Fluorine- and iron-modified hierarchical anatase microsphere photocatalyst for water cleaning: facile wet chemical synthesis and wavelength-sensitive photocatalytic reactivity

Highly-Efficient and Visible Light Photocatalytical Degradation of Organic Pollutants Using TiO2-Loaded on Low-Cost Biomass Husk

A composite composing of TiO₂ nanoparticles load on biomass rice husk (RH) is developed by directly growing TiO₂ nanoparticles on RH. The in-situ growth of the nanocrystals on RH is achieved by a low-cost and one-step homogeneous precipitation. Rapid hydrolysis proceeds at 90 °C by using ammonium fluotitanate and urea to facilitate the selective growth of TiO₂. The method provides an easy access to the TiO₂-RH composite with a strong interaction between TiO₂ nanoparticles and the underlying RH. The structure and composition of TiO₂-RH are characterized by using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. TiO₂ nanoparticles-RH exhibits a good photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. The results show that 92% of methyl orange (20 mg L^-1) can be degraded within three hours in visible light. The catalytic activity of the composite is not reduced after 6 cycles, and it still reaches 81% after 6 cycles. The enhanced performance is ascribed to the suitable particle size the good dispersibility. It is expected that the high photocatalytical performance and the cost-effective composite presented here will inspire the development of other high-performance photocatalysts.

Synthesis and Characterization of Anatase TiO2 Microspheres Self-Assembled by Ultrathin Nanosheets

In this paper, we report a novel and simple method for synthesizing the microspheres self-assembled from ultrathin anatase TiO₂ nanosheets with a high percentage of (001) facets via the hydrolysis process of the single-reagent (potassium fluorotitanate). We then used optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution confocal laser Raman spectroscopy to characterize the microspheres generated under different conditions. The study found that the size of the anatase TiO₂ microspheres synthesized was 0.5–3 μm. As the synthesis time increased, the corroded surface of the microspheres gradually increased, resulting in the gradual disappearance of the edges and corners of the anatase nanosheets. The exposure percentage of the (001) facets of ultrathin anatase nanosheets synthesized for 2 h at 180–200 °C are close to 100%. The microsphere whose surface is completely covered by these anatase nanosheets also has nearly 100% exposed (001) facets. This new anatase nanosheet-based self-assembled microsphere will have great application potential in pollution prevention, environmental protection, and energy fields.

Visible-light-mediated antifungal bamboo based on Fe-doped TiO2 thin films

A visible-light-mediated antifungal bamboo based on Fe-doped TiO₂ thin films was successfully fabricated through a facile one-step homogeneous precipitation method.

Novel template free synthetic strategy to single crystalline multishelled hollow nanospheroids of titania with boosted application potential

Schematic illustration of pathway to hollow titania nanospheroids.

The investigation of the LED-activated FeFNS-TiO2 nanocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation and mineralization of organophosphate pesticides in water

This study evaluated the preparation and characterization of an efficient doped TiO2 as a novel catalyst for degradation of diazinon model pesticide using LED-activated photocatalysis. TiO2 was doped using N, NS, FeNS, and FeFNS. The FeFNS-doped TiO2 showed the highest catalytic activity in LED/photocatalysis. FeFNS-doped TiO2 is a mesoporous nanocrystal powder with a mean pore diameter of 10.2 nm, a specific surface area of 104.4 m(2)/g and a crystallite size of 6.7 nm. LED/photocatalysis using FeFNS-doped TiO2 improved diazinon degradation by 52.3% over that of as-made plain TiO2 at an optimum solution pH of 7. The diazinon degradation in LED/photocatalysis using FeFNS-doped TiO2 increased from 44.8% to 96.3% when the catalyst concentration increased from 25% to 300%at a reaction time of 100 min. The degradation and mineralization of diazinon during LED/photocatalysis with FeFNS-doped TiO2 catalyst followed the pseudo-first-order reaction model with the rate constants of 0.973 h(-1) and 0.541 h(-1), respectively. The FeFNS-doped TiO2 was found to be an efficient catalyst that was photoactivated using UV-LED lamps. LED/photocatalysis with FeFNS-doped TiO2 catalyst is a promising alternative to conventional UV/TiO2photocatalysis for producing free OH radicals for use in the degradation and mineralization of water toxic contaminants.

Porous FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08: highly efficient photocatalysts for the degradation of methylene blue under visible-light illumination

Porous S-doped bismuth vanadate with an olive-like morphology and its supported iron oxide (y wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08, y = 0.06, 0.76, and 1.40) photocatalysts were fabricated using the dodecylamine-assisted alcohol-hydrothermal and incipient wetness impregnation methods, respectively. It is shown that the y wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08 photocatalysts contained a monoclinic scheetlite BiVO4 phase with a porous olive-like morphology, a surface area of 8.8-9.2 m2/g, and a bandgap energy of 2.38-2.42 eV. There was co-presence of surface Bi5+, Bi3+, V5+, V3+, Fe3+, and Fe2+ species in y wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08. The 1.40 wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08 sample performed the best for Methylene Blue degradation under visible-light illumination. The photocatalytic mechanism was also discussed. We believe that the sulfur and FeOx co-doping, higher oxygen adspecies concentration, and lower bandgap energy were responsible for the excellent visible-light-driven catalytic activity of 1.40 wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08.

A green and facile route for constructing flower-shaped TiO2 nanocrystals assembled on graphene oxide sheets for enhanced photocatalytic activity

We have demonstrated an environmentally friendly in situ assembly method for the preparation of novel three-dimensional TiO2/graphene oxide (TiO2/GO) nanostructures with favorable flower-shaped architectures. Very little information on such a morphology of TiO2/GO nanostructures is available in the literature. The as-synthesized sample was characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption measurements and Raman spectroscopy. Also the TiO2/GO composites exhibited enhanced photocatalytic properties.

Fluorinated semiconductor photocatalysts: tunable synthesis and unique properties

Semiconductor photocatalysts are of great significance in solar energy conversion and environmental remediation. To overcome serious drawbacks of these materials with respect to narrow light-response range and low quantum efficiency, a variety of strategies have been developed in the past decades to enhance the light harvesting and excitation as well as the charge transfer against recombination. In particular, fluorination of semiconductor photocatalysts can be employed to modify their surface and bulk properties, and consequently, to enhance their photocatalytic performance. This review presents a comprehensive description of the F-mediated synthesis and unique properties of fluorinated semiconductor photocatalysts, in particular titanium dioxide (TiO(2)). The available strategies for the synthesis of fluorinated photocatalysts include post-synthesis fluorination and in-situ fluorination. Depending on the synthesis route and conditions, it is possible to control the chemical nature of incorporated fluorine (such as adsorbed fluoride and lattice-doped fluorine) and the fluoride-mediated crystal modification and organization, which often results in exceptional surface and bulk physicochemical properties, giving rise to unique photocatalytic properties. Significantly, the surface fluorination induces unusual adsorption behavior and interfacial charge transfer dynamics, directly affecting photocatalytic redox properties of the surface-fluorinated photocatalysts. The lattice fluorine-doping, sole or cooperative with other complementary co-dopants, introduces special localized electronic structures and surface defect states, accounting for the exceptional visible-light photoactivity of the fluorine-doped photocatalysts. Finally, recent advances in the synthesis and properties of fluorinated photocatalysts are summarized along with perspectives on further developments in this area of research.

Template-free fabrication of TiO2 hollow spheres and their photocatalytic properties

Submicrometer-sized anatase TiO(2) hollow spheres were fabricated through a template-free solvothermal route using TiCl(4) as a raw material and a mixture of alcohols-acetone as solvent. Control of the hollow spheres' size was achieved by adjusting the ratio of alcohols to acetone. Products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM, X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. It was found that the formation process of the TiO(2) hollow spheres might include the hydrolysis of Ti(IV) with the water formed from the solvothermal etherification reaction, the aggregation of the anatase TiO(2) nanoparticles, and the Ostwald ripening. Furthermore, the as-prepared TiO(2) hollow nanostructures exhibited good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of phenol.