High photocatalytic activity of V-doped SrTiO₃ porous nanofibers produced from a combined electrospinning and thermal diffusion process

• Panpan Jing,
• Wei Lan,
• Qing Su and
• Erqing Xie

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1281–1286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.132

• photocatalytic activity with excellent endurance. Results and Discussion The morphology and microstructure are very important for the development of an excellent photocatalyst. In Figure 1a, the pure SrTiO3 nanofibers appear to be tens of micrometers in length, with a porous surface and uniform diameter

• synthesized. The photocatalytic activity of pure and V-doped SrTiO3 porous nanofibers were evaluated by the decomposition of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution under UV–vis light irradiation. In Figure 3a, the characteristic absorption peak of MO at approx. 464 nm is given which shows a progressive

• photocatalytic activity of V-doped SrTiO3 nanofibers compared to pure SrTiO3 nanofibers can be attributed to the V5+ ion doping. Stability and reusability are also very important for photocatalysts. As shown in the upper left inset in Figure 3b, the catalytic efficiency of V-doped SrTiO3 nanofibers is barely

Effects of swift heavy ion irradiation on structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnO–CuO nanocomposites prepared by carbothermal evaporation method

• Sini Kuriakose,
• D. K. Avasthi and
• Satyabrata Mohapatra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 928–937, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.96

• absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. XRD studies showed the presence of ZnO and CuO nanostructures in the nanocomposites. FESEM images revealed the presence of nanosheets and nanorods in the nanocomposites. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO–CuO nanocomposites was evaluated on the basis of

• enhanced photocatalytic activity of ZnO–CuO nanocomposites is proposed. We attribute the observed enhanced photocatalytic activity of ZnO–CuO nanocomposites to the combined effects of improved sun light utilization and suppression of the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers in ZnO–CuO

• carbothermal reduction-based vapor deposition method. We have demonstrated that swift heavy ion irradiation can be employed to significantly enhance the sun light driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO–CuO nanocomposites toward the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dyes in water. Results

Transformation of hydrogen titanate nanoribbons to TiO₂ nanoribbons and the influence of the transformation strategies on the photocatalytic performance

• Melita Rutar,
• Nejc Rozman,
• Matej Pregelj,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Romana Cerc Korošec,
• Andrijana Sever Škapin,
• Aleš Mrzel,
• Srečo D. Škapin and
• Polona Umek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 831–844, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.86

• TiO2 [22] in which the nitrogen atoms occupy substitutional and interstitial sites in the TiO2 and thus affect the photocatalytic activity of titania for reactions performed under visible-light irradiation [3][5][23][24]. On the other hand, transformation under wet-chemical or hydrothermal conditions

• PP of CH-W and MW-W. The specific surface area and the crystallinity are two of the key factors that strongly affect the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. Therefore, with the aim to improve the crystallinity of the TiO2 NRs the samples with the highest specific surface area (CH-W and MW-W) were

Tm-doped TiO₂ and Tm₂Ti₂O₇ pyrochlore nanoparticles: enhancing the photocatalytic activity of rutile with a pyrochlore phase

• Desiré M. De los Santos,
• Javier Navas,
• Teresa Aguilar,
• Antonio Sánchez-Coronilla,
• Concha Fernández-Lorenzo,
• Rodrigo Alcántara,
• Jose Carlos Piñero,
• Ginesa Blanco and
• Joaquín Martín-Calleja

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 605–616, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.62

• obtained with a predominant rutile phase. The photodegradation of methylene blue showed that this pyrochlore phase enhanced the photocatalytic activity of the rutile phase. Keywords: nanoparticles; photocatalysis; pyrochlore; titanium dioxide; thulium; Introduction TiO2 is one of the most efficient

• semiconductors used as a photocatalyst for the degradation of organic compounds. This is due to its high chemical and biological stability, low cost, excellent electronic and optical properties, and the strong oxidation capacity of its photogenerated holes [1][2]. Photocatalytic activity depends on several

• studies in the literature in which pyrochlore-type compounds with high photocatalytic activity are used as a photocatalysts, such as Bi2Ti2O7 [9][10], Pb2Nb2O7 [11]; other pyrochlore compounds that have been evaluated are rare earths, such as Gd2BiSbO7 [12] or Ln2Ti2O7 (Ln = Nd, Gd, Er) [13]. In this

Novel ZnO:Ag nanocomposites induce significant oxidative stress in human fibroblast malignant melanoma (Ht144) cells

• Syeda Arooj,
• Samina Nazir,
• Akhtar Nadhman,
• Nafees Ahmad,
• Bakhtiar Muhammad,
• Ishaq Ahmad,
• Kehkashan Mazhar and
• Rashda Abbasi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 570–582, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.59

• exhibit an improved photocatalytic activity [26][27] and photostability [28] compared to the ZnO NPs. Nanoscale Ag2+ itself exhibits antimicrobial and anticancer activity [29], therefore it might be a very interesting and useful addition to the ZnO NPs as it not only enhances the photocatalytic activity

• , reduction in size of the NPs and increase in the photocatalytic activity [26][34]. It is, however, not well-understood how these NPs exactly work in the exposed cells. ZnO NPs were reported to cause toxicity by generating ROS [35], causing DNA damage, oxidative stress [36], an increase in caspase-3 activity

Palladium nanoparticles anchored to anatase TiO₂ for enhanced surface plasmon resonance-stimulated, visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Hong Ye Chu,
• Shaliza Ibrahim and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 428–437, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.43

• with controlled Pd NPs size ranging between 17 and 29 nm onto the surface of TiO2. Thus, it gives the characteristic for Pd NPs to absorb light in the visible region obtained through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPRs). Apparently, the photocatalytic activity of the prepared photocatalysts was

• Honda in 1972 [1]. To date, TiO2 is still the most favorable choice owing to its versatility and robust advantages that include photostability, non-toxicity, low cost, chemical and biological inertness, high photocatalytic activity and favorable optoelectronic properties [2][3][4][5]. TiO2 also

• -dimensional anatase TiO2/Ag, which exhibited an excellent photocatalytic activity with almost 100% degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol within 2 h [26]. Likewise, Hou et al. reported a 9-fold improvement in the photocatalytic decomposition rate of methyl orange driven by a photocatalyst consisting of robust

Rapid degradation of zinc oxide nanoparticles by phosphate ions

• Rudolf Herrmann,
• F. Javier García-García and
• Armin Reller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2007–2015, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.209

• recently [23]. Special attention to the effects of phosphate around neutral pH has been payed only very recently [24]. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles can be significantly reduced by coating with SiO2 [25]. This is important when ZnO-NP are applied as UV blockers. We therefore also

• phosphate buffers. Photocatalytic activity of ZnO-NP, e.g., in oxidation reactions, is an unwanted feature when they are to be applied as UV blockers. Among the suggested coatings, which should block this activity, silica is mostly used in commercial preparations [25]. In principle, coatings should also

• zinc phosphate, which does not lead to precipitation and equilibrium shifts. In the light of these results it seems essential to ensure a tight coating by a chemically resistant material before applying ZnO-NP for, e.g., medical or cosmetic purposes. Silica coating can suppress photocatalytic activity

Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by combining water soluble graphene with cobalt salts

• Jing Wang,
• Ke Feng,
• Hui-Hui Zhang,
• Bin Chen,
• Zhi-Jun Li,
• Qing-Yuan Meng,
• Li-Ping Zhang,
• Chen-Ho Tung and
• Li-Zhu Wu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1167–1174, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.128

• carbon nanotubes, a small fraction of the electrons may get stored in graphene sheets, thus making graphene an electron reservoir to continuously provide electrons to the catalytic center [58][59][60]. The positive synergetic effect consequently enhances the photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution

Organic and inorganic–organic thin film structures by molecular layer deposition: A review

• Pia Sundberg and
• Maarit Karppinen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1104–1136, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.123

Characterization and photocatalytic study of tantalum oxide nanoparticles prepared by the hydrolysis of tantalum oxo-ethoxide Ta₈(μ₃-O)₂(μ-O)₈(μ-OEt)₆(OEt)₁₄

• Subia Ambreen,
• N D Pandey,
• Peter Mayer and
• Ashutosh Pandey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1082–1090, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.121

• characterized by various techniques such as TGA-DTA-DSC, UV–vis DRS, XRD, SEM, TEM, particle size analyzer (DLS) and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. The band gap of the particles was calculated by using the Tauc plot. The photocatalytic activity of Ta2O5 nanoparticles was tested by the degradation of

• to its distinct properties such as large ion diffusion coefficient and high electrochromic reversibility, high dielectric constant, high refractive index, high chemical stability, large band gap [13][14][15] and photocatalytic activity for overall water decomposition and organic pollutant degradation

• (1) was isolated. When 1 was subjected to further hydrolysis it yielded nanoparticles of tantalum oxide after calcination at 750 °C for four hours. The photocatalytic activity of Ta2O5 nanoparticles was studied over the degradation of organic dye rhodamine B (RhB). Results and Discussion Tantalum

Functionalized nanostructures for enhanced photocatalytic performance under solar light

• Liejin Guo,
• Dengwei Jing,
• Maochang Liu,
• Yubin Chen,
• Shaohua Shen,
• Jinwen Shi and
• Kai Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 994–1004, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.113

• with well-tailored band alignment provides a powerful means to the improvement of the photocatalytic activity. In the process of our study, we have also paid special attention on the nanoscale control of the material morphology and construction of functionalized nanostructures to promote charge

• work was carried out on Ni modified mesoporous TiO2 photocatalysts [15]. It was found that Ni ions were highly dispersed in the framework of mesoporous TiO2 resulting in enhanced hydrogen production in methanol aqueous solution compared to Ni-doped particulate TiO2. The photocatalytic activity was

• found to have a close relationship with the doping amount of Ni ions and the highest activity was obtained when the amount of Ni doping was 1%. Here, the enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to doped Ni2+ ions which served as shallow trapping sites, preferentially trapping photoexcited holes

Enhancement of photocatalytic H₂ evolution of eosin Y-sensitized reduced graphene oxide through a simple photoreaction

• Weiying Zhang,
• Yuexiang Li,
• Shaoqin Peng and
• Xiang Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 801–811, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.92

• hydroxy groups are gradually removed from GO, resulting in an increase of sp2 π-conjugated domains and defect carbons with holes for the formed RGO. The RGO conductivity increases due to the restoration of sp2 π-conjugated domains. The photocatalytic activity of EY-RGO/Pt for hydrogen evolution was

• (RGO) shows a higher activity as a semiconductor under UV irradiation [11][12]. Yeh et al. [12] reported that RGO sheets with in situ photoreduced platinum displayed a high activity for hydrogen evolution from an aqueous methanol solution. However, the RGO exhibits a very low photocatalytic activity

• characterized by a high activity for H2 evolution under visible light irradiation. Recently, to improve the photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution in the visible light region, EY has been employed to sensitize RGO, and the sensitized photocatalyst displays an increased photoactivity for hydrogen

Visible light photooxidative performance of a high-nuclearity molecular bismuth vanadium oxide cluster

• Johannes Tucher and
• Carsten Streb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 711–716, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.83

• reported. Photocatalytic activity studies show faster reaction kinetics under anaerobic conditions, suggesting an oxygen-dependent quenching of the photoexcited cluster species. Further mechanistic analysis shows that the reaction proceeds via the intermediate formation of hydroxyl radicals which act as

• , olefins and others [1][2][3][14]. However, as POMs often only absorb light in the UV range, little is known about the visible-light photocatalytic activity of POMs [5][15]. One means of addressing this challenge is to tune the cluster structure and reactivity by incorporation of a reactive metal site into

• species H3[{Bi(dmso)3}4V13O40] × ca. 4 DMSO (= 1 × ca. 4 DMSO). 1 is formed spontaneously by reaction of Bi(NO3)3·5H2O and (n-Bu4N)3[H3V10O28] in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and it was shown that the cluster features both acidic and visible-light photocatalytic activity [29]. To date, to the best of our

Nanostructure sensitization of transition metal oxides for visible-light photocatalysis

• Hongjun Chen and
• Lianzhou Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 696–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.82

• up to nearly 80% and open circuit voltages up to the 1 V range [24]. Ho et al. revealed that the CdSe–TiO2 coupled system had a much higher photocatalytic activity than that of pure TiO2 and CdSe in the degradation of 4-chlorophenol under visible light irradiation [34]. Wang et al. reported facet ZnO

• water in TiO2 nanotubes with the addition of Au nanoparticles under 633 nm illumination, but a 4-fold reduction in the photocatalytic activity under UV radiation [66]. They ascribed the improvement of visible-light photocatalytic activity to the increase of the electron–hole pair generation rate by the

• used as an electron sink to improve the charge carrier separation and reduce the recombinations of electron–hole pairs. This way, the photocatalytic activity of the composite carbon nanotube/transition metal oxides is effectively improved (Figure 7a) [93]. Recently, it has been found that carbon

A visible-light-driven composite photocatalyst of TiO₂ nanotube arrays and graphene quantum dots

• Donald K. L. Chan,
• Po Ling Cheung and
• Jimmy C. Yu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 689–695, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.81

• fabricated by covalently bonding GQDs onto amine-modified TNAs. The GQDs/TNAs composite retains the highly ordered nanotube morphology and well crystallized anatase phase. The high visible-light photocatalytic activity could be attributed to photosensitization of TNAs by GQDs. This research shows the

• ). Thermogravimetric analysis was performed in air using a thermogravimetric analyzer (Perkin Elmer, TGA 6). The samples were heated from 50 °C to 800 °C at a rate of 10 °C·min−1. Photocatalytic activity measurements: The photocatalytic activities of catalysts were evaluated by measuring the photodegradation of

Effects of the preparation method on the structure and the visible-light photocatalytic activity of Ag₂CrO₄

• Difa Xu,
• Shaowen Cao,
• Jinfeng Zhang,
• Bei Cheng and
• Jiaguo Yu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 658–666, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.77

• 10.3762/bjnano.5.77 Abstract Silver chromate (Ag2CrO4) photocatalysts are prepared by microemulsion, precipitation, and hydrothermal methods, in order to investigate the effect of preparation methods on the structure and the visible-light photocatalytic activity. It is found that the photocatalytic

• activity of the prepared Ag2CrO4was highly dependent on the preparation methods. The sample prepared by microemulsion method exhibits the highest photocatalytic efficiency on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to

• ; photocatalytic activity; silver chromate; visible-light-driven; Introduction Semiconductor photocatalysis has been considered as a potential solution to the worldwide energy shortage and for counteracting environmental degradation [1][2][3][4][5]. Numerous efforts have been made to develop efficient and stable

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag–ZnO hybrid plasmonic nanostructures prepared by a facile wet chemical method

• Sini Kuriakose,
• Vandana Choudhary,
• Biswarup Satpati and
• Satyabrata Mohapatra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 639–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.75

• the synthesis of Ag–ZnO hybrid plasmonic nanostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity by a facile wet-chemical method. The structural, optical, plasmonic and photocatalytic properties of the Ag–ZnO hybrid nanostructures were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron

• microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy. The effects of citrate concentration and Ag nanoparticle loading on the photocatalytic activity of Ag–ZnO hybrid nanostructures towards sun-light driven degradation of methylene blue (MB

• physical and chemical stability, non-toxicity and low cost [11][12][13][14][15][16]. However, ZnO nanostructures suffer from drawbacks such as a high electron–hole recombination rate and the inefficient utilization of sun light, which limit their photocatalytic activity [17][18]. Several attempts have been

High activity of Ag-doped Cd_0.1Zn_0.9S photocatalyst prepared by the hydrothermal method for hydrogen production under visible-light irradiation

• Leny Yuliati,
• Melody Kimi and
• Mustaffa Shamsuddin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 587–595, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.69

• activity of Cd0.1Zn0.9S was studied for the hydrogen production from water reduction under visible light irradiation. Results: Compared to the series prepared by the co-precipitation method, samples prepared by the hydrothermal method performed with a better photocatalytic activity. The sample with the

• . In addition to the larger absorption in the visible-light region, the increase in photocatalytic activity of samples with Ag doping may also come from the Ag species facilitating electron–hole separation. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that Ag doping is a promising way to enhance the activity of

• , the activity was not improved. After 5 h of reaction, Ag(0.03)-doped Cd0.1Zn0.9S and Ag(0.05)-doped Cd0.1Zn0.9S even showed a lower rate than that obtained from the undoped Cd0.1Zn0.9S. The enhancement in the photocatalytic activity of Ag(0.01)-doped Cd0.1Zn0.9S might be attributed to the better

Artificial sunlight and ultraviolet light induced photo-epoxidation of propylene over V-Ti/MCM-41 photocatalyst

• Van-Huy Nguyen,
• Shawn D. Lin,
• Jeffrey Chi-Sheng Wu and
• Hsunling Bai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 566–576, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.67

• excitation of (Ti–O) moieties by UV irradiation but also to the indirect excitation through a charge transition from (V4+–OL−)* states as proposed in [34][35], which brings up a high photocatalytic activity [34]. Furthermore, Amano et al. reported that the lattice oxygen in the excited triplet state (V4+–OL

Mesoporous cerium oxide nanospheres for the visible-light driven photocatalytic degradation of dyes

• Subas K. Muduli,
• Songling Wang,
• Shi Chen,
• Chin Fan Ng,
• Cheng Hon Alfred Huan,
• Tze Chien Sum and
• Han Sen Soo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 517–523, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.60

• , suggesting that the mechanism of photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation involves predominantly hydroxyl radicals as the active species. Keywords: cerium oxide; dye degradation; mesoporous; photocatalysis; visible light; Introduction The degradation of organic pollutants by affordable and

• . Control experiments were performed in the absence of scavengers (black line, Figure 5a). The established scavengers used include sodium oxalate for h+ (red), CrO3 for e− (green), isopropanol for •OH (blue), and 1,4-benzoquinone for •OOH/•O2− (grey, Figure 5a) [5]. The inhibition of photocatalytic activity

• of the material. The visible-light photocatalytic activity in the degradation of RhB surpasses that of the commercially available CeO2 and P25 TiO2 nanopowders. With a series of radical scavengers, the mechanism of the photocatalytic activity is proposed to involve a prominent role of •OH radicals as

Dye-sensitized Pt@TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for the efficient photocatalytic generation of hydrogen

• Jun Fang,
• Lisha Yin,
• Shaowen Cao,
• Yusen Liao and
• Can Xue

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 360–364, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.41

• hydrothermal method. The dye-sensitization of these Pt@TiO2 core–shell structures allows for a high photocatalytic activity for the generation of hydrogen from proton reduction under visible-light irradiation. When the dyes and TiO2 were co-excited through the combination of two irradiation beams with

• recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes often leads to low quantum yields and a poor photocatalytic activity [6]. Tremendous efforts have been made to improve the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. One typical strategy is prolonging the lifetime of the electron–hole pair through deposition of

Preparation of NiS/ZnIn₂S₄ as a superior photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation

• Liang Wei,
• Yongjuan Chen,
• Jialin Zhao and
• Zhaohui Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 949–955, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.107

• be used as co-catalyst to enhance the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution over CdS [39]. It was found that NiS/CdS photocatalysts prepared via a simple hydrothermal loading method showed high photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution in the presence of lactic acid as sacrificial agent and a high

• evolution under visible light irradiation and the activity of NiS/ZnIn2S4 with optimized amount of NiS is even higher than that of Pt/ZnIn2S4. A possible enhancement mechanism based on the co-catalyst and the formed junction for the improved photocatalytic activity in the NiS/ZnIn2S4 system was also

• doping of only 0.2 wt % NiS onto ZnIn2S4 led to its highly enhanced photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution. The hydrogen evolution rate over 0.2 wt % NiS/ZnIn2S4 was enhanced to 70.5 μmol/h, about 5 times of that over pure ZnIn2S4 under similar condition. This indicates that NiS deposited on the

Structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of flower-like ZnO nanostructures prepared by a facile wet chemical method

• Sini Kuriakose,
• Neha Bhardwaj,
• Jaspal Singh,
• Biswarup Satpati and
• Satyabrata Mohapatra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 763–770, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.87

• UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. SEM and TEM studies revealed flower-like structures consisting of nanosheets, formed due to oriented attachment of ZnO nanoparticles. Flower-like ZnO structures showed enhanced photocatalytic activity towards sun-light driven photodegradation of methylene blue dye (MB

• ] by the tape casting method. These ZnO plates showed a good photocatalytic activity for azo dyes that depended on their surface area. Shen et al. [34] have shown that depositing ZnO on silica nanoparticles is a simple and effective method to prepare photocatalysts that could degrade 90% methylene blue

• (MB) in 60 min. ZnO nanoparticles (NP) that were synthesized by wet chemical methods can be passivated by a Zn(OH)2 layer during ageing. Hong et al. [35] have shown that the photocatalytic activity of ZnO NP is drastically reduced when the is surface modified with polysterene. In this paper, we have

Modulation of defect-mediated energy transfer from ZnO nanoparticles for the photocatalytic degradation of bilirubin

• Tanujjal Bora,
• Karthik K. Lakshman,
• Soumik Sarkar,
• Abhinandan Makhal,
• Samim Sardar,
• Samir K. Pal and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 714–725, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.81

• ]. It has been reported that the native defects in the ZnO lattice, mostly the oxygen vacancy sites, play an important role in the photocatalytic activity of the nanostructures [11]. Oxygen vacancies have been reported as the cause of the characteristic green luminescence of ZnO [12][13][14]. These

• of surface defects. The rates of the photocatalytic degradation of BR were found to follow a first-order exponential equation with a maximum photocatalytic activity for the ZnO nanoparticles annealed at 250 °C. However, when the surface defects were reduced by annealing the ZnO nanoparticles at

• be attributed to the highest concentration of surface defect-states present in these nanoparticles. Under continuous UV irradiation, the ZnO nanoparticles annealed at 250 °C showed the maximum photocatalytic activity, which was almost 3.5 times higher than that of the as-synthesized ZnO nanoparticles

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. 2013, 4, 345–351, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.40

• ., India Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad -211004. U.P., India. 10.3762/bjnano.4.40 Abstract This paper reports the structural and optical properties and comparative photocatalytic activity of TiO2 and Ag-doped TiO2 nanoparticles against different

• microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and viruses, because it has high photoreactivity, broad-spectrum antibiosis and chemical stability [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The photocatalytic activity of annealed TiO2 sturdily depends upon its existing phase, i.e., anatase, rutile, brokite. The anatase phase shows an

• is decreased. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles depends not only on the properties of the TiO2 material itself, but also on the modification of TiO2 with metal or metal oxide. Previous studies reported that the addition of noble metal (silver and gold) in titanium dioxide enhances its