To investigate the effect of Gd doping on photocatalytic activity of BiFeO3 (BFO), Gd-doped BFO nanoparticles containing different Gd doping contents (Bi(1-x)GdxFeO3, x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) were synthesized using a facile sol-gel route. The obtained products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectra,...

Magnetically separable Fe3O4/AgBr hybrid materials with highly efficient photocatalytic activity were prepared by the precipitation method. All of them exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than the pure AgBr in photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. When the loading amount of Fe3O4 was 0.5 %, the hybrid materials displayed the highest photocatalytic act...

Mesporous anatase-phase TiO(2) hollow spheres with high photocatalytic activity were prepared by hydrothermal treatment and self-transformation of amorphous TiO(2) solid spheres in an NH(4)F aqueous solution. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N(2) adsorption-desorption isotherms and UV-v...

Crystal facet engineering of semiconductors is of growing interest and an important strategy for fine-tuning solar-driven photocatalytic activity. However, the primary factor in the exposed active facets that determines the photocatalytic property is still elusive. Herein, we have experimentally achieved high solar photocatalytic activity in ultrathin BiOCl nanosheets with almost fully exposed ...

A series of smart window coated multifunctional NIR shielding-photocatalytic films were fabricated successfully through KxWO3 and F-TiO2 in a low-cost and environmentally friendly process. Based on the synergistic effect of KxWO3 and F-TiO2, the optimal proportion of KxWO3 to F-TiO2 was investigated and the FT/2KWO nanocomposite film exhibited strong near-infrared, ultraviolet light shielding a...

Novel semiconductor photocatalysts have been the research focus and received much attention in recent years. The key issues for novel semiconductor photocatalysts are to effectively harvest solar energy and enhance the separation efficiency of the electron-hole pairs. In this work, novel Nb3O7F/CNTs hybrid nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activity have been successfully synthesized b...

The aim of this study represents the synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity determination of ZnO nanopowders synthesized using modified Pechini method. The obtained powders were characterized in what concerns their composition using X-ray diffraction, morphology using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy and in what concerns the photocatalytic activ...

A novel heterostructure was first synthesized by directly depositing photocatalytic inert ZnO2 onto facet {201} of brookite nanorods. The heterostructure thus obtained was found to show a superior photocatalytic activity under UV-light irradiation. The exceptional photocatalytic performance was due to the band-structure match between ZnO2 and brookite as well as synergic charge accumulation by ...

The problem of textile dye pollution has been addressed by various methods, mainly physical, chemical, biological, and acoustical. These methods mainly separate and/or remove the dye present in water. Recently, advanced oxidation processes (AOP) have been focused for removal of dye from waste water due to their advantages such as ecofriendly, economic and capable to degrade many dyes or organic...

CZTS exhibited apparently phase-dependent photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light. Possible factors for the phase-dependent photocatalytic activity of CZTS were discussed in detail.