Ag-TiO2 Nanocomposites: visible or solar light driven plasmonic photocatalysis?

2021 ◽  
Vol 02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Bach-Toledo ◽  
Patricio G. Peralta-Zamora ◽  
Liziê Daniela Tentler Prola

Background: The demand for photocatalytic processes assisted by solar radiation has stimulated the upgrading of established systems, as the semiconductor modification with noble metals. Objective: the synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic activity evaluation of the Ag-TiO2, against sulfamethoxazole molecule, and investigate the significance of the plasmonic phenomenon in Visible (450 - 1000nm) and UV-Vis (315-800 nm) radiation. Methods: Different nanocomposites Ag/TiO2 ratios were synthesized by the deposition of Ag nanoparticles on the TiO2 surface by in-situ photoreduction, and then calcinated at 400°C for 2 hr. The chemical-physical properties of the materials were examined by UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance (UV-Vis DRS) Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The experiments were conducted in a cooled photochemical reactor irradiated by halogen lamp (250W). The degradation of Sulfamethoxazole was monitored by HPLC-DAD. Results: Although the prepared photocatalysts show an intense plasmonic band centered at 500 nm, no photocatalytic activity was observed in the process assisted by artificial visible radiation ( ≥ 450 nm). In processes assisted by artificial UV-Vis radiation, the photolysis rate of the model compound (sulfamethoxazole) was higher than the photocatalytic rate, and in the absence of UV radiation, all the reactions were inhibited. The positive effect of the presence of silver nanoparticles onto the TiO2 surface was only evidenced in studies involving solar radiation. Conclusion: The results suggest the need for a balance between UV and Vis radiation to activate the nanocomposite and perform the sulfamethoxazole degradation.

Author(s):  
Shuqi Wu ◽  
Junbu Wang ◽  
Qingchuan Li ◽  
Zeai Huang ◽  
Zhiqiang Rao ◽  
...  

AbstractBiOCl has been used in the photoreduction of CO2, but exhibits limited photocatalytic activity. In this study, Bi was in situ reduced and deposited on the surface of (001)-dominated BiOCl nanosheets by NaBH4 to form Bi/BiOCl nanosheets enriched with oxygen vacancies. The as-prepared Bi/BiOCl nanosheets having low thickness (ca. 10 nm) showed much higher concentration of oxygen vacancies compared to Bi/BiOCl nanoplates having high thickness (ca. 100 nm). Subsequently, the photocatalytic activity of the Bi/BiOCl nanosheets enriched with oxygen vacancies for CO2 reduction was dramatically enhanced and much higher than that of BiOCl nanoplates, nanosheets, and Bi/BiOCl nanoplates. It showed that the improved photocatalytic activity in the reduction of CO2 can be attributed to the enhanced separation efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole pairs of the oxygen vacancies on BiOCl nanosheets and Bi metals. This work demonstrated that the in situ reduction of non-noble metals on the surface of BiOCl nanosheets that are enriched with oxygen vacancies is favorable for increasing photocatalytic CO2 reduction.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1985
Author(s):  
Irina Plesco ◽  
Vladimir Ciobanu ◽  
Tudor Braniste ◽  
Veaceslav Ursaki ◽  
Florian Rasch ◽  
...  

A new type of photocatalyst is proposed on the basis of aero-β-Ga2O3, which is a material constructed from a network of interconnected tetrapods with arms in the form of microtubes with nanometric walls. The aero-Ga2O3 material is obtained by annealing of aero-GaN fabricated by epitaxial growth on ZnO microtetrapods. The hybrid structures composed of aero-Ga2O3 functionalized with Au or Pt nanodots were tested for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye under UV or visible light illumination. The functionalization of aero-Ga2O3 with noble metals results in the enhancement of the photocatalytic performances of bare material, reaching the performances inherent to ZnO while gaining the advantage of the increased chemical stability. The mechanisms of enhancement of the photocatalytic properties by activating aero-Ga2O3 with noble metals are discussed to elucidate their potential for environmental applications.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Francesca Tessore ◽  
Federico Galli ◽  
Dalma Schieppati ◽  
Daria C. Boffito ◽  
Alessandro Di Michele ◽  
...  

Photocatalysis is a green technology for tackling water and air contamination. A valid alternative to the most exploited photocatalytic material, TiO2, is bismuth oxyhalides, which feature a wider bandgap energy range and use visible radiation to attain photoexcitation. Moreover, their layered structure favors the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, with an enhancement in photocatalytic activity. Controlled doping of bismuth oxyhalides with metallic bismuth nanoparticles allows for further boosting of the performance of the material. In the present work, we synthesized Y%Bi-doped BiO(Cl0.875Br0.125) (Y = 0.85, 1, 2, 10) photocatalysts, using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the bromide source and varying the chloride source to assess the impact that both length and branching of the hydrocarbon chain might have on the framing and layering of the material. A change in the amount of the reducing agent NaBH4 allowed tuning of the percentage of metallic bismuth. After a thorough characterization (XRPD, SEM, TEM, UV-DRS, XPS), the photocatalytic activity of the catalysts was tested in the degradation of NOx under visible light, reaching a remarkable 53% conversion after 3 h of illumination for the material prepared using cetylpyridinium chloride.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinlu Liu ◽  
Junbo Zhong ◽  
Jianzhang Li ◽  
Wei Hu ◽  
Qizhao Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this paper, α-Fe


Author(s):  
Amanulla Baishnisha ◽  
Krishnan Divakaran ◽  
Vellaichamy Balakumar ◽  
Venkidusamy Sasirekha ◽  
Chandran Meenakshi ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (16) ◽  
pp. 2969-2978
Author(s):  
Jie-hao Li ◽  
Jie Ren ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Hui-ying Mu ◽  
Rui-hong Liu ◽  
...  

Cl-Doped Bi2O2CO3 is prepared using ionic liquids as dopants and the oxygen-vacancy-induced photocatalytic mechanism is revealed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (14) ◽  
pp. 9435-9455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Alvarado ◽  
Chantelle R. Lonsdale ◽  
Helen L. Macintyre ◽  
Huisheng Bian ◽  
Mian Chin ◽  
...  

Abstract. Accurate modeling of the scattering and absorption of ultraviolet and visible radiation by aerosols is essential for accurate simulations of atmospheric chemistry and climate. Closure studies using in situ measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption can be used to evaluate and improve models of aerosol optical properties without interference from model errors in aerosol emissions, transport, chemistry, or deposition rates. Here we evaluate the ability of four externally mixed, fixed size distribution parameterizations used in global models to simulate submicron aerosol scattering and absorption at three wavelengths using in situ data gathered during the 2008 Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) campaign. The four models are the NASA Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) Combo model, GEOS-Chem v9-02, the baseline configuration of a version of GEOS-Chem with online radiative transfer calculations (called GC-RT), and the Optical Properties of Aerosol and Clouds (OPAC v3.1) package. We also use the ARCTAS data to perform the first evaluation of the ability of the Aerosol Simulation Program (ASP v2.1) to simulate submicron aerosol scattering and absorption when in situ data on the aerosol size distribution are used, and examine the impact of different mixing rules for black carbon (BC) on the results. We find that the GMI model tends to overestimate submicron scattering and absorption at shorter wavelengths by 10–23 %, and that GMI has smaller absolute mean biases for submicron absorption than OPAC v3.1, GEOS-Chem v9-02, or GC-RT. However, the changes to the density and refractive index of BC in GC-RT improve the simulation of submicron aerosol absorption at all wavelengths relative to GEOS-Chem v9-02. Adding a variable size distribution, as in ASP v2.1, improves model performance for scattering but not for absorption, likely due to the assumption in ASP v2.1 that BC is present at a constant mass fraction throughout the aerosol size distribution. Using a core-shell mixing rule in ASP overestimates aerosol absorption, especially for the fresh biomass burning aerosol measured in ARCTAS-B, suggesting the need for modeling the time-varying mixing states of aerosols in future versions of ASP.


2016 ◽  
Vol 824 ◽  
pp. 477-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Čekon ◽  
Richard Slávik ◽  
Peter Juras

Solar radiation exposure and its monitoring does have not only the importance for climate science and meteorology however is equally of highly relevant use for the field of Building Science as primarily those of analyzing thermal aspects in building physics. Here the measuring of solar irradiance by means of well-established solar instruments can be applied whose advances have been undergoing steep progress. Currently, a silicon photodiode element, as a truly obtainable form, may have a feasible exploitation in the field of building applications concerning the solar radiant flux quantifying. It represents a small optoelectronic element and has a several exploitable advantages. The paper presents a perspective alternative to monitor solar irradiance. Own measurement assembly is proposed and introduced. Initial in-situ measurements are performed and final comparability with existing commercial solar instruments is presented. An obtained correlation with existing types demonstrates its applicability to the field of building science and solar energy.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document