We propose several superiorities of applying some particular metal sulfides to the photocatalytic nitrate reduction in aqueous solution, including the high density of photogenerated excitons, high N2 selectivity (without over-reduction to ammonia). Indeed, ZnCr2S4 behaved as a highly efficient photocatalyst, and with the assistance of 1 wt% cocatalysts (RuOx, Ag, Au, Pd, or Pt), the efficiency ...

Au-TiO2 snowman-like heterodimer nanoparticles were prepared by a surface sol-gel process based on gold Janus nanoparticles whose surface-protecting monolayers consisted of a hemisphere of hydrophobic 1-hexanethiolates and the other of hydrophilic 2-(2-mercaptoethoxy)ethanol. Transmission electron microscopic measurements showed that the resulting TiO2 nanoparticles (diameter 6 nm) exhibited we...

In this study, for the first time, {111} facet exposed anatase TiO2 single crystals are prepared via both F− and ammonia as the capping reagents. In comparison with the most investigated {001}, {010}, and {101} facets for anatase TiO2, the density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict that {111} facet owns a much higher surface energy of 1.61 J/m, which is partially attributed to the lar...

The development of heterostructured materials for efficient solar energy conversion and energy storage devices are essential for practical applications. In this study, a simple and relatively inexpensive method was used to improve the visible light-driven photocatalytic activity and electrochemical supercapacitor behavior of the graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) by elemental red phosphorus (RPh...

This paper reports that the introduction of elemental red phosphorus (RP) into TiO2 can shift the light absorption ability from the UV to the visible region, and confirmed that the optimal RP loading and milling time can effectively improve the visible light driven-photocatalytic activity of TiO2. The resulting RP-TiO2 nanohybrids were characterized systematically by a range of techniques and t...

The photocatalytic production of H2 in one step is potentially one of the most promising ways for the conversion and storage of solar energy. The paper overviews our recent studies on the photocatalysts splitting water into hydrogen under irradiation. The attention was mainly focused on the promotion effects of nanosized modifications in the interlayer and surface of photocatalysts for hydrogen...

The growing challenges of environmental purification by solar photocatalysis, precious metal free catalysis and photocurrent generation in photovoltaic cells are receiving the utmost global attention. Here we demonstrate the one-pot green chemical synthesis of a new stable heterostructured, eco-friendly, multifunctional micro-composite consisting of α-Bi2O3 micro-needles intercalated with ancho...

In this work, we communicate a facile and low temperature synthesis process for the fabrication of graphene-TiO2 photocatalytic composite thin films. A sol-gel chemical route is used to synthesize TiO2 from the precursor solutions and spin and spray coating are used to deposit the films. Excitation of the wet films during the casting process by ultrasonic vibration favorably influences both the...

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...

Photocatalytic conversion of solar energy to chemical energy is an efficient process in green chemistry because it facilitates room temperature chemical transformations by generating electronically excited states in photocatalysts. We report here on the robust synthesis, detailed structural characterization, and especially photocatalytic properties of plasmonic Pd hexagonal nanoplates for chemi...