Activated graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with enhanced photocatalytic capability under visible light irradiation was fabricated by using a facile chemical activation treatment method. In the chemical activation, a mixed solution of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia was employed. The yield can reach as high as 90% after the activation process. The activation process did not change the crystal str...

A gold nanoparticle-coated and surface-textured TiO2 inverse opal (Au/st-TIO) structure that provides a dramatic improvement of photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation has been fabricated by nano-patterning of TiO2 precursors on TiO2 inverse opal (TIO) and subsequent deposition of gold NPs. The surface-textured TiO2 inverse opal (st-TIO) maximizes the photon trapping effects triggered by the l...

We report visible light and X-ray imagers on lightweight and mechanically flexible plastic substrates. The process involves solution processing of organic photodetectors on top of an active-matrix backplane consisting of carbon nanotube thin-film transistors. The system takes advantage of the high mobility of nanotube transistors for low operating voltages and efficient light absorption of orga...

Hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting using sunlight has enormous potential in solving the worldwide energy and environmental crisis. The key challenge in this process is to develop efficient photocatalysts which must satisfy several criteria such as high chemical and photochemical stability, effective charge separation and strong sunlight absorption. The combination of differe...

Absolute absorption cross-sections of ozone have been measured at ambient (295 K) and low temperature (218 K) in the visible region corresponding to the Chappuis bands. The temperature effect has been studied and found to be very small. The minimum of the absorption between the Hartley and the Chappuis bands is observed for the first time at 377,5 nm.

TiO(2)@carbon core/shell nanofibers (TiO(2)@C NFs) with different thinkness of carbon layers (from 2 to 8 nm) were fabricated by combining the electrospinning technique and hydrothermal method. The results showed that a uniform graphite carbon layer was formed around the electrospun TiO(2) nanofiber via C-O-Ti bonds. By adjusting the hydrothermal fabrication parameters, the thickness of carbon ...

S, N co-doped graphene quantum dots (S,N-GQDs) coupled with P25 (TiO2) (S,N-GQD/P25) have been prepared via simply hydrothermal method. The as-prepared S,N-GQD/P25 composites exhibited excellent photocatalytic hydrogen generation activities, with a significantly extended light absorption range and superior durability without loading any noble metal cocatalyst. The photocatalytic activity of thi...

Metal oxides that absorb visible light are attractive for use as photoanodes in photoelectrosynthetic cells. However, their performance is often limited by poor charge carrier transport. We show that this problem can be addressed by using separate materials for light absorption and carrier transport. Here, we report a Ta:TiO2|BiVO4 nanowire photoanode, in which BiVO4 acts as a visible light-abs...

The low quantum yields and lack of visible light utilization hinder the practical application of TiO2 in high-performance photocatalysis. Herein, we present a design of TiO2 nanopillar arrays (NPAs) decorated with both Au and Pt nanoparticles (NPs) directly synthesized through successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) at room temperature. Au/Pt NPs with sizes of ~4 nm are well-disper...

We investigated the surface morphologies, crystal structures, and optical characteristics of rare earth element erbium (Er)-doped MoS2 (Er: MoS2) thin films fabricated on Si substrates via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The surface mopography, crystalline structure, light absorption property, and the photoelectronic characteristics of the Er: MoS2 films were studied. The results indicate that...