, suggesting that they are highly stable. Furthermore, the reactive oxygen species studies demonstrated that hydroxyl radicals (·OH) were the most effective species during degradation of MB, with minor superoxide radicals (·O₂ ^-) and holes (h⁺). From this study, we were able to show that these materials can be used as multifunctional materials as they were able to degrade both the dye and pharmaceutical pollutants. Moreover, they were more efficient through the piezo-photocatalytic process.

High-Performance Piezo-Electrocatalytic Sensing of Ascorbic Acid with Nanostructured Wurtzite Zinc Oxide

Nanostructured piezoelectric semiconductors offer unprecedented opportunities for high-performance sensing in numerous catalytic processes of biomedical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural interests, leveraging piezocatalysis that enhances the catalytic efficiency with the strain-induced piezoelectric field. Here, a cost-efficient, high-performance piezo-electrocatalytic sensor for detecting l-ascorbic acid (AA), a critical chemical for many organisms, metabolic processes, and medical treatments, is designed and demonstrated. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods and nanosheets are prepared to characterize and compare their efficacy for the piezo-electrocatalysis of AA. The electrocatalytic efficacy of AA is significantly boosted by the piezoelectric polarization induced in the nanostructured semiconducting ZnO catalysts. The charge transfer between the strained ZnO nanostructures and AA is elucidated to reveal the mechanism for the related piezo-electrocatalytic process. The low-temperature synthesis of high-quality ZnO nanostructures allows low-cost, scalable production, and integration directly into wearable electrocatalytic sensors whose performance can be boosted by otherwise wasted mechanical energy from the working environment, for example, human-generated mechanical signals.