Ethanol Solvothermal Treatment on Graphitic Carbon Nitride Materials for Enhancing Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Performance

Recently, Pt-loaded graphic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) materials have attracted great attention as a photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution from water. The simple surface modification of g-C3N4 by hydrothermal methods improves photocatalytic performance. In this study, ethanol is used as a solvothermal solvent to modify the surface properties of g-C3N4 for the first time. The g-C3N4 is thermally treated in ethanol at different temperatures (T = 140 °C, 160 °C, 180 °C, and 220 °C), and the Pt co-catalyst is subsequently deposited on the g-C3N4 via a photodeposition method. Elemental analysis and XPS O 1s data confirm that the ethanol solvothermal treatment increased the contents of the oxygen-containing functional groups on the g-C3N4 and were proportional to the treatment temperatures. However, the XPS Pt 4f data show that the Pt2+/Pt0 value for the Pt/g-C3N4 treated at ethanol solvothermal temperature of 160 °C (Pt/CN-160) is the highest at 7.03, implying the highest hydrogen production rate of Pt/CN-160 is at 492.3 μmol g−1 h−1 because the PtO phase is favorable for the water adsorption and hydrogen desorption in the hydrogen evolution process. In addition, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data and the photoluminescence spectra emission peak intensify reflect that the Pt/CN-160 had a more efficient charge separation process that also enhanced the photocatalytic activity.

One-step solvothermal synthesis and growth mechanism of well-crystallized β-Ga2O3 nanoparticles in isopropanol

Well-crystallized β-Ga2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized by solvothermal treatment of Ga(NO3)3 in isopropanol at 400 °C without performing the calcination process.

2H-MoS2/carbon cloth composite for high-performance all-solid-state supercapacitor derived from molybdenum dithiocarbamate complex

Molecular complex Mo2O2(μ-S)2(Et2dtc)2 (dtc = dithiocarbamate) is prepared and loaded onto carbon cloth (CC) through facile solvothermal treatment, followed by subsequent single-source pyrolysis. This results in a highly porous 2H-MoS2/CC...

Synthesis of cobalt-doped V2O3 with a hierarchical yolk–shell structure for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Co-V2O3-24 yolk–shell nanospheres were synthesized via a solvothermal treatment and subsequent calcination. The electrochemical performance of Co-V2O3-24 is greatly improved because of Co-doping and the novel hierarchical yolk–shell structure.

Enhancing the anti-corrosion performance of ZIF-8-based coatings via microstructural optimization

Herein, ZIF-8–ZnAl–NO3 LDH composite coatings showing superior anti-corrosion performance were prepared by the facile hydrothermal growth of ZnAl–NO3 LDH buffer layers, followed by solvothermal treatment with 2-methylimidazole.

Synthesis of green-emitting carbon quantum dots with double carbon sources and their application as a fluorescent probe for selective detection of Cu2+ ions

Green-emitting carbon quantum dots (G-CQDs) were prepared using tartaric acid and bran by one-pot solvothermal treatment and had photoluminescence quantum yields (PL QY) as high as 46%.