Simple fabrication and unprecedented visible light response of NiNb2O6/RGO heterojunctions for the degradation of emerging pollutants in water

Utilization of environmentally friendly and effective synthesis methods to fabricate visible light responsive photocatalysts with impressive catalytic performance is desirable in photocatalytic water treatment.

A Mild in-Situ Method to Construct Fe-Doped Cauliflower-Like Rutile TiO2 Photocatalysts for Degradation of Organic Dye in Wastewater

A mild in situ method was developed to construct an iron doped rutile TiO2 photocatalyst like cauliflower for degradation synthetic textile dye-methyl orange. The synthesized photocatalysts presented distinguished photocatalytic activity. At the optimal Fe concentration (0.5%), the decomposition rate of methyl orange (MO) was about 90% under 40 min of ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. Whereas, to our knowledge, only 70% of the decomposition rate of MO was achieved by commercial photocatalyst P25 under the similar reaction condition. Additionally, the rutile preparation temperature did not exceed 100 °C, which was much lower than the traditional preparation calcination temperature (e.g., 600 °C). The specific surface area of Fe doped catalysts was bigger than that of the control sample and the catalyst characterization indicated that the doped iron was incorporated into the rutile TiO2 lattice and resulted in the lattice disorder. The lattice disorder would have generated surface defects in the crystal structure, which was in favor of the photocatalytic reaction. The UV-Vis diffuse refection characterization and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculation suggested that doping a small amount of Fe into the lattice of rutile would lead to a narrower band gap and the formation of a doping energy level between conduction and valence bands of TiO2. This further increased the degradation efficiency of synthetic textile dyes in wastewaters. Our study has provided a relatively easy operation for synthesis Fe doped rutile TiO2, which is a benefit to decrease the cost in wastewater treatment process.

Synergistic effects of multi-active sites in silver modified Bi°-BiVO4 toward efficient reduction of aromatic nitrobenzene

In this work, we report on the preparation of silver nanoparticles modified bismuth/bismuth vanadate (Bi°-BiVO₄) catalyst with multi-active sites toward efficient reduction of aromatic nitrobenzene, aiming to tailor the synergistic effects of multi-active sites and specify the underlying catalytic mechanism. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is observed that Ag nanoparticles with diameter of ˜30 nm were anchored evenly on the surface of rod-shaped BiVO₄, which offered multi-active sites to contact with the reactants effectively and transfer interfacial electron to 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) rapidly. The activity factor k of Ag/Bi°-BiVO₄ for 4-NP reduction is estimated to ˜3933.4 min^-1 g^-1, which is much higher than that obtained from pristine BiVO₄ catalyst, Bi° and noble metal Ag nanoparticles. According to the experimental results, the reaction mechanism and reaction path of 4-NP reduction for BiVO₄, Bi and Ag were studied through the density functional theory (DFT) theoretical calculation, which suggested that they exhibit synergistic catalytic effect in the reaction process. This work may provide a feasible foundation for the mechanism research of semiconductor reduction to 4-nitrophenol.

Ag3PO4/CoFe2O4 magnetic nanocomposite: synthesis, characterization and applications in catalytic reduction of nitrophenols and sunlight-assisted photocatalytic degradation of organic dye pollutants

A novel magnetically recyclable Ag₃PO₄/CoFe₂O₄ nanocomposite was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method and its photocatalytic/catalytic performance for the degradation of organic dyes or reduction of nitro compounds was investigated.

Tuning the optical, electronic and luminescence properties of LaOCl:Eu3+via structural and lattice strain modulation

Lattice strain increases with increasing of Eu³⁺ concentration, which influences on emission intensity of LaOCl:Eu³⁺ nanodisks.

Photo-synergistic promoted in situ generation of Bi0–BiSbO4 nanostructures as an efficient catalyst for nitrobenzene reduction

This work reports on the construction of Bi⁰–BiSbO₄ nanostructures to show photo-synergistic and efficient catalytic activity toward nitrobenzenes reduction.