Novel method of square wave voltammetry for deposition of Bi2S3 thin film: Photocatalytic reduction of hexavalent Cr in single and binary mixtures

Piezoelectric Polarization and Sulfur Vacancy Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Performance of Bi2S3/ZnSn(OH)6 Piezo-photocatalyst

The combination of piezoelectric catalysis and photocatalysis could effectively enhance the carrier separation efficiency and further improve the hydrogen production activity. However, piezoelectric polarization always suffers from a low polarization strength, which severely restricts its actual applications. In this study, we successfully synthesized a novel sulfur vacancy-rich Bi2S3/ZnSn (OH)6 (BS-12/ZSH) piezo-photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution through water splitting. Notably, the piezo-photocatalytic hydrogen generation rate of the 8% BS-12/ZSH catalyst (336.21 μmol/g/h) was superior to that of pristine ZSH (29.71 μmol/g/h) and BS-12 (21.66 μmol/g/h). In addition, the hydrogen generation for 8% BS-12/ZSH (336.21 μmol/g/h) under ultrasonic coupling illumination was significantly higher than that under single illumination (52.09 μmol/g/h) and ultrasound (121.90 μmol/g/h), owing to the cooperative interaction of the sulfur vacancy and piezoelectric field. Various characterization analyses confirmed that (1) the introduction of sulfur vacancies in BS-12 provided more active sites, (2) BS-12 with sulfur vacancies acted as a co-catalyst to accelerate the hydrogen production rate, and (3) the piezoelectric field eliminated the electrostatic shielding and offered an additional driving force, which effectively promoted the separation of electron-hole pairs. This research clearly reveals the synergistic effect between piezocatalysis and photocatalysis as well as offers a promising sight for the rational design of high-efficiency piezo-photocatalysts.

Ag2O@UiO-66 new thin film as p-n heterojunction: permanent photoreduction of hexavalent Cr

The new nanosphere Ag2O@UiO-66 thin-film was synthesized on a stainless steel mesh surface via an electrophoretic deposition method, and is used as an effective and low-cost photocatalyst using visible light. The synthesized nanocomposite was used to perform photo-reduction of Cr(vi) ions under white light irradiation. The best removal rate (72% after 15 minutes) was obtained by the film with 0.034 grams of deposited composite having relative percentages of Ag2O : UiO-66 of 70 : 30. The interesting obtained results confirm that the p-n heterojunction of the composite is the main cause of the desired charge separation and the photoreduction speed increase. In the following, the resulting compounds were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), transmittance electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy diffraction X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) and the Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) method. Scavenging studies performed in the presence of familiar scavengers confirmed that superoxide radicals (˙O2-) and dissolved oxygen gas have a significant role in the photocatalytic reduction process.

Microalgae-enhanced bioremediation of Cr(VI) ions using spent coffee ground-derived magnetic biochar MoS2-Ag composites

Composites of magnetic biochar derived from spent coffee grounds were prepared using MoS2 decorated by plasmonic silver nanoparticles (MoS2-Ag), which were used for the bioremediation Cr6+ ions. The composites were characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman, and UV-VIS spectroscopy. The bioremediation of Cr6+ ions was enhanced almost two times compared to microalgae, Spirulina maxima. Such an increased activity is attributed to heterojunction formation of Biochar@MoS2-Ag composite due to the synergetic effects of surface plasmon resonance of AgNPs inducing amplified local electric field, thus simultaneously increasing the absorption of MoS2 under visible or near-infrared light. The combination of Biochar@MoS2-Ag and Spirulina maxima powder was effective for the separation (microalga-based absorption and accumulation of Cr6+ ions) of photo-induced carriers (composite-assisted to breakdown Cr6+ ions). This study offers efficient eco-friendly treatment of Cr6+ ions by reporting the first enhanced bioremediation of Cr(VI) ions by microalgae using MoS2-Ag-modified biochar obtained from consumed coffee grounds.

Recent advances in bismuth oxyhalides photocatalysts and their applications

Bismuth oxyhalides photocatalysts exhibit great potential to solve the energy and environmental issues under visible light due to their unique physicochemical and optical properties. However, the photocatalytic activity of pristine bismuth oxyhalides remains unsatisfactory because of their inherent drawbacks. Up to now, many strategies have been used to improve the photocatalytic performance. In this review, the basic mechanism, unique properties and structure of bismuth oxyhalides photocatalysts have been introduced, and the common techniques of synthesis, modification, and main applications have been discussed. Finally, new insights are proposed to meet the future challenges and development of the photocatalysts, which can provide better knowledge for the advancement of the related research areas.

Recent trends in Bi-based nanomaterials: challenges, fabrication, enhancement techniques, and environmental applications

One of the most enticing approaches to environmental restoration and energy conversion is photocatalysis powered by solar light. Traditional photocatalysts have limited practical uses due to inadequate light absorption, charge separation, and unknown reaction mechanisms. Discovering new visible-light photocatalysts and investigating their modification is crucial in photocatalysis. Bi-based photocatalytic nanomaterials have gotten much interest as they exhibit distinctive geometric shapes, flexible electronic structures, and good photocatalytic performance under visible light. They can be employed as stand-alone photocatalysts for pollution control and energy production, but they do not have optimum efficacy. As a result, their photocatalytic effectiveness has been significantly improved in the recent decades. Numerous newly created concepts and methodologies have brought significant progress in defining the fundamental features of photocatalysts, upgrading the photocatalytic ability, and understanding essential reactions of the photocatalytic process. This paper provides insights into the characteristics of Bi-based photocatalysts, making them a promising future nanomaterial for environmental remediation. The current review discusses the fabrication techniques and enhancement in Bi-based semiconductor photocatalysts. Various environmental applications, such as H₂ generation and elimination of water pollutants, are also discussed in terms of semiconductor photocatalysis. Future developments will be guided by the uses, issues, and possibilities of Bi-based photocatalysts.

New highly efficient 2D/1D HAp/g‒C3N4 photocatalyst thin film insight into crystal orientation and C‒vacancy effects

The novel synthetic Sol‒EPD process of a thin film including of well decorated g‒C₃N₄ nanotubes on plate‒like hydroxyapatite (HAp) were applied. Using Sol‒EPD designable method anisotropic growth of HAp nanocrystals on the substrate were achieved. It has provided the orientation of the different crystal facets resulted in the photogenerated O‒vacancy from phosphate groups. Based on the studied XRD pattern, EPD deposited film of HAp was oriented along c‒plane that can improve the photocatalytic activity of the designed composited film. Systematic designing was applied for decoration of g‒C₃N₄ nanotubes on the HAp under thermal condensation of melamine coincide with calcination of HAp. This new designed HAp/g‒C₃N₄ nanofilm was shown high photocatalytic efficiency and completely degradation of persistent pollutant of 4‒nitrophenol in the aqueous solution. According to the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and current density studies, the higher charge separation/low charge recombination results were obtained for composited g‒C₃N₄/HAp nano‒film comparing with the single films of HAp and urchin like g‒C₃N₄. This high separation of charge pairs should be also assigned to the special designed morphology. In addition, wrapped like structure of g‒C₃N₄ nanotubes with C‒vacancy around HAp nanoplates play key role in separation of photo‒induced charge pairs, light diffusion, and high light harvesting within hollow nanotube. It can be highlighted that the composite degraded more than 95% of 4‒nitrophenol during 90 min that after 5 runs the photocatalytic activity was not significantly changed.

Controllable synthesis of a sponge-like Z-scheme N,S-CQDs/Bi2MoO6@TiO2 film with enhanced photocatalytic and antimicrobial activity under visible/NIR light irradiation

Multifunctional photocatalytic surfaces for pollutant degradation and antimicrobial application are often in high demand, however they confront many challenges in charge transfer and light capture ability. In this work, a sponge-like N,S-CQDs/Bi₂MoO₆@TiO₂ film was constructed via hydrothermal technique aiming to solve above problems. As a result, the ternary film showed enhanced photocatalytic efficiency under visible and near-infrared (NIR) light, in which 85.8% and 44.6% of ciprofloxacin (CIP) were degraded after 240 min irradiation with visible and NIR light, respectively. Moreover, the composite film effectively realized photocatalytic sterilization of gram-positive B. subtilis and gram-negative E. coli under visible light irradiation. The bacterial colony decreased significantly from 7.56-log to 1-log cfu/mL after adding the ternary film within 1.5 h. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency was closely related to both introduction of surface-functional N,S-CQDs and the construction of N,S-CQDs/Bi₂MoO₆@TiO₂ Z-scheme system, in which the transfer efficiency of photoinduced carriers and the light absorption property were significantly improved. We consider that the N,S-CQDs/Bi₂MoO₆@TiO₂ film is promising for the degradation of refractory pollutants and antimicrobial application under visible/NIR light irradiation. The relatively convenient recycling property and excellent photocatalytic performance of the N,S-CQDs/Bi₂MoO₆@TiO₂ film are beneficial for industrial applications.

Bi2 S3 -In2 S3 Heterostructures for Efficient Photoreduction of Highly Toxic Cr6+ Enabled by Facet-Coupling and Z-Scheme Structure

The construction of Z-scheme photocatalyst materials mimicking the natural photosynthesis system provides many advantages, including increased light harvesting, spatially separated reductive and oxidative active sites and strong redox ability. Here, a novel Bi₂ S₃ nanorod@In₂ S₃ nanoparticle heterojunction photocatalyst synthesized through one-pot hydrothermal method for Cr⁶⁺ reduction is reported. A systematic investigation of the microstructural and compositional characteristics of the heterojunction catalyst confirms an intimate facet coupling between (440) crystal facet of In₂ S₃ and (060) crystal facet of Bi₂ S₃ , which provides a robust heterojunction interface for charge transfer. When tested under visible-light irradiation, the Bi₂ S₃ -In₂ S₃ heterojunction photocatalyst with 15% Bi₂ S₃ loading content achieves the highest Cr⁶⁺ photoreduction efficiency of nearly 100% with excellent stability, which is among the best-reported performances for Cr⁶⁺ removal. Further examination using optical, photoelectrochemical, impedance spectroscopy, and electron spin resonance spectroscopy characterizations reveal greatly improved photogenerated charge separation and transfer efficiency, and confirm Z-scheme electronic structure of the photocatalyst. The Z-scheme Bi₂ S₃ -In₂ S₃ photocatalyst demonstrated here presents promise for the removal of highly toxic Cr⁶⁺ , and could also be of interest in photocatalytic energy conversion.

In situ synthesis of holey g-C3N4 nanosheets decorated by hydroxyapatite nanospheres as efficient visible light photocatalyst

The interesting g-C3N4 nanosheet morphology has drawn huge attention in photocatalytic applications because of its special features. Nonetheless, the relative activity of these nanosheets is still controversial due to the low available active sites and the high recombination probability of photo-induced charge carriers. In this work, in situ sol-gel approach was applied to synthesize holey g-C3N4 nanosheets/hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanospheres with plentiful in-plane holes. Herein, the presence of Ca2+ plays a key role in the formation of holey defects on 2D g-C3N4. In-plane holes provide nanosheets with more active edges and diffusion channelsv, resulting in a tremendous enhanced mass and photo-induced charge transfer speed. Moreover, the holes make highly numbered boundaries, which lead to the prevention of aggregation. On the other hand, distributed nano-HAp spheres on these nanosheets can form effective heterojunctions having high photo-degradation ability of pollutants. Intrinsic O-vacancies inside HAp unit cells mainly affect the capture of photogenerated electrons, pollutant molecules, and O2 gas. The synergistic presence of O-vacancies and holey defects (C-vacancies) on 2D g-C3N4 plays a key role in raising the photocatalytic performance of holey g-C3N4/HAp. It can be concluded that the proposed preparation method is a promising approach for simultaneous synthesis of holey g-C3N4 and surface heterojunctions of Ca-based materials. This new structure has shown significant degradation ability of bisphenol A, a prominent pollutant, with a low amount (0.01 g) and short time.

Preparation and application of BiOBr-Bi2S3 heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic removal of Cr(VI)

Recently, the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) has been extensively studied. Herein, we successfully prepared the BiOBr-Bi₂S₃ heterojunctions with high photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction performance using an ion exchange method. The optimal BiOBr-Bi₂S₃ heterojunction (prepared with BiOBr, pH of 6.0, 2 mmol Na₂S₂O₃·5H₂O,) achieved 100% removal of Cr(VI) within 12 min. The performance of photo-reduced Cr(VI) was about 28.9 and 184.6 times higher than that of pure Bi₂S₃ and BiOBr, respectively. Besides, BiOBr-Bi₂S₃ heterojunctions had a good adsorption efficiency for Cr(III), suggesting that they could be applied as bifunctional photocatalyst. The formation process and photoelectric properties of the BiOBr-Bi₂S₃ heterojunctions were revealed by a series of characterizations. In conclusion, this work reported the synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalysis of the BiOBr-Bi₂S₃ heterojunctions for Cr removal for the first time, suggesting that the BiOBr-Bi₂S₃ heterojunctions could act as a novel photocatalytic adsorbent to treat the Cr(VI)-containing wastewater.

Tuning the Conduction Band Potential of Bi-based Semiconductors Using a Combination of Organic Ligands

Most Bi-based semiconductors are incapable of photocatalytic reduction reaction from a thermodynamic view, owing to relatively positive conduction band potentials (E_CB ). Here, a novel Bi-based metal-organic framework (Bi-MBA, MBA=4-mercaptobenzoic acid) with excellent photocatalytic reduction activities is developed. The E_CB of Bi-MBA locates at -1.38 eV, which is able to efficiently reduce O₂ , Cr^VI and CO₂ . Theoretical calculations reveal the significant contribution of organic ligand (MBA) to the conduction band. Our results provide an effective route to improve the photocatalytic reduction activities of Bi-based photocatalysts.

Functionalized magnetic PAMAM dendrimer as an efficient nanocatalyst for a new synthetic strategy of xanthene pigments

A green protocol has been developed for preparation of the wide variety of colored xanthene derivatives using a new efficient magnetic solid acid catalyst bearing polyamidoamine dendrimer moiety as a nanoscopic compound. Dendrimers, highly symmetric molecules around a core and 3D spherical morphology, show interesting traits based on their functionalized groups on the branched surface. They can be designed to provide water soluble structures or pseudo-active sites of biomolecules. The catalyst was assembled via a polyamidoamine dendrimer immobilized on the surface of γ-Fe₂O₃ followed by the sulfonylation of the amine groups by chlorosulfonic acid resulting in γ-Fe₂O₃@PAMAM-SO₃H. Herein, PAMAM dendrimer with repeating amine/amide branches as catchable sites of sulfonic acid groups was introduced as transformer of homogeneous to heterogeneous acidic catalysts. The physicochemical properties of synthesized catalyst were studied using by FT-IR, FE-SEM, XRD, VSM, EDS, TGA/DTG, and TEM. Finally, the catalytic activity of γ-Fe₂O₃@PAMAM-SO₃H was evaluated for the preparation of xanthene derivatives via a one-pot, three components reaction of aromatic aldehydes with i) β-naphthol, ii) cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl, iii) β-naphthol and cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, iv) 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, leading to the eco-riendly preparation of the target compounds in good to excellent yields. The catalyst could be easily recycled for at least five consecutive runs without significant loss in its catalytic activity.

Immobilized Ag3PO4/GO on 3D nickel foam and its photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin antibiotic under visible light

In this study, a series of Ag₃PO₄/graphene oxide (GO) films were dip-coated on a metal nickel foam. The immobilized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The results show that Ag₃PO₄/GO was successfully supported on a nickel foam. The photocatalytic activity of the film catalyst under visible light was investigated by the degradation of norfloxacin, an antibiotic. Photocatalytic stability of this catalyst was also investigated. An optimized film exhibited superior activity and stability, the degradation rate of norfloxacin was about 83.68% in 100 min and the reaction rate constant k was 1.9 times that of pristine Ag₃PO₄. Further investigation found that photo-generated holes (h⁺) and superoxide anion radicals (·O₂⁻) are the main active species in the photodegradation process. The result indicates that the addition of GO inhibits the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, and thus has improved the photocatalytic activity and cyclic stability under visible light. The photocatalytic mechanism of the film catalyst was proposed. The prepared Ag₃PO₄/GO film catalyst is a promising candidate for treatment of wastewater containing antibiotics.

A series of Ag₃PO₄/graphene oxide catalysts were dip-coated onto 3D nickel foam for photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin antibiotics.