Rapid fabrication of MgO@g-C₃N₄ heterojunctions for photocatalytic nitric oxide removal

• Minh-Thuan Pham,
• Duyen P. H. Tran,
• Xuan-Thanh Bui and
• Sheng-Jie You

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1141–1154, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.96

• and urea and, subsequently, characterized. Charge transfer dynamics in the heterojunction and band structure were investigated to understand the effect of the heterojunction on the photocatalytic activity. Finally, the photocatalytic pathway of the MgO@g-C3N4 heterojunction was studied via trapping

• photocatalytic activity of as-prepared MgO@g-C3N4 was evaluated by monitoring NO degradation. The photocatalytic NO removal experiments were performed using a 4.5 L reaction chamber and a Xenon lamp (300 W) as the visible light source. The initial NO concentration was 500 ppb, the flow rate was 1.5 L·min−1, and

• bandgap reduction can be attributed to Mg−N bonds in the MgO@g-C3N4 materials, which promote charge transport, thus, increasing the photocatalytic efficiency [33][51]. Generally, smaller bandgaps lead to better light absorption, indicating the high photocatalytic activity of MgO@g-C3N4 under visible light

Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles toward highly efficient photocatalysis and antibacterial application

• Vo Thi Thu Nhu,
• Nguyen Duy Dat,
• Le-Minh Tam and
• Nguyen Hoang Phuong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1108–1119, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.94

• photocatalysts. ZnO has a higher quantum efficiency than that of TiO2 since it absorbs more energy in the UV region [4][5][6][7]. Furthermore, ZnO is a low-cost photocatalyst with high photocatalytic activity, nontoxicity, light sensitivity, and stability [8][9][10]. The photodegradation of organic substances by

• hexagonal wurtzite structure form. The HR-TEM image showed the interplanar spacing of 0.251 ± 0.003 nm corresponding to the (101) crystal plane of ZnO, and the size of ZnO NPs is in the range of 30–100 nm. The bandgap energy of synthesized ZnO was 3.15 eV. Synthesized ZnO NPs showed high photocatalytic

• activity in dye degradation (methylene blue and methyl orange). The photodegradation efficiency of a dye solution by ZnO NPs under UV is greater than that under visible light. ZnO NPs completely degraded a MB solution of 10 mg/L for 210 min under ultraviolet light while the MB degradation efficiency

Spindle-like MIL101(Fe) decorated with Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles for enhanced degradation of chlortetracycline under visible-light irradiation

• Chen-chen Hao,
• Fang-yan Chen,
• Kun Bian,
• Yu-bin Tang and
• Wei-long Shi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1038–1050, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.91

• solvothermal method to obtain a novel 0D/3D heterojunction Bi2O3/MIL101(Fe) (BOM). The morphology and optical properties of the as-prepared Bi2O3/MIL101(Fe) composite were characterized. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized samples was evaluated by degrading chlortetracycline (CTC) under visible

• -light irradiation. The obtained BOM-20 composite (20 wt % Bi2O3/MIL101(Fe)) exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity with CTC degradation efficiency of 88.2% within 120 min. The degradation rate constant of BOM-20 toward CTC is 0.01348 min−1, which is 5.9 and 4.3 times higher than that of pristine

• Bi2O3 and MIL101(Fe), respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to the formation of a Z-scheme heterojunction between Bi2O3 and MIL101(Fe), which is conducive to the rapid separation of photogenerated carriers and the enhancement of photogenerated electron and hole redox capacity

Solar-light-driven LaFe_xNi_1−xO₃ perovskite oxides for photocatalytic Fenton-like reaction to degrade organic pollutants

• Chao-Wei Huang,
• Shu-Yu Hsu,
• Jun-Han Lin,
• Yun Jhou,
• Wei-Yu Chen,
• Kun-Yi Andrew Lin,
• Yu-Tang Lin and
• Van-Huy Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 882–895, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.79

• Fenton reaction, a photo-Fenton reaction excited by ultraviolet light or visible light can achieve a faster reaction rate and a complete degree of oxidation [19]. Besides, it shows a positive relationship between light intensity and photocatalytic activity. With the assistance of light irradiation, the

• photocatalytic activity of LaFexNi1−xO3 photocatalysts was examined by evaluating the performance of photocatalytic MB degradation. 300 W Xe-lamp equipped with AM 1.5G filter (Newport Corporation, USA) was used as the light source in the degradation experiment. The light intensity was adjusted to 100 mW/cm2

Hierarchical Bi₂WO₆/TiO₂-nanotube composites derived from natural cellulose for visible-light photocatalytic treatment of pollutants

• Zehao Lin,
• Zhan Yang and
• Jianguo Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 745–762, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.66

• ][8]. However, the wide bandgap of TiO2 inhibits the absorption of light in the visible region and the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron−hole pairs restrains its photocatalytic activity. It has been verified that constructing TiO2-based heterostructured composites by using visible-light

Sodium doping in brookite TiO₂ enhances its photocatalytic activity

• Boxiang Zhuang,
• Honglong Shi,
• Honglei Zhang and
• Zeqian Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 599–609, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.52

• enhances its photocatalytic activity, which becomes three times higher than that of the quasi-spherical brookite TiO2. The results demonstrated that the sodium-doped brookite NaxTi1−xO2 can be stable up to 500 °C. At 600°C, the sodium in the brookite precipitates in the form of Na2CO3, and above 700 °C

• structure and produce microstructures such as the core–shell structure, local lattice distortion, interstitial atoms, and atomic vacancies, which are critical to its excellent photocatalytic activity. Keywords: brookite titanium dioxide; core–shell structure; photocatalytic activity; sodium doping; twins

• increased due to its importance for photocatalytic application. Ohtani et al. reported that extra-fine brookite TiO2 exhibited good photocatalytic activity for redox reactions in aqueous propan-2-ol and silver sulfate solution [7]. Kobayashi et al. suggested that the photoactivity of brookite nanoparticles

Zinc oxide nanostructures for fluorescence and Raman signal enhancement: a review

• Ioana Marica,
• Fran Nekvapil,
• Maria Ștefan,
• Cosmin Farcău and
• Alexandra Falamaș

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 472–490, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.40

• combined with metal nanoparticles, resulting in enhanced photoactivity of Au-decorated ZnO nanocrystals for photoelectrochemical water splitting [9], improved photodetection performance of ZnO nanofibers decorated with Au NPs [10], or enhanced photocatalytic activity of ZnO doped with Au NPs [11]. Moreover

• milli-Q water to the freshly prepared Ag nanowire solution [55]. A higher photocatalytic activity was shown for the Ag–ZnO core–shell particles compared to ZnO alone under solar light irradiation. SERS applications of ZnO-based nanostructures SERS is a powerful technique with promising applications for

• promising optoelectronic device applications [84][85]. Being a wide-bandgap n-type semiconductor, ZnO can give a strong UV emission even at room temperature. Thus, it presents high photocatalytic activity and the potential to use it for UV light emitters. Apart from UV emission, the photoluminescence (PL

Engineered titania nanomaterials in advanced clinical applications

• Padmavati Sahare,
• Paulina Govea Alvarez,
• Juan Manual Sanchez Yanez,
• Gabriel Luna-Bárcenas,
• Samik Chakraborty,
• Sujay Paul and
• Miriam Estevez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 201–218, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.15

• systems for theranostic purposes. Titanium dioxide (titanium(IV) oxide/titania/TiO2) has garnered considerable attention as one of the most extensively studied metal oxides in clinical applications. Owing to the unique properties of titania, such as photocatalytic activity, excellent biocompatibility

• photocatalytic activity. Upon UV irradiation, the electrons in the valence band get excited to the conduction band, leading to the formation of electron–hole pairs and the generation of ROS. Subsequently, the generated holes (h+) convert water/hydroxide molecules to peroxide/hydroxyl radicals by oxidation. The

• considered as a valuable antimicrobial agent due to its photocatalytic activity and self-cleaning properties. Several factors might affect the physicochemical properties of TiO2 nps. Crystal structure and shape are the most critical factors responsible for their antimicrobial property [76]. TiO2 has

A comprehensive review on electrospun nanohybrid membranes for wastewater treatment

• Senuri Kumarage,
• Imalka Munaweera and
• Nilwala Kottegoda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 137–159, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.10

Tin dioxide nanomaterial-based photocatalysts for nitrogen oxide oxidation: a review

• Viet Van Pham,
• Hong-Huy Tran,
• Thao Kim Truong and
• Thi Minh Cao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 96–113, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.7

• the decomposition of gas pollutants are still being developed. In addition, previous studies have shown that the photocatalytic activity regarding NOx decomposition of SnO2 and other materials depends on many factors, such as physical structure and band energies, surface and defect states, and

• reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) [35][36][37][38][39][40]. This promotes a new avenue for diverse analyses of semiconductor photocatalysts in addition to the traditional theories and conclusions. Previous studies have shown that the photocatalytic activity of NOx decomposition of materials in general and SnO2

• quantum dots (SQDs) were heated from 200 to 700 °C, which indicated that the bandgap of the SQDs decreased from 3.49 to 2.52 eV (for SQD-700) as shown in Figure 3. These results demonstrated that the redshift is favorable for a photocatalytic activity in the visible light region. Meanwhile, Fan et al. [47

Recent progress in magnetic applications for micro- and nanorobots

• Ke Xu,
• Shuang Xu and
• Fanan Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 744–755, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.58

• to the human body or the environment caused by other materials such as lead. In addition, Gopal et al. [48] pointed out that boron exhibits diamagnetic properties in B-doped anatase TiO2 nanoparticles and showed photocatalytic activity in the visible-light range. Magnetic MNRs were applied to the

Nanoporous and nonporous conjugated donor–acceptor polymer semiconductors for photocatalytic hydrogen production

• Zhao-Qi Sheng,
• Yu-Qin Xing,
• Yan Chen,
• Guang Zhang,
• Shi-Yong Liu and
• Long Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 607–623, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.50

• functional groups and geometries of the polymer framework, the influence of different factors on the photocatalytic activity can be systematically investigated and, consequently, the structure–performance relationships are unveiled. Herein, the donor and acceptor fragments in the polymer structures are

• bandgaps of the CTFs can be easily tuned to optimize the photocatalytic activity by introducing different functional groups. Besides using a single kind of electron acceptor, researchers also attempted to incorporate multiple electron acceptors to construct CPs for PHP. For instance, Thomas et al. [48

• significantly modulate the properties and photocatalytic activities of CTFs. Pyridine-based conjugated polymers Pyridine, as a nitrogen-containing benzene analogue, was incorporated into linear conjugated polymers as early as in the 1990s. The CPs exhibited distinctive photocatalytic activity for H2 production

Boosting of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution via chlorine doping of polymeric carbon nitride

• Malgorzata Aleksandrzak,
• Michalina Kijaczko,
• Wojciech Kukulka,
• Daria Baranowska,
• Martyna Baca,
• Beata Zielinska and
• Ewa Mijowska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 473–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.38

• , Poland 10.3762/bjnano.12.38 Abstract Chlorine is found to be a suitable element for the modification of polymeric carbon nitride properties towards an efficient visible-light photocatalytic activity. In this study, chlorine-doped polymeric carbon nitride (Cl-PCN) has been examined as a photocatalyst in

• photocatalytic activity [15][16][17]. Furthermore, it exhibits high thermal and chemical stability during photocatalytic reactions in the aqueous phase [18]. Unfortunately, its catalytic performance is mainly constrained by several typical challenges, which are the low density of reactive sites, nonresponse in

• the long-wavelength region, sluggish kinetics, and high recombination of photoexcited electron–hole pairs [19][20][21]. Tremendous efforts have been made in order to increase the photocatalytic activity of PCN materials by optimizing their nanostructure and improving their chemical surface texture

Unravelling the interfacial interaction in mesoporous SiO₂@nickel phyllosilicate/TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for photocatalytic activity

• Bridget K. Mutuma,
• Xiluva Mathebula,
• Isaac Nongwe,
• Bonakele P. Mtolo,
• Boitumelo J. Matsoso,
• Rudolph Erasmus,
• Zikhona Tetana and
• Neil J. Coville

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1834–1846, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.165

• , the electron–hole recombination can be inhibited by loading metals, such as Ni [12], V, Fe [13], Ag [14], and Cu–Ni [15], on the TiO2 surface, which accelerates the formation of hydroxyl radicals and, consequently, improves the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. In contrast, the doping of TiO2 with

• factor that affects the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, is its adsorption capacity for dye molecules. The adsorption capacity of TiO2 can be readily improved by modifying its surface charge density or by increasing its surface area and pore volume [5][20][21]. Further, SiO2 is a good adsorptive material

• that facilitates easy adsorption of organic molecules and their transfer onto the active sites of TiO2 [22][23]. Additionally, the interaction between SiO2 and TiO2 could result in the creation of oxygen vacancies that promote charge-transfer processes and, hence, enhance the photocatalytic activity

Nanocasting synthesis of BiFeO₃ nanoparticles with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Thomas Cadenbach,
• Maria J. Benitez,
• A. Lucia Morales,
• Cesar Costa Vera,
• Luis Lascano,
• Francisco Quiroz,
• Alexis Debut and
• Karla Vizuete

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1822–1833, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.164

• applications has been limited due to their relatively large bandgaps along with their susceptibility to the fast recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, leading to inefficient photocatalytic activity under visible-light or solar irradiation [14][15][16][17][18]. Thus, the development of

• photocatalytic activity [20]. Since the photocatalytic degradation of organic molecules using a metal oxide photocatalyst is a heterogeneous process, it is obvious that efficiency and overall catalytic performance are strongly correlated to the number of active sites on the catalyst surface area and, thus, to

• experiments The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated regarding the degradation of RhB in water at room temperature under visible light using high-power LEDs with an emission wavelength of λ > 420 nm as a light source. In a typical experiment, 50 mL of dye solution (concentration of rhodamine B

Cu₂O nanoparticles for the degradation of methyl parathion

• Juan Rizo,
• David Díaz,
• Benito Reyes-Trejo and
• M. Josefina Arellano-Jiménez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1546–1555, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.137

• bacteria are used for the degradation of MP, whereas photocatalytic degradation needs photons in the form of UV light and chemical degradation utilizes chemical species, such as copper(I) oxide (Cu2O) NPs in this work. Cu2O is widely known for its photocatalytic activity [29][30][31][32][33]. However

Antimicrobial metal-based nanoparticles: a review on their synthesis, types and antimicrobial action

• Matías Guerrero Correa,
• Fernanda B. Martínez,
• Cristian Patiño Vidal,
• Camilo Streitt,
• Juan Escrig and
• Carol Lopez de Dicastillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1450–1469, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.129

• microorganisms [151]. Superoxide radicals (O2−), hydroxyl radicals (•OH), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and singlet oxygen (1O2) are the most well-known ROS. The mechanism that better explains the synthesis of ROS from NPs is based on their photocatalytic activity (Figure 5). Metal compounds receive enough energy

Effect of Ag loading position on the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂ nanocolumn arrays

• Jinghan Xu,
• Yanqi Liu and
• Yan Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 717–728, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.59

• ], and combination with metal elements or other metal oxides [10]. Compared with the bulk material, one-dimensional (1D) nanostructured TiO2 presents enhanced photocatalytic activity that depends on a variety of factors such as surface area, particle shape, crystalline structure, crystal size, and

• spectra and (c,d) bandgaps of the different samples. Photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MB: (a) UV–vis absorption spectra for the photocatalytic degradation of MB in the presence of AFT1 sample, (b) photocatalytic degradation rate of MB by different samples and pure MB under UV–vis light, (c

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic performance of heterostructured CuO–ZnO-loaded composite nanofiber membranes

• Wei Fang,
• Liang Yu and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 631–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.50

• narrow direct bandgap of 1.2–1.79 eV [14]. Because of that, CuO is usually used in combination with large-bandgap semiconductors, such as ZnO and TiO2, in order to improve their photocatalytic activity under solar light irradiation [15]. It was reported that the p–n heterojunction between ZnO and CuO has

• a high photocatalytic activity because of a better charge separation [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Liu et al. [23] prepared CuO/ZnO nanocomposites by homogeneous coprecipitation and used them for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. Wei et al. [24] fabricated CuO/ZnO composite nanofilms

• number of photoexcited holes in the CuO–ZnO heterostructure increases [49], which leads to the higher photocatalytic activity. The results of three consecutive photocatalytic degradation experiments using the same sample D are given in Table 6. The degradation rates decrease, but remains above 90%. This

Correction: Photocatalytic antibacterial performance of TiO₂ and Ag-doped TiO₂ against S. aureus. P. aeruginosa and E. coli

• Kiran Gupta,
• R. P. Singh,
• Ashutosh Pandey and
• Anjana Pandey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 547–549, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.43

• , complete rutile TiO2 phase was obtained [7]. It was previously reported that a mixture of anatase and rutile TiO2 nanoparticles has higher photocatalytic activity than pure anatase or pure rutile TiO2 nanoparticles under UV-light excitation [8]. Furthermore, it was shown that calcination of the

• nanoparticles could increase the crystallinity of TiO2, which leads to a decrease in the photo-excited e− –h+ recombination, and thus, to an increase in the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 [9]. XRD patterns of (a) TiO2 nanoparticles, (b) 3 wt % Ag-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and (c) 7 wt % Ag-doped TiO2

Synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance of 0D/2D CuO/tourmaline composite photocatalysts

• Changqiang Yu,
• Min Wen,
• Zhen Tong,
• Shuhua Li,
• Yanhong Yin,
• Xianbin Liu,
• Yesheng Li,
• Tongxiang Liang,
• Ziping Wu and
• Dionysios D. Dionysiou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 407–416, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.31

• nontoxic products. In this work, a CuO/tourmaline composite with zero-dimensional/two-dimensional (0D/2D) CuO architecture was successfully obtained via a facile hydrothermal process, and its photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB). Surface element valence state and

• photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MB, which was ascribed to the increase in the quantity of the adsorption-photoreactive sites and the efficient utilization of the photoinduced charge carriers. This study provides a facile strategy for the construction of 0D/2D CuO structures and the design of

• tourmaline-based functional composite photocatalysts for the treatment of organic contaminants in water. Keywords: 0D/2D CuO; organic contaminants; photocatalytic activity; photoinduced charge separation; tourmaline; Introduction Developing a novel semiconductor with excellent photoreactive activity toward

Fabrication of Ag-modified hollow titania spheres via controlled silver diffusion in Ag–TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures

• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Malwina Liszewska,
• Bogusław Budner,
• Marta Michalska-Domańska,
• Krzysztof Kopczyński and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 141–146, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.12

• photocatalytic properties of TiO2 and the optical properties of plasmonic NPs [2]. This combination has been shown to extent the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, which is initially limited to UV light [8], to the visible or even to the NIR range of radiation [9]. Recent examples of the fabrication of plasmonic

Air oxidation of sulfur mustard gas simulants using a pyrene-based metal–organic framework photocatalyst

• Ghada Ayoub,
• Mihails Arhangelskis,
• Xuan Zhang,
• Florencia Son,
• Timur Islamoglu,
• Tomislav Friščić and
• Omar K. Farha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2422–2427, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.232

• , 3.4 mg) of the MOF, no conversion of CEES was detected (Figure 2), confirming the role of NU-400 as a photocatalyst. The photocatalytic activity of NU-400 in air, without oxygen presaturation, is significantly higher compared to the previously explored mesoporous NU-1000 MOF, which is based on a

• oxygen saturation. The photocatalytic activity of NU-400 enabled singlet oxygen-induced conversion of CEES to CEESO with a half-life of 13.5 minutes under air, a milestone in the development of MOFs as new, highly efficient catalysts for mustard gas degradation. NU-400 constituents: a) the pyrene-based

Improved adsorption and degradation performance by S-doping of (001)-TiO₂

• Xiao-Yu Sun,
• Xian Zhang,
• Xiao Sun,
• Ni-Xian Qian,
• Min Wang and
• Yong-Qing Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2116–2127, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.206

• high photocatalytic activity [10]. However, Yu et al. demonstrated that an appropriate proportion of exposed (001) and (101) crystal faces, which forms a “surface heterojunction”, facilitates the separation of photo-generated carriers [8]. Consequently, this improves the photocatalytic performance

• and B-doped (001)-TiO2 via a solvothermal method in order to improve the visible-light photocatalytic activity [15]. Cao et al. used first-principles simulations to study the electronic and optical properties of (001)-TiO2 and MoS2 composites. Their results suggested that the effective

• photocatalytic activity was tested by the degradation of methylene blue (MB). For this, the samples were placed 20 cm away from a xenon lamp (300 W, 16 A). The experimental process was as follows: 50 mg of catalyst was added into a 100 mL MB solution with a concentration of 10 mg/L, and the samples were kept in

Novel hollow titanium dioxide nanospheres with antimicrobial activity against resistant bacteria

• Carol López de Dicastillo,
• Cristian Patiño,
• María José Galotto,
• Yesseny Vásquez-Martínez,
• Claudia Torrent,
• Daniela Alburquenque,
• Alejandro Pereira and
• Juan Escrig

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1716–1725, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.167

• their high stability, low cost, reusability, and high photocatalytic activity [6][7][8]. These excellent properties have been applied in many products such as foods, catalyst support, air purification, water disinfection, antibacterial, cosmetics and solar cells [9][10]. Photocatalytic TiO2 favors the

• to understand their effect on the antimicrobial activity of TiO2 nanostructures against S. aureus MRSA 97-7. The results shown in Table 2 validated that the antibacterial effect of CSTiO2 can be greatly increased due to the photocatalytic activity of these NPs in suspension. The antimicrobial