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

• photocatalytic mechanisms, and the polymer photodegradation of the resulting nanocomposite using DFT techniques. The results confirmed that the interaction between NO and PANI is indeed a hydrogen bond and photogenerated holes serve as the primary factor of the photocatalytic NO removal [35]. Moreover, this

• . Figure 6 was reprinted with permission from [66], Copyright 2010 American Chemical Society. This content is not subject to CC BY 4.0. NO photodegradation of materials under solar light (a), the dependence of concentration on irradiation time (b), photochemical stability of SnO2 NPs (NPs) (c), and NO

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

• obtained via a hydrothermal treatment method using solid SiO2 spheres, urea, and nickel nitrate hexahydrate. Although NiPS compounds are extensively used as catalysts, to our knowledge, reports on the use of core–shell based nickel–phyllosilicate composites in dye photodegradation are yet to be reported

• photodegradation of methyl violet dye. For comparison, the photocatalytic properties of pristine TiO2 were also investigated. It is postulated that the controlled surface area of the mesoporous SiO2 as well as the formation of a core–shell network with a flake-like NiPS structure on the surface aided in creating a

• recombination, leading to faster charge transport and photodegradation. Typically, the photocatalytic degradation efficacy of TiO2 depends on the surface area and metal-ion doping on the surface. Metal-ion doping of TiO2 influences its interfacial charge-transfer properties [51]. Differences in

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

• wet impregnation process and a calcination procedure with intermediate plateaus, monodisperse 5.5 nm BiFeO3 nanoparticles were successfully obtained. Furthermore, the nanoparticles were applied in photodegradation reactions of rhodamine B in aqueous solution under visible-light irradiation. Notably

• , the cast BiFeO3 nanoparticles demonstrated very high efficiencies and stability under visible-light irradiation, much higher than those of BiFeO3 nanoparticles synthesized by other synthetic methods. The possible mechanism in the photodegradation process has been deeply discussed on the basis of

• the particle size. The smaller the particle, the greater the specific surface area is and, thus, the more active sites are available for photodegradation [15][18]. In addition, it was shown that size and shape of BiFeO3 particles have a direct influence on the bandgap of the material. Smaller BiFeO3

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

• 0D/2D CuO structure and interfacial interaction between CuO and tourmaline. The initial solution pH affected the photocatalytic performance mainly via changing the adsorption of dye molecules onto photocatalysts (Figure 7a), as adsorption occurred firstly during the photodegradation reactions [42

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

• photocatalytic degradation performance of all samples was tested with MB as the target pollutant. Figure 7 representatively shows the temporal evolution of the UV–vis spectra during the photodegradation of aqueous MB over the 2-S2 sample (a) and the variation of the MB concentration C/C0 with time in the

• denotes the photodegradation process of MB during irradiation. The concentration of MB at t = −30 min is referred to as the initial concentration C0. After 30 min of adsorption, the concentration decreases to Ce at t = 0. The adsorption efficiency (Ae) is calculated by (C0 − Ce)/C0. The degradation

• the fitted curves. Valence-band XPS of 2-S0, 2-S0.5, 2-S1, 2-S3 and 2-S5. The UV–vis DRS of 2-S0, 2-S0.5, 2-S1, 2-S3 and 2-S5. The inset is the magnified plot of the UV–vis DRS in the visible light region. The temporal evolution of the UV–Vis spectra during the photodegradation of aqueous MB over the

Lipid nanostructures for antioxidant delivery: a comparative preformulation study

• Elisabetta Esposito,
• Maddalena Sguizzato,
• Markus Drechsler,
• Paolo Mariani,
• Federica Carducci,
• Claudio Nastruzzi,
• Giuseppe Valacchi and
• Rita Cortesi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1789–1801, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.174

• proposed in the treatment of breast, lung and liver cancers [21][22]. Notably, it has been demonstrated that CS induces RA deficiency [23]. Despite the enormous potential of TOC and RA, some drawbacks are associated to their topical use, such as photodegradation, poor water solubility and irritative skin

Direct observation of oxygen-vacancy formation and structural changes in Bi₂WO₆ nanoflakes induced by electron irradiation

• Hong-long Shi,
• Bin Zou,
• Zi-an Li,
• Min-ting Luo and
• Wen-zhong Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1434–1442, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.141

• during the electron-beam irradiation process. The formation mechanisms of Bi/O defects are discussed in detail by combining the HRTEM imaging of defects and the calculation of the electrostatic site potentials of Bi2WO6. Results and Discussion Structural features and photodegradation The Bi2WO6 sample is

BiOCl/TiO₂/diatomite composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B

• Minlin Ao,
• Kun Liu,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Zishun Li,
• Qian Peng and
• Jing Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1412–1422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.139

• the main active substance in the photocatalytic process. Secondly, the presence of KI and IPA also inhibits the degradation of RhB, but the inhibition effect is slightly less. It has been proved that the h+ and ·OH are also active species but are not as active as O2− in the photodegradation process

• ), Ti element (e) and Bi element (f). TEM image (a) and high-resolution image showing the lattice fringes (b) of BTD. The photodegradation curves and corresponding kinetic plots of different samples, including various photocatalysts (a and d), BTD with different molar ratios of BiOCl to TiO2 (b and e

Construction of a 0D/1D composite based on Au nanoparticles/CuBi₂O₄ microrods for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

• Weilong Shi,
• Mingyang Li,
• Hongji Ren,
• Feng Guo,
• Xiliu Huang,
• Yu Shi and
• Yubin Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1360–1367, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.134

• visible-light irradiation. Trapping of reactive species during the photodegradation of TC over 2.5 wt % Au/CBO composite under visible-light irradiation. Possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism of the 0D/1D Au/CBO heterojunction photocatalyst during TC degradation under visible-light irradiation

Imaging the surface potential at the steps on the rutile TiO₂(110) surface by Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Masato Miyazaki,
• Huan Fei Wen,
• Quanzhen Zhang,
• Yuuki Adachi,
• Jan Brndiar,
• Ivan Štich,
• Yan Jun Li and
• Yasuhiro Sugawara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1228–1236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.122

• preparation. The steps showed a higher photodegradation activity than the steps for aqueous solutions of methylene blue [23], indicating that the different step structures have different catalytic activities. KPFM measures the contact potential difference (CPD), corresponding to the difference in work

A highly efficient porous rod-like Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst for the degradation of dye contaminants in water

• Binjing Hu,
• Qiang Sun,
• Chengyi Zuo,
• Yunxin Pei,
• Siwei Yang,
• Hui Zheng and
• Fangming Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1157–1165, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.115

• to improve its photocatalytic activity by modifying its surface morphology [10][11]. Wang et al. [12] prepared Ce-doped ZnO with different doping levels by using a one-step solution method, using methylene blue as the target pollutant for photodegradation. After exposure to light for 200 minutes, the

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• photodegradation of diverse organic compounds, including the photodecolorization of dyes such as methylene blue (MB), methyl green (MG), acid red G, acid yellow 11, acid orange 11, and Congo red, in water, as well as other photo-applications, for instance, water splitting under UV or visible/solar light

• @montmorillonite materials can be synthesized from a Zn solution and cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA)-montmorillonite organoclays. In these materials, the bandgap energy of ZnO is decreased compared to bare ZnO NPs, which results in a faster photodegradation of MB. In experiments to prepare ZnO@clay nanoarchitectures

• CTA-saponite was stronger than in montmorillonite and CTA-montmorillonite, suggesting that the iron atoms in montmorillonite play a significant role through the quenching of excited states. In the photodegradation experiments, the ZnO–smectite nanoarchitectures show a longer life time at low pH values

Outstanding chain-extension effect and high UV resistance of polybutylene succinate containing amino-acid-modified layered double hydroxides

• Adam A. Marek,
• Vincent Verney,
• Christine Taviot-Gueho,
• Grazia Totaro,
• Laura Sisti,
• Annamaria Celli and
• Fabrice Leroux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 684–695, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.68

• to a photodegradation process, showing their resistance to UV irradiation. Experimental Materials and reagents Aluminium nitrate Al(NO3)3·9H2O, magnesium nitrate Mg(NO3)2·6H2O, sodium nitrate NaNO3, sodium hydroxide, the amino acids L-histidine (HIS) and L-phenylalanine (PHE) were purchased from

• for one minute. Photodegradation PBS and PBS–LDH nanocomposite films were placed on a rotating carousel in a SEPAP 12/24 chamber from ATLAS equipped with four 400 W mercury lamps with spectral rays above 300 nm. The accelerated photodegradation was studied at 60 °C and under air atmosphere

• can be caused by the cycle phenyl or imidazole acting as a chromophore. Also, PBS with Mg2Al/nitrate LDH shows lower transmittance, as described above. The evolution of the UV–vis transmittance of PBS and PBS nanocomposites was measured during photodegradation at 60 °C (Supporting Information File 1

Ceria/polymer nanocontainers for high-performance encapsulation of fluorophores

• Kartheek Katta,
• Dmitry Busko,
• Yuri Avlasevich,
• Katharina Landfester,
• Stanislav Baluschev and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 522–530, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.53

• the oxygen concentration inside the capsules during polymerization. This decrease of oxygen content resulted also in a decreased rate of photodegradation of the TDI molecule. To further minimize the effect of fluorescence quenching, cerium(IV) oxide was crystallized on the surface of polymer sample NC

• fluorescence emission spectra for all synthesized samples after having sealed the samples with argon in the glove box (see Supporting Information File 1, Figure S6). The spectra did not show any significant difference to samples prepared in an oxygen-free atmosphere. Finally, photodegradation experiments were

• , ambient conditions with CeO2) and NC(Ar)-CeO2 (dash-dotted green line, argon conditions with CeO2). Photodegradation measurements of nanocapsules synthesized under different conditions without cerium oxide (sample NC at ambient conditions and sample NC(Ar) under argon) and with cerium oxide on the surface

Impact of the anodization time on the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanotubes

• Jesús A. Díaz-Real,
• Geyla C. Dubed-Bandomo,
• Juan Galindo-de-la-Rosa,
• Luis G. Arriaga,
• Janet Ledesma-García and
• Nicolas Alonso-Vante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2628–2643, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.244

• situ measurement was performed. The integrated signal from the UV–vis spectra is presented in Figure 9d to assess the extent of the photodegradation. From these results, it can be seen that TNTs generated with ta ≥ 1 h exhibit superior performance, with a higher oxidation rate for higher ta. This trend

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

• Katrina Pui Yee Shak,
• Yean Ling Pang and
• Shee Keat Mah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2479–2498, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.232

• dioxide sample. The incorporation of magnetite was able to inhibit the photodegradation of the cellulose structure during UV irradiation and this hybrid structure demonstrated high catalyst recyclability using an external magnetic field. Nanoparticles generally tend to aggregate, leading to difficulties

• , exhibited multifunctionality of water filtration and photodegradation of diphenhydramine and methyl orange. This study demonstrated the advantage of using a cellulose-derived film to support the TiO2 nanoparticle–cellulose film as a good support to avoid TiO2 loss during photocatalytic treatment of

Sheet-on-belt branched TiO₂(B)/rGO powders with enhanced photocatalytic activity

• Huan Xing,
• Wei Wen and
• Jin-Ming Wu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1550–1557, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.146

• assist the photodegradation of phenol in water under UV light illumination. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the significantly increased surface area and enhanced charge separation. Keywords: branched nanostructure; photocatalysis; reduced graphene oxide; TiO2(B); Introduction

• Figure 2b). Photocatalytic activities of the pristine TiO2 nanobelt, TGN and TGN-branches were evaluated via photodegradation of phenol in water under UV light illumination. After stirring in the dark for 1 h, an adsorption–desorption equilibrium was established. About 5% phenol in water was adsorbed by

• all three photocatalysts. The TGN-branch 4 h sample demonstrated enhanced photocatalytic performance as compared to TiO2 nanobelts and the TGN sample. Figure S3 in Supporting Information File 1 shows the photodegradation curves in the presence of TGN and TGN-branches with different deposition times

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

• transformation for the fine chemical synthesis [39][40][41][42] and (v) photodegradation of pollutants [43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. Semiconductor-based photocatalysis proceeds through following three steps: (1) absorption of light; (2) separation and transport of charge carriers; and (3) redox reactions on the

• visible-light irradiation. The authors have also reported that •CO2− radicals (produced by the reaction of hVB+ with HCO2NH4) and eCB− are responsible for the reduction of 4-nitroaniline to p-phenylenediamine over CdS/TiO2 photocatalysts [56]. Photodegradation of pollutants The principle of photocatalysis

• irradiation of suitable light energy. The mechanism of photodegradation of organic pollutants involves the formation of reactive species like O2•− and •OH as per Equation 6 and Equation 7. Some of the O2•− species combine with H+ ions to form •OOH as represented in Equation 8. These active species (•OH, O2

Facile synthesis of a ZnO–BiOI p–n nano-heterojunction with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Mengyuan Zhang,
• Jiaqian Qin,
• Pengfei Yu,
• Bing Zhang,
• Mingzhen Ma,
• Xinyu Zhang and
• Riping Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 789–800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.72

• exhibit a significant improvement in the photodegradation of rhodamine B under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation as compared to single-phase ZnO and BiOI. A sample with a Zn/Bi ratio of 3:1 showed the highest photocatalytic activity (≈99.3% after 100 min irradiation). The photodegradation tests

• detail. With the addition of different kinds of sacrificial agents, the possible ZnO/BiOI heterojunction mechanism of photodegradation is preliminarily discussed. Results and Discussion Structure and morphology characterization The composition of as-prepared ZnO/BiOI heterojunction nanocomposites was

• , which is significantly improved from the pure BiOI (5.23 cm2/g) and ZnO (16 cm2/g) materials. This may lead ZnO/BiOI to have more active bonding sites than pure BiOI and ZnO, which is beneficial for the photodegradation activity. Chemical state analysis X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was carried

Surface-plasmon-enhanced ultraviolet emission of Au-decorated ZnO structures for gas sensing and photocatalytic devices

• T. Anh Thu Do,
• Truong Giang Ho,
• Thu Hoai Bui,
• Quang Ngan Pham,
• Hong Thai Giang,
• Thi Thu Do,
• Duc Van Nguyen and
• Dai Lam Tran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 771–779, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.70

• investigated for photocatalytic activity as reported previously [8][20]. The photocatalytic activity of the Pt/ZnO hybrid nanocomposite under photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) was higher compared to commercial TiO2 [21]. Here, it is quite reasonable to note that the plasmonic metal NP/metal-oxide

• solution in the presence of these photocatalysts under visible-light irradiation were investigated. The results are shown in Figure 5a and Figures S2 and S3 (Supporting Information File 1). The changes in the PL spectra during photodegradation indicated that the PL peak position of RhB (561.5 nm) decreases

• activity wase evaluated by the photodegradation of an aqueous rhodamine B (RhB) solution at room temperature. Experiments were performed as follows: the prepared ZnO and Au NP/ZnO films (7.5 × 7.5 mm) were added into 2 mL of an aqueous RhB solution (1 × 10−6 M) in a quartz cuvette, and then the cell was

Perovskite-structured CaTiO₃ coupled with g-C₃N₄ as a heterojunction photocatalyst for organic pollutant degradation

• Ashish Kumar,
• Christian Schuerings,
• Suneel Kumar,
• Ajay Kumar and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 671–685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.62

• , visible and sunlight). To demonstrate the photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared catalysts more precisely, the kinetics of the photodegradation of RhB aqueous solutions was studied by fitting the obtained degradation results to a pseudo-first-order reaction model [54][55] and modified Freundlich

• materials as it could appreciably reduce the costs of the photocatalytic process and reveals the most promising photocatalysis candidates. Hence, we carried out three successive cycles of photodegradation of RhB in order to comment on the reusability of the CTCN heterojunction as an efficient photocatalyst

• the photodegradation of the pollutant. The entire photocatalytic reaction mechanism under sunlight irradiation can be summarized as follows: To validate the proposed mechanism and to gain insight into the role played by active species, radical trapping experiments were performed for RhB degradation

Mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysts in utilizing visible light

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Azrina Abd Aziz,
• Lan Ching Sim,
• Pichiah Saravanan,
• Min Jang and
• Detlef Bahnemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 628–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.59

• Society of Chemistry. Photodegradation of GO in the presence of an electron donor (Ag NPs). Reprinted with permission from [95], copyright 2011 Royal Society of Chemistry. (a) Pure metal nanoparticles (NPs) without any semiconductor. (b) Metal NPs partially embedded into the semiconductor and partially

Fabrication and photoactivity of ionic liquid–TiO₂ structures for efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants in aqueous phase

• Anna Gołąbiewska,
• Marta Paszkiewicz-Gawron,
• Aleksandra Sadzińska,
• Wojciech Lisowski,
• Ewelina Grabowska,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska and
• Justyna Łuczak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 580–590, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.54

• Table 4. It was observed that application of AgNO3 as a scavenger of e− for the both samples (TiO2_T(1:3) and TiO2_O(1:3) did not affect the effectiveness of the photocatalytic process compared to that carried out without scavengers. Participation of O2• in the photodegradation process was investigated

• ) photocatalysts, respectively. It is deduced that the oxidation inhibition of phenol is due to the suppression of the superoxide anion formation by the BQ addition. Addition of AO (holes scavenger) resulted in a slight inhibition of the photodegradation process under visible-light irradiation for both samples

• observed in the absence of either the photocatalyst or illumination. Determination of reactive species To clarify which active species are involved in the photodegradation of the model compound, the phenol irradiation process was preceded by analogous experiments performed in the presence of different

Influence of the preparation method on the photocatalytic activity of Nd-modified TiO₂

• Patrycja Parnicka,
• Paweł Mazierski,
• Tomasz Grzyb,
• Wojciech Lisowski,
• Ewa Kowalska,
• Bunsho Ohtani,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska and
• Joanna Nadolna

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 447–459, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.43

• pristine and Nd-modified TiO2 were investigated using the photocatalytic degradations of phenol in aqueous solution and of gaseous toluene. Kinetics and degradation rate of model pollutants are presented in Figure 7 and Table 4. The photodegradation of phenol was performed in aqueous solution under UV–vis

• ). The rate of toluene degradation was 3.36 μmol·dm−1·min−1 for HT-prepared TiO2 modified with Nd, while the photodegradation efficiency decreased in SHT-prepared TiO2 down to 2.71 μmol·dm−1·min−1. Pristine TiO2 exhibits only low activity (Figure 6c). As photolysis of toluene was not observed and the

• surface properties and the charge carrier recombination processes is presented in Figure 8. The results of the photodegradation significant differences between aqueous solution and gas phase. The quantum yield of the reaction in the gas phase is much higher than that one in aqueous solution due to lower

Facile synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ photocatalysts for decolourization of organic dyes under solar irradiation

• Arjun Behera,
• Debasmita Kandi,
• Sanjit Manohar Majhi,
• Satyabadi Martha and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 436–446, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.42

• of Congo red and Rh B Based upon the above results, the mechanism of the photocatalytic decolourization of Congo red and Rh B is illustrated in Figure 13. Electron and holes generated in ZFO are the agents for the production of the main active species in the photodegradation. CB and VB position of

• . The photocatalytic degradation rate of 10 ppm phenol was found to be 60% after 60 min over ZFO-500. The degradation procedure of phenol is similar to the degradation of Rh B and Congo red [35]. Photodegradation of phenol was performed by using 20 mL of a 10 ppm phenol solution containing 0.02 g of

• Rh B over ZFO-500. Adsorption spectra of the phenol solution before and after photodegradation over ZFO-500. Formation of luminescent 2-hydroxyterephthalic acid from terephthalic acid. First-order fitting results of Congo red decolourization over ZFO samples. Zero-order fitting parameters of Rh B