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

• photocatalyst consisting of Au nanoparticles (NPs) and CuBi2O4 microrods (Au/CBO) was designed and prepared by a simple thermal reduction–precipitation approach. It shows excellent photocatalytic performance in the degradation of tetracycline (TC). The maximum photocatalytic degradation rate constant for Au/CBO

• , enhancing photoresponse and providing more active sites. Our work shows a possible design of efficient photocatalysts for environmental remediation. Keywords: Au nanoparticles; 0D/1D composite; CuBi2O4 microrods; photocatalysis; photocatalytic degradation; Introduction Heterogeneous semiconductor

• content, the photocatalytic degradation rate of TC firstly increased to a maximum of 93% (2.5 wt % Au/CBO), then decreased again when more Au NPs are added to the composite system. This phenomenon may be connected with excessive gold nanoparticles hindering the absorption of visible light. In addition

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

• concentration of RhB and catalyst, pH value and temperature. The results indicate that the pH value is the main influential factor in the photocatalytic degradation process and the optimal experimental conditions to achieve the maximum degradation rate of 97.66% in 2 hours are as follows: concentration (RhB

• ]. Recently, photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes using semiconductors has attracted much attention [6]. This refers to the process in which organic compounds are gradually oxidized into inorganic compounds or even H2O and CO2 under the synergistic effects of light and photocatalysis. ZnO is one of the

• doping. The photocatalytic degradation rate follows the order from highest to lowest activity: CZO-4 > CZO-3 > CZO-2 > CZO-1 > CZO-5 > ZnO. The main reason Ce doping can act to enhance photocatalytic activity can possibly be attributed to the presence of cerium ions in the ZnO lattice, whose 4f energy

Tailoring the stability/aggregation of one-dimensional TiO₂(B)/titanate nanowires using surfactants

• Atiđa Selmani,
• Johannes Lützenkirchen,
• Kristina Kučanda,
• Dario Dabić,
• Engelbert Redel,
• Ida Delač Marion,
• Damir Kralj,
• Darija Domazet Jurašin and
• Maja Dutour Sikirić

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1024–1037, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.103

• because of their unique physicochemical properties compared to the bulk material. TNMs play an important role in various applications such as photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants [1][2], sensors [3][4], solid oxide fuel cells [5], water purification [6][7], adsorption of radioactive and heavy

Deposition of metal particles onto semiconductor nanorods using an ionic liquid

• Michael D. Ballentine,
• Elizabeth G. Embry,
• Marco A. Garcia and
• Lawrence J. Hill

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 718–724, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.71

• heterostructured nanoparticles. With two nearly identical samples in hand, we were able to compare the performance of two catalysts where the only notable difference was the synthetic history of the sample (Figure 2). We used photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue to compare catalyst performance since this

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

• materials. Table 2 summarizes the application of cellulose-based photocatalyst nanostructured materials for photocatalytic degradation of various organic pollutants. Cellulose derivatives can easily adsorb on metal oxide surface layers and provide additional –OH groups on the surface of metal alkoxides [116

• can facilitate the adsorption of metal oxide to its surface. Thus, Li et al. [123] proposed the immobilization of TiO2 nanoparticles on a fine fibrous network of bacterial cellulose via hydrogen bonds and electrostatic adsorption effect for the photocatalytic degradation of reactive X-3B. TiO2

• derived from microbial cellulose to act as a highly efficient photocatalyst [109]. The composite catalyst demonstrated a high photocatalytic degradation efficiency of about 82% after 90 min of irradiation and exhibited high recyclability of up to five catalytic cycles. In addition, the potential of

Hierarchical heterostructures of Bi₂MoO₆ microflowers decorated with Ag₂CO₃ nanoparticles for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic removal of toxic pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Wei Jiang,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yanping Liu,
• Kaibing Xu and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2297–2305, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.214

• , for instance, high specific surface area, good molecular diffusion/transport, and good recyclability and light harvesting ability. To the best of our knowledge, application of Ag2CO3 nanoparticles coupled with flower-like Bi2MoO6 for photocatalytic degradation of toxic pollutants remains unreported

• the photocatalytic degradation of industrial dyes (rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO), and methyl blue (MB)), and the antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) under visible light. The improved performance of the photocatalytic degradation was prominent, and the reasons were rationally analyzed

• /Ag2CO3/Bi2MoO6 [32] and Ag2MoO4/Bi2MoO6 [22]. This result shows that the charge separation efficiency is enhanced in ACO/BMO-30. Photocatalytic performance The efficiency of Ag2CO3/Bi2MoO6 heterostructures in the photocatalytic degradation of industrial dyes (RhB, MO and MB), and the antibiotic TC of the

Controllable one-pot synthesis of uniform colloidal TiO₂ particles in a mixed solvent solution for photocatalysis

• Jong Tae Moon,
• Seung Ki Lee and
• Ji Bong Joo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1715–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.163

• activity test: The photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples was evaluated by following the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B. Before the photocatalysis test was initiated, the well-dispersed catalyst in the solution was first irradiated under UV light for 30 min to remove any residual

• (≈400–800 °C). (a) UV–vis absorption spectra indicating degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) using the TiO2-500 sample, (b) photocatalytic degradation of RhB under UV–vis light irradiation and (c) semilogarithmic plot versus time for the different TiO2 samples: Blank Test (no catalyst) (■), TiO2-350

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

• for degradation of pollutants was first applied by Frank and Bard in 1977 to reduce CN− in water [57][58]. Thereafter, significant research on photocatalytic degradation of hazardous organic compounds and reduction of toxic heavy metal ions (Cr(VI)) was carried out over various semiconductors upon

• et al. studied photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) over TiO2-coupled CNTs. The reduction rate of Cr(VI) increased due to transfer of photogenerated electrons through CNT surfaces in the absence of sacrificial agents [139]. Huang et al. reported that a simultaneous photocatalytic degradation of Cr(VI

• photocatalytic degradation of pollutants under visible light irradiation. Yang et al. reported that the photoreduction of Cr(VI) by WO3-doped TiO2 nanotube (NT) arrays was found to be greater than that of neat TiO2 NT arrays [159]. This is because the incorporation of WO3 with TiO2 facilitates the separation of

Ag₂WO₄ nanorods decorated with AgI nanoparticles: Novel and efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for the degradation of water pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Wei Jiang,
• Yanping Liu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yingtang Zhou,
• Liuye Mo and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1308–1316, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.123

• cycling photocatalytic degradation of RhB was performed. As shown in Figure 8a, no apparent activity decrease was observed after five successive runs, demonstrating the good stability of the catalyst. Furthermore, the XRD pattern of the used 0.3AgI/Ag2WO4 is similar to that of the fresh one (Figure 8b

• degradation and (b) degradation rate constants of RhB using different catalysts (10 mg) under visible light. (a) The photocatalytic degradation and (b) degradation rate constants of MO (100 mL, 5 mg L−1) using the catalysts (10 mg). Total organic carbon (TOC) removal during the photocatalytic degradation of

• RhB in the presence of 0.3AgI/Ag2WO4. (a) The cycled photocatalytic degradation of RhB over 0.3AgI/Ag2WO4; (b) XRD patterns of the fresh and used 0.3AgI/Ag2WO4. Active-species trapping tests over 0.3AgI/Ag2WO4. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) Nyquist plots of AgI and 0.3AgI/Ag2WO4

Noble metal-modified titania with visible-light activity for the decomposition of microorganisms

• Maya Endo,
• Zhishun Wei,
• Kunlei Wang,
• Baris Karabiyik,
• Kenta Yoshiiri,
• Paulina Rokicka,
• Bunsho Ohtani,
• Agata Markowska-Szczupak and
• Ewa Kowalska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 829–841, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.77

• concentration of 1 g/L of Ag- and Au-modified titania is not sufficient to observe a biocidal effect, regardless of the experimental conditions. As it was shown in our previous studies [69][70], the photocatalytic degradation of fungi was much lower than that of bacteria, because of differences in inactivation

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

• well as the high specific area. Keywords: BiOI; photocatalytic degradation; p–n heterojunction; ZnO; Introduction The development of semiconductor photocatalysis has opened a new horizon for environmental pollution remediation and provides a potential solution to the global energy problem given the

• photocatalysts by a two-step synthetic method. The improved photocatalytic degradation of phenol could be achieved under simulated solar light irradiation. Herein, we report a new, facile method to produce the ZnO/BiOI heterojunction by a solution method followed by calcination. Using a milder precipitant

• , probably a result of the quantum confinement effect in the nanometer-sized ZnO particles. Photocatalytic degradation To test the as-synthesized samples’ ability to remove organic pollutants from waste water, the photodegradation of RhB was carried out under illumination by visible light from a 300 W Xe

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

• improved response (τRes = 9 s) and recovery time (τRec = 39 s). The enhanced gas sensing performance and photocatalytic degradation processes are suggested to be attributed to not only the surface plasmon resonance effect, but also due to a Schottky barrier between plasmonic Au and ZnO structures

• radicals (e.g., •O2−, •OOH, and •OH) at the surface, which are mainly involved in photocatalytic degradation of dyes into CO2 or harmless compounds [42]. Therefore, to further determine the ability of Au-decorated ZnO and ZnO sub-micrometer spheres in improving irradiation, PL spectra of an aqueous RhB

• cycles of photocatalytic testing, no significant difference in the photocatalytic degradation process was found, indicating excellent reversibility and stable photocatalytic performance, as shown in Figure 5b. Cascade processes have been previously reported involving the morphology, specific surface and

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

• in the literature [32][33]. Xian and coworkers have studied the photocatalytic degradation of MO under simulated solar light irradiation in BaTiO3–g-C3N4 composites with an efficient charge separation of photogenerated charge carriers at the interfaces [30]. Leong et al. have successfully made a

• promising amalgamated g-C3N4–SrTiO3 photocatalyst by a simple thermal method. The as-prepared composites showed exceptional properties for photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) under intense sunlight due to the enhanced migration of photogenerated charges over the close interfacial connections

• ) spectroscopy measurements were carried out by using an Agilent Technologies Cary Eclipse fluorescence spectrophotometer. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms were measured at 77 K on a Quantachrome Autosorb-iQ-MP-XR system. Photocatalytic degradation study

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

• absorption of IL–TiO2 in the visible region can be attributed to the existence of carbon species on the surface of the photocatalysts [45]. Chemical composition of ionic liquid/TiO2 composites The photocatalytic degradation is based on chemical reactions on the surface of the photocatalyst [46][47][48]. In

• estimated by means of the colorimetric method (λ = 480 nm) after derivatization with diazo-p-nitroaniline using a UV–vis spectrophotometer (Thermo Evolution 220). The photocatalytic degradation runs were preceded by a blind test in the absence of a photocatalyst or illumination. No degradation of phenol was

• out similar to the above-described photocatalytic degradation of phenol, except that the radical scavengers were added to the reaction system. The scavenger concentration was equal to 0.21 mmol dm−3. No adsorption of phenol was observed in the presence of the photocatalyst in the phenol/scavenger

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

• photogenerated lifetime of the carriers, and finally increasing the formation of highly reactive and oxidative radicals during the photocatalytic degradation [15]. The Nd-TiO2 NPs showed intense emission of Nd3+ ions under excitation by laser radiation with λex = 350 nm (Figure 5). The characteristic transition

• influenced by surface hydroxyl groups helping to generate reactive oxygen species, such as hydroxyl radicals. The photocatalytic degradation of toluene was carried out under LED irradiation (λmax = 415 nm). A high photocatalytic activity was exhibited by all the neodymium-modified photocatalysts (Figure 6c

• successfully prepared via hydrothermal and sol–hydrothermal methods. Both Nd-modified samples can achieve the photocatalytic degradation of phenol and toluene under visible light, and Nd-TiO2 has a higher activity than pristine TiO2 (2.25- and 6.3-times higher activity for 0.25% Nd-TiO2(SHT), and 3.6- and 7.1

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

• . 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

• results for decolourization activity are in good agreement with the results obtained from the other measurements. The values of BET surface area of ZFO-400, ZFO-500, ZFO-600 and ZFO-700 are 34 m2/g, 17 m2/g, 14.5 m2/g, 6.9 m2/g. This result shows that the surface area has no effect towards photocatalytic

• degradation process [34]. Kinetics of the decolourization of Congo red The kinetics involved in the decolourization of Congo red are shown in Figure 10e. The data obtained from the experiment was fitted with the model for first-order reactions, i.e., ln C0/C = kt) and the fitted parameters are given in Table

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

• superoxide anion radical (O2•−) and holes (h+) after performing multiple scavenging tests. Keywords: carbon dots; g-C3N4; photocatalytic degradation; sugarcane juice; sunlight; Introduction Carbon dots (CDs) predominantly consist of amorphous carbon together with nanocrystalline regions of sp2-hybridized

• irradiate photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutant (since CDs could act as a photosensitizer over the entire solar spectrum) and (ii) acknowledgement that the most reported bioprecursor-derived CDs and g-C3N4 composite are limited to the photocatalytic generation of H2 (instead limited attempts have

• properties. The CD/g-C3N4(0.5) exhibited the best photocatalytic degradation rate with 100% removal of BPA after 90 min of reaction. Pure g-C3N4 achieved relatively good degradation efficiency (68.2%) attributed to its visible light absorption capability (Table S1, Supporting Information File 1). A great

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

• intensively investigated in recent years, and various methods such as adsorption, biodegradation, photocatalytic degradation and chemical oxidation have been developed [1][2][3][4]. Among them, photocatalytic degradation is considered as one of the most effective strategies due to its high removal efficiency

• 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

• M2. TEM images of precipitated samples formed after addition of the AgNO3 solution after (a) 2 min, (b) 6 min, (c) 10 min, and (d) 20 min. (a) XPS spectra of M0 and M1; (b) XPS peaks of Ag 3d5/2 and Ag 3d3/2 of M1. (a) Photocatalytic degradation of oxytetracycline over M0, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5. (b

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

• mg of photocatalyst. As expected, the photocatalytic degradation rates increased with the catalyst dosage, which is linked to the concentration of adsorption sites and photocatalytically active sites (k = 0.010, 0.019 and 0.034 min−1 for reactions conducted with 25, 50 and 100 mg of photocatalyst

• photocatalytic degradation. (a) Effect of the catalyst concentration on the photodegradation efficiency (25, 50 or 100 mg of photocatalyst were dispersed in 50 mL of a 10 mg/L RhB solution). (b) Influence of RhB concentration on the photocatalytic efficiency (50 mg of photocatalyst and 50 mL of the dye solution

• scavengers on the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B under visible light irradiation (p-benzoquinone and t-BuOH were used at concentrations of 1 mM and 10 mM, respectively). Supporting Information Supporting Information File 188: Additional figures. Acknowledgements This work is supported by the

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

• photocatalytic degradation of adsorbed pollutants [48]. Several chemical and physical methods have been developed for the synthesis of graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites. One of the well-known methods for graphene oxide synthesis is Hummers’ method, which includes chemical oxidation of graphite flakes to

ZnO nanoparticles sensitized by CuInZn_xS_2+x quantum dots as highly efficient solar light driven photocatalysts

• Florian Donat,
• Serge Corbel,
• Halima Alem,
• Steve Pontvianne,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Ghouti Medjahdi and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1080–1093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.110

• composites prepared for the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants require a relatively large quantity of CIS nanocrystals to be complete (20 wt % CIS QDs relative to ZnO) [34][37]. When the ZCIS/ZnO weight ratio was decreased to ≈7%, the photodegradation never exceeded 80% even using a light source

• both under solar and visible light illumination (light intensity = 5 mW/cm2) of all the ZnO/ZCIS composites prepared, we selected Orange II dye as a model contaminant because this dye is not a photosensitizer (in contrast to Methylene Blue or Rhodamine which promote photocatalytic degradation). Prior

• concentration and catalyst loading We first evaluated the effect of the initial Orange II concentration (5, 10 or 20 mg/L) on the photocatalytic degradation (Figure 5a). As can be seen, the percentage of photodegradation increases when the initial concentration of the dye decreases. Considering the initial (C0

High photocatalytic activity of Fe₂O₃/TiO₂ nanocomposites prepared by photodeposition for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

• Shu Chin Lee,
• Hendrik O. Lintang and
• Leny Yuliati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 915–926, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.93

• Puncak Tidar N-01, Malang 65151, East Java, Indonesia 10.3762/bjnano.8.93 Abstract Two series of Fe2O3/TiO2 samples were prepared via impregnation and photodeposition methods. The effect of preparation method on the properties and performance of Fe2O3/TiO2 for photocatalytic degradation of 2,4

• be eliminated from the water source utilizing efficient approaches. Various removal methods of 2,4-D have been developed, including adsorption [24], biodegradation [25], ozonation [26], and photocatalytic degradation [15][20][21][22][27][28][29][30][31][32], of which the latter has been recognized

• transfer could suppress charge recombination on TiO2 [5][10][12][14][15], whereby the oxidation of 2,4-D still could occur in the VB of TiO2, and therefore, the photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-D could be improved. On the other hand, owing to the fast recombination of holes and electrons, the

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• of 12.1% with excellent thermal stability [209]. Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is a p-type semiconductor and is used for solar energy conversion, as sensors and for photocatalytic degradation. The controlled synthesis of Cu2O results in a vast palette of architectures including nanocubes, nanocages, nanowires

Investigation of the photocatalytic efficiency of tantalum alkoxy carboxylate-derived Ta₂O₅ nanoparticles in rhodamine B removal

• Subia Ambreen,
• Mohammad Danish,
• Narendra D. Pandey and
• Ashutosh Pandey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 604–613, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.65

• gel was left at room temperature for 24 h for aging. It was then dried at 90 °C for 12 h to remove the solvent and other volatile residues to provide a white to off-white powder, which after calcination afforded Ta2O5 nanoparticles. Photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B over Ta2O5 nanoparticles

• ]. Degradation of rhodamine B The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B by Ta2O5 nanoparticles under UV irradiation has been studied. The prepared nanoparticles decomposed the dye by a series of photochemical reactions. An electron–hole pair is generated when the semiconductor absorbs photons. These electron

• reasons for the difference of catalytic performances of nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were recycled from the reactions (after centrifugation, washing and drying) and reused, however, the efficiency of the reused catalysts was decreased by more than 50%. The mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of

Organoclay hybrid materials as precursors of porous ZnO/silica-clay heterostructures for photocatalytic applications

• Marwa Akkari,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Abdessalem Ben Haj Amara and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1971–1982, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.188

• devoted to study ZnO as a very promising catalyst in the photocatalytic degradation of water pollutants. This is because of its elevated activity, its low cost and, in particular, its environmentally friendly behavior [1][2]. It has been confirmed that ZnO compared to TiO2 exhibits better efficiency in the

• photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants [3][4][5][6]. It should be remembered that nanoparticulated zinc oxide is a wide-band gap II–VI semiconductor with a band-gap energy of around 3.4 eV, which is of great interest for photocatalytic applications [7]. ZnO nanoparticles (NP) have been assembled to

• activity of ZnO/SiO2-clay heterostructures compared to the ZnO-clay materials maybe related to the much higher specific surface area and the larger pore volume of the former. This could also lead to a removal of the pollutant by adsorption instead of just photocatalytic degradation. The current results