A novel strategy to research the mechanism of rutile TiO2with excellent photocatalytic performance

This study reported a novel method to obtain rutile TiO₂with excellent photocatalytic activity for degradation of organic dyes. In this study, the concentrated HCl was selected as the inhibitor to make TiO₂precursor hardly hydrolyzed at room temperature. And a certain amount of urea was added, which results in TiO₂precursor hydrolyzed to produce rutile TiO₂due to urea thermally decomposed into alkaline substances to neutralize the concentrated HCl. To further explore the mechanism of excellent photocatalytic performance of rutile TiO₂, a series of experiments, characterizations, and DFT computations were carried out. Based on DFT computations and experimental results, it could be concluded that the introduction of surface oxygen vacancies was the main reason for the excellent photocatalytic performance of the samples, and the concentration of surface oxygen vacancies would affect the physical and chemical properties of rutile TiO₂. Meaningfully, this unique and innovative work broke the traditional preconception of rutile TiO₂and provided a theoretical possibility for rutile TiO₂to be applied in other research fields.

Photopolymerized Films with ZnO and Doped ZnO Particles Used as Efficient Photocatalysts in Malachite Green Dye Decomposition

Zinc oxide and zinc oxide doped with tin oxide (ZnO-SnO2) particles were synthesized and successfully incorporated into a polymeric matrix by the photopolymerization reaction in the presence of Irg819 as the photoinitiator. The obtained samples were investigated by means of XRD, ESEM/EDX, TEM, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy. The ZnO particles were obtained in the form of rods agglomerated in flower (or star) structures with lengths of 2–4 μm and widths between 30 and 100 nm, while ZnO-SnO2 samples evolved in the form of cubes, with sides of 350 nm. The prepared composite films with ZnO and ZnO-SnO2 particles were tested in the photocatalytic degradation of malachite green (MG) dye. While the ZnO-based composite film showed a fairly high photocatalytic activity, the hybrid film containing ZnO doped with SnO2 displayed 100% photocatalytic activity after only 45 min of irradiation, being among the most efficient photocatalysts known for MG degradation. In addition, the recycling tests demonstrated that this film displayed high stability during the photocatalysis reaction since no decrease in the photocatalytic performance was noticed after the first three cycles, indicating its suitability for dyes removal and wastewater purification.

Unique 1D/3D K2Ti6O13/TiO2 micro-nano heteroarchitectures: controlled hydrothermal crystal growth and enhanced photocatalytic performance for water purification

Unique 1D/3D K₂Ti₆O₁₃/TiO₂ micro-nano heteroarchitectures with enhanced photocatalytic performance for pollutant degradation were successfully fabricated through a controlled hydrothermal route.

Phase Transformation Synthesis of Strontium Tantalum Oxynitride-Based Heterojunction for Improved Visible Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution

Tantalum oxynitride-based materials, which possess narrow band gaps and sufficient band energy potentials, have been of immense interest for water splitting. However, the efficiency of photocatalytic reactions is still low because of the fast electron-hole recombination. Here, a Sr₂Ta₂O_{7- x}N _x/SrTaO₂N heterostructured photocatalyst with a well-matched band structure was in situ constructed by the nitridation of hydrothermal-prepared Sr₂Ta₂O₇ nanosheets. Compared to Sr₂Ta₂O_{7- x}N _x and pure SrTaO₂N, the Sr₂Ta₂O_{7- x}N _x/SrTaO₂N heterostructured photocatalyst exhibited the highest rate of hydrogen evolution, which is ca. 2.0 and 76.4 times of Sr₂Ta₂O_{7- x}N _x and pure SrTaO₂N, respectively, under the similar reaction condition. The enhanced performance arises from the formation of suitable band-matched heterojunction-accelerated charge separation. This work provides a promising strategy for the construction of tantalum oxynitride-based heterojunction photocatalysts.

In situ construction of an SnO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Herein, the SnO₂/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposite was rationally designed and successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method.

Carbon-mediated fabrication of core–shell structured SnO2@TiO2 nanocomposites with excellent photocatalytic performance

A carbon-mediated hydrothermal route has been developed for the fabrication of core–shell structured SnO₂@TiO₂ nanocomposites with excellent photocatalytic performance.