Interstratified nanohybrid assembled by alternating cationic layered double hydroxide nanosheets and anionic layered titanate nanosheets with superior photocatalytic activity

Hybridization of layered double hydroxides with functional particles

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a class of materials with useful properties associated with their anion exchange abilities as well as redox and adsorptive properties for a wide range of applications including adsorbents, catalysts and their supports, electrodes, pigments, ceramic precursors, and drug carriers. In order to satisfy the requirements for each application as well as to find alternative applications, the preparation of LDHs with the desired composition and particle morphology and post-synthetic modification by the host-guest interactions have been examined. In addition, the hybridization of LDHs with various functional particles has been reported to design materials of modified, improved, and multiple functions. In the present article, the preparation, the heterostructure and the application of hybrids containing LDHs as the main component are overviewed.

2D Nanocomposite Membranes: Water Purification and Fouling Mitigation

In this study, the characteristics of different types of nanosheet membranes were reviewed in order to determine which possessed the optimum propensity for antifouling during water purification. Despite the tremendous amount of attention that nanosheets have received in recent years, their use to render membranes that are resistant to fouling has seldom been investigated. This work is the first to summarize the abilities of nanosheet membranes to alleviate the effect of organic and inorganic foulants during water treatment. In contrast to other publications, single nanosheets, or in combination with other nanomaterials, were considered to be nanostructures. Herein, a broad range of materials beyond graphene-based nanomaterials is discussed. The types of nanohybrid membranes considered in the present work include conventional mixed matrix membranes, stacked membranes, and thin-film nanocomposite membranes. These membranes combine the benefits of both inorganic and organic materials, and their respective drawbacks are addressed herein. The antifouling strategies of nanohybrid membranes were divided into passive and active categories. Nanosheets were employed in order to induce fouling resistance via increased hydrophilicity and photocatalysis. The antifouling properties that are displayed by two-dimensional (2D) nanocomposite membranes also are examined.

Construction of strontium tantalate homo-semiconductor composite photocatalysts with a tunable type II junction structure for overall water splitting

The presence of at least two different strontium tantalates with a type II junction structure for efficient photocatalytic overall water splitting.

Precursor preparation of Zn–Al layered double hydroxide by ball milling for enhancing adsorption and photocatalytic decoloration of methyl orange

The higher photocatalytic decoloration efficiency of the precursor than that of LDH because of the synergistic effect of intercalation and catalysis.

Monolayered Bi2WO6 nanosheets mimicking heterojunction interface with open surfaces for photocatalysis

Two-dimensional-layered heterojunctions have attracted extensive interest recently due to their exciting behaviours in electronic/optoelectronic devices as well as solar energy conversion systems. However, layered heterojunction materials, especially those made by stacking different monolayers together by strong chemical bonds rather than by weak van der Waal interactions, are still challenging to fabricate. Here the monolayer Bi₂WO₆ with a sandwich substructure of [BiO]⁺–[WO₄]²⁻–[BiO]⁺ is reported. This material may be characterized as a layered heterojunction with different monolayer oxides held together by chemical bonds. Coordinatively unsaturated Bi atoms are present as active sites on the surface. On irradiation, holes are generated directly on the active surface layer and electrons in the middle layer, which leads to the outstanding performances of the monolayer material in solar energy conversion. Our work provides a general bottom-up route for designing and preparing novel monolayer materials with ultrafast charge separation and active surface.

Although they tend to exhibit exciting optoelectronic behaviours, the difficulty in fabricating chemically bonded two-dimensional layered heterojunctions has hindered progress in the area. Here, the authors synthesize sandwich-substructured Bi₂WO₆ monolayers and investigate their photocatalytic activity.