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

• sustainable photocatalysts that can collectively harvest visible light. However, the bottleneck in utilising the low energy photons has led to the discovery of plasmonic photocatalysts. The presence of noble metal on the plasmonic photocatalyst enables the harvesting of visible light through the unique

• : localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR); noble metal; plasmonic photocatalyst; reactive radicals; Schottky junctions; visible light; Review Introduction Photocatalysts have played and will continue to play a pivotal role in environmental and energy applications in order to fulfil the needs of the

• will lead to a pathway for better utilization of the solar spectrum. The invention and progression of plasmonic photocatalysts laid a foundation for the successful utilisation of longer wavelengths, known as “visible light photocatalysis”. The localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is a unique

Facile phase transfer of gold nanorods and nanospheres stabilized with block copolymers

• Yaroslav I. Derikov,
• Georgiy A. Shandryuk,
• Raisa V. Talroze,
• Alexander A. Ezhov and
• Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 616–627, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.58

• (JEOL, Japan). Optical analysis Absorption spectra of nanoparticle sols in the visible light range were recorded on an optical absorbance USB 2000 spectrometer (Ocean Optics, USA) equipped with a LS-1 halogen light source and a cuvette holder. The spectral data were processed using a SpectraSuite

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

• photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning transmission microscopy (STEM) and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area method, whereas the photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation (λ > 420

• at the surface of the IL–TiO2 material under visible-light illumination, and is responsible for the effective phenol degradation. Keywords: heterogeneous photocatalysis; ionic liquids; TiO2; visible light catalysis; Introduction The development of heterogeneous photocatalysis to degrade organic

• pollutants in aqueous and gas phases requires visible-light responsive, stable materials and a basic understanding of these materials [1][2][3][4]. Although various semiconductors are considered for environmental pollution abatement, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is still the most promising due to its stability

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

• photocatalyst for the degradation of phenol and toluene under visible light. XPS analysis revealed that the photocatalyst prepared via HT method contains a three-times higher amount of hydroxy groups at the surface layer and a two-times higher amount of surface defects than that obtained by the SHT method. The

• visible light irradiation [8][9][10]. In recent years, the modification with rare earth (RE) metals has proven to be an efficient method to improve the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 and to broaden its absorption to the solar spectrum [8][11][12]. Various Lewis bases can form complexes with RE-modified

• -infrared and visible spectral ranges into ultraviolet wavelengths can be responsible for the photocatalytic activity of RE-modified TiO2 [21][22]. In our previous paper, based on action spectra analysis we revealed that Nd-modified TiO2 could be excited under visible light in the range of 400 to 480 nm

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

• photocatalyst in a 100 mL conical flask kept under dark conditions for 30 min to ensure adsorption–desorption equilibrium. Then the photo degradation reaction was carried out for 1 h under 250 W visible light and stirring for 60 min. Then the catalyst was removed and the residual phenol was analysed with JASCO

• -500. Photoluminescence spectra of ZFO samples excited at 330 nm. FTIR spectra of ZFO samples. Linear-sweep voltammograms of ZFO-400 to ZFO-700 (a) under dark conditions, (b) under visible-light illumination. Mott–Schottky plot yielding the flat-band potential of ZFO-500. Nyquist plot of ZFO-400 to ZFO

Engineering of oriented carbon nanotubes in composite materials

• Razieh Beigmoradi,
• Abdolreza Samimi and
• Davod Mohebbi-Kalhori

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 415–435, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.41

• electron microscopes are used in analyzing the alignment and arrangement of CNTs. The first type is a scanning electron microscope (SEM), in which electrons are emitted and reflected from the surface of the sample, then they are collected by the detectors and converted to photons of visible light to create

• analyzing samples that are not transparent to visible light. SAXS can identify particles or holes between 1 to 100 nm. Accurate determination occurs for a particle size of 1 to 10 nm size; however, it can also be used for particles with sizes outside of this range. The average size of the particles or holes

Sugarcane juice derived carbon dot–graphitic carbon nitride composites for bisphenol A degradation under sunlight irradiation

• Lan Ching Sim,
• Jing Lin Wong,
• Chen Hong Hak,
• Jun Yan Tai,
• Kah Hon Leong and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 353–363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.35

• semiconductor g-C3N4 possesses visible light harvesting properties due to its narrow band gap energy (≈2.7 eV) [15]. Thus g-C3N4 has emerged as a promising polymeric semiconductor for photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) [16][17][18][19][20], hydrogen evolution [21][22][23][24][25], oxidation of NO

• superior photocatalytic activity was demonstrated [8]. Guo and co-workers used the electrochemical method to produce CDs from graphite rods. The deposition of CDs onto g-C3N4/ZnO heterojunctions enhanced the degradation of tetracycline by absorbing a wider spectrum of visible light and suppressing the

• acid [37] and rapeseed flower bee pollen [38] as precursors to produce CDs for the photocatalytic generation of H2 under visible light irradiation. In addition, Wang and co-workers used citric acid and urea as precursors to prepare N-doped CDs (NCDs). The NCD/g-C3N4 composite exhibited better

Bombyx mori silk/titania/gold hybrid materials for photocatalytic water splitting: combining renewable raw materials with clean fuels

• Stefanie Krüger,
• Michael Schwarze,
• Otto Baumann,
• Christina Günter,
• Michael Bruns,
• Christian Kübel,
• Dorothée Vinga Szabó,
• Rafael Meinusch,
• Verónica de Zea Bermudez and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 187–204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.21

• ][15]) TiO2-based water splitting catalysts are among the most popular materials for visible light water splitting [16][17][18][19][20]. Among these, TiO2/Au nanocomposites have attracted special interest because of their synergistic mode of action between the Au nanoparticle (AuNP) plasmons and the

• calcined P25 TiO2 NPs (TNPs) loaded with 3 wt % of Au for photocatalytic water splitting. Irradiation with UV and visible light combined yielded a higher H2 and oxygen production after 7 h than with UV or visible light alone [23]. In a more analytical study, Silva et al. [24] investigated the influence of

Review on optofluidic microreactors for artificial photosynthesis

• Xiaowen Huang,
• Jianchun Wang,
• Tenghao Li,
• Jianmei Wang,
• Min Xu,
• Weixing Yu,
• Abdel El Abed and
• Xuming Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 30–41, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.5

• nano-system in which water and CO2 were catalyzed to form H2 and CO in this integrated system [66]. Jiang et al. showed a thylakoid-inspired multishell g-C3N4 nanocapsule with orderly stacked nanostructures, which exhibited enhanced visible-light harvesting and electron-transfer properties for high

• photocatalytic efficiency [90][91][92][93][94]. Besides, biomimetic or bioinspired strategies for the synthesis of semiconductor materials represents a significant advancement in the development of high-efficiency and cost-effective visible-light photocatalysts for solar energy conversion [65][66][67]. Given the

Facile synthesis of silver/silver thiocyanate (Ag@AgSCN) plasmonic nanostructures with enhanced photocatalytic performance

• Xinfu Zhao,
• Dairong Chen,
• Abdul Qayum,
• Bo Chen and
• Xiuling Jiao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2781–2789, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.277

• visible-light irradiation. In addition to the microstructure and high specific surface area, the enhanced photocatalytic activity was mainly caused by the surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles, and the high stability of AgSCN resulted in the long-term stability of the photocatalyst product

• and environmental friendlessness. For example, as a typical semiconductor, TiO2 exhibits high photocatalytic degradation performance against a large number of organic pollutants [5][6][7]. However, it is difficult to obtain a high photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation with TiO2 as a

• catalyst due to its wide bandgap of 3.2 eV, which limits its practical application. Therefore, the development of new photocatalysts with visible-light catalytic performance, high surface active sites and long life of separated electron and hole pairs, has become a hot research topic in recent years. Ag

CdSe nanorod/TiO₂ nanoparticle heterojunctions with enhanced solar- and visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Fakher Laatar,
• Hatem Moussa,
• Halima Alem,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Emilien Girot,
• Ghouti Medjahdi,
• Hatem Ezzaouia and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2741–2752, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.273

• the narrow bandgap of CdSe NRs serves to increase the photoresponse of CdSe/TiO2 composites until ≈725 nm. The CdSe (2 wt %)/TiO2 composite exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution under simulated sunlight or visible light irradiation. The

• the visible light range and increases the photoconversion efficiency by improving the charge transfer [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. CdSe is one of the most commonly used semiconductors due to its narrow bandgap (1.7

• of rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution. Our results demonstrate that the composite containing 2 wt % CdSe NRs exhibits the optimal photocatalytic activity under solar or visible light irradiation. Moreover, the photocatalytic response was maintained after ten cycles in simulated sunlight. A

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of difurylethene-based photochromic single-molecule junctions

• Youngsang Kim,
• Safa G. Bahoosh,
• Dmytro Sysoiev,
• Thomas Huhn,
• Fabian Pauly and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2606–2614, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.261

• between the open and closed forms of the diarylethene core, when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) or visible light. This transformation results in a significant variation of electrical conductance and vibrational properties of corresponding molecular junctions. We report here a combined experimental and

• illustrated in Figure 1a with its reaction schematics, when exposed to ultraviolet or visible light. The synthesis method was presented previously [22]. Upon illumination with light of suitable wavelength, the central carbon–carbon bond of the difurylethene switching core is either formed or broken, resulting

• switch states under the illumination with UV and visible light. Shown at the bottom is a scanning electron microscopy image of a MCBJ device. (b) Variation of UV–visible absorption spectra under UV light irradiation (wavelength of 313 nm with an intensity of ca. 0.15 mW/cm−2) as a function of

Photobleaching of YOYO-1 in super-resolution single DNA fluorescence imaging

• Joseph R. Pyle and
• Jixin Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2296–2306, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.229

• imaging [17][18][19][20]. A recent trend in fluorescent imaging is the use of super-resolution imaging to resolve fine structures below the typical diffraction limit of visible light microscopy at ≈250 nm [21]. This is important in visualizing the conformation of DNA molecules, such as DNA looping by

Hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO quantum dot/KNb₃O₈ nanosheet photocatalysts for reducing carbon dioxide to methanol

• Xiao Shao,
• Weiyue Xin and
• Xiaohong Yin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2264–2270, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.226

• displayed an absorption threshold at 376 nm. Compared with the pure KNb3O8 nanosheets, we found a significant red-shift of the absorption edge, which could attribute to the enhancement observed by the ZnO quantum dots upon visible-light absorption. The optical band gap (Eg) of semiconductors could be

Evaluating the toxicity of TiO₂-based nanoparticles to Chinese hamster ovary cells and Escherichia coli: a complementary experimental and computational approach

• Alicja Mikolajczyk,
• Natalia Sizochenko,
• Ewa Mulkiewicz,
• Anna Malankowska,
• Michal Nischk,
• Przemyslaw Jurczak,
• Seishiro Hirano,
• Grzegorz Nowaczyk,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska,
• Jerzy Leszczynski,
• Agnieszka Gajewicz and
• Tomasz Puzyn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2171–2180, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.216

• inhibiting activity [5][6]. Reactivity of TiO2 under visible light (λ > 400 nm) can be achieved in several ways [7], including: (a) metal doping [8], (b) non-metal doping [9][10], (c) self-doping (reductive treatments) [11][12], (d) surface modification by noble-metal nanoparticles of silver (Ag), gold (Au

• increasing concentration of Bi2WO6 [23]. In another contribution, the photo-oxidation capability of iron-doped TiO2 NPs increased during exposure to near-visible light. Fe-doped TiO2 NPs inhibited the macrophage RAW 264.7 [24]. Hence the same unique properties of surface-modified TiO2-based nanomaterials

Ta₂N₃ nanocrystals grown in Al₂O₃ thin layers

• Krešimir Salamon,
• Maja Buljan,
• Iva Šarić,
• Mladen Petravić and
• Sigrid Bernstorff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2162–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.215

• generic procedure to realize highly tunable and designable optical properties of thin films containing transition-metal nitride nanocrystals. Keywords: nanocomposites; multilayers; refractory plasmonics; self-assembly; Ta2N3 nanoparticles; Introduction Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) can confine visible

• light to nano-scale structures via local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) [1]. LSPR produces a strong near-field enhancement and a local heating [2][3], which are considered to be promising in several applications ranging from surface-enhanced Raman scattering [4], to catalysis [5] and heat-assisted

Synthesis and characterization of noble metal–titania core–shell nanostructures with tunable shell thickness

• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Marta Michalska-Domańska,
• Malwina Liszewska,
• Dariusz Zasada and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2083–2093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.208

• great potential for use in these applications [18][19]. Surface plasmon resonance properties of gold and silver NPs can increase the optical absorption of titania and extend its absorption band to the visible light region. Such CSNs could allow one of the most important limitations in broader use of

Application of visible-light photosensitization to form alkyl-radical-derived thin films on gold

• Rashanique D. Quarels,
• Xianglin Zhai,
• Neepa Kuruppu,
• Jenny K. Hedlund,
• Ashley A. Ellsworth,
• Amy V. Walker,
• Jayne C. Garno and
• Justin R. Ragains

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1863–1877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.187

• Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080, USA Department of Materials Science, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080, USA 10.3762/bjnano.8.187 Abstract Visible-light irradiation of phthalimide esters in the presence of the photosensitizer [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and

• the stoichiometric reducing agent benzyl nicotinamide results in the formation of alkyl radicals under mild conditions. This approach to radical generation has proven useful for the synthesis of small organic molecules. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time the visible-light photosensitized

• deposition of robust alkyl thin films on Au surfaces using phthalimide esters as the alkyl radical precursors. In particular, we combine visible-light photosensitization with particle lithography to produce nanostructured thin films, the thickness of which can be measured easily using AFM cursor profiles

Synthesis and functionalization of NaGdF₄:Yb,Er@NaGdF₄ core–shell nanoparticles for possible application as multimodal contrast agents

• Dovile Baziulyte-Paulaviciene,
• Vitalijus Karabanovas,
• Marius Stasys,
• Greta Jarockyte,
• Vilius Poderys,
• Simas Sakirzanovas and
• Ricardas Rotomskis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1815–1824, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.183

• visible light, have been extensively investigated due to the advantages associated with their unique optical properties [1]. Compared with traditional semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) or organic fluorophores, UCNPs show superior features such as sharp emission peaks, low toxicity, high photochemical

Three-in-one approach towards efficient organic dye-sensitized solar cells: aggregation suppression, panchromatic absorption and resonance energy transfer

• Jayita Patwari,
• Samim Sardar,
• Bo Liu,
• Peter Lemmens and
• Samir Kumar Pal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1705–1713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.171

• visible light and transfer the energy to SQ2, followed by electron injection from SQ2 to TiO2 in SQ2_PPIX which lead us to get a increased photocurrent. The process of FRET is not much facile in PPIX_SQ2 as the first active layer of sensitizer is the donor itself, in that case. It can also be demonstrated

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• -C3N4 makes it a multifunctional photocatalytic material [64]. Therefore, g-C3N4 has attracted immense attention mainly for photocatalytic hydrogen generation reactions and pollutant removal by harvesting visible light due to its suitable band gap energy (≈2.7 eV) [65][66]. Hence this material possesses

• high photocatalytic efficiency under visible light, which constitutes about 43% of the solar energy spectrum as compared to ultraviolet light (5%). Moreover, the CB and VB of g-C3N4 are suitably positioned with appropriate potential (CB = −1.13 eV, VB = 1.57 eV), which favours various photocatalytic

• positions are summarized in Figure 5 [103]. As it is well known, the band gap and wavelength are directly related to each other, and suitable band gap engineering is required to make photocatalysts active in the visible light region of the spectrum. The overall water splitting reaction on the surface of a

Fixation mechanisms of nanoparticles on substrates by electron beam irradiation

• Daichi Morioka,
• Tomohiro Nose,
• Taiki Chikuta,
• Kazutaka Mitsuishi and
• Masayuki Shimojo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1523–1529, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.153

• particular, arrays of gold or silver nanostructures can be used for such waveguides, as nanostructures made of these materials interact with visible light. Such LSPR structures would make the development of smaller optical circuits and devices possible. Plasmon propagation through nanowires or rows of

Light-induced magnetoresistance in solution-processed planar hybrid devices measured under ambient conditions

• Sreetama Banerjee,
• Daniel Bülz,
• Danny Reuter,
• Karla Hiller,
• Dietrich R. T. Zahn and
• Georgeta Salvan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1502–1507, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.150

• illumination. Vollmer et al. showed [15], by investigating the occupied electronic states using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy, that the diffusion of molecular oxygen and water from the ambient into pentacene layers is reversible when the air exposure takes place in the dark or under visible light. The

Spin-chemistry concepts for spintronics scientists

• Konstantin L. Ivanov,
• Alexander Wagenpfahl,
• Carsten Deibel and
• Jörg Matysik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1427–1445, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.143

Enhanced catalytic activity without the use of an external light source using microwave-synthesized CuO nanopetals

• Govinda Lakhotiya,
• Sonal Bajaj,
• Arpan Kumar Nayak,
• Debabrata Pradhan,
• Pradip Tekade and
• Abhimanyu Rana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1167–1173, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.118

• application of an external light source and also under dark conditions for the degradation of hazardous dyes such as methylene blue and rhodamine B. We report enhanced catalytic activity of the synthesized CuO nanopetals, even without the use of an external light source (UV/visible light) for the degradation

• activity of CuO nanopetals activated by irradiation with photons (visible light) in the absence of H2O2 is also studied and compared with the activity under dark conditions. Results and Discussion Structural and morphological study Figure 1a illustrates X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of CuO nanomaterials

• out to investigate the effect of different concentrations of H2O2 for MB degradation in the absence of CuO nanopetals (catalyst) without any irradiation (UV/visible light). Figure 2c shows the UV–vis absorption spectra for different concentrations of H2O2 in MB solution, without catalyst, after one