Project description:In this work, CeO2 nanosheets decorated with Ag2O and AgBr are successfully fabricated via a simple sediment-precipitation method. The as-prepared ternary Ag2O/AgBr-CeO2 composite with double Z-scheme construction was analyzed by various analytical techniques. Ag nanoparticles (NPs) used as the electron medium could reduce the recombination of photoelectrons and holes, thus leading to the improvement of photocatalytic performance of these catalysts. Due to the unique structure and composite advantages, the optimal Ag2O/AgBr-CeO2 photocatalysts exhibit the superior tetracycline (TC) degradation efficiency of 93.23% and favorable stability with near-initial capacity under visible light irradiation. This ternary Z-scheme structure materials will be the well-promising photocatalysts or the purification of antibiotic wastewater.
Project description:A novel visible-light-driven Z-scheme heterojunction, Bi2WO6/Ag2S/ZnS, was synthesized and its photocatalytic activity was evaluated for the treatment of a binary mixture of dyes, and its physicochemical properties were characterized using FT-IR, XRD, DRS and FE-SEM techniques. The Bi2WO6/Ag2S/ZnS Z-scheme heterojunctions not only facilitate the charge separation and transfer, but also maintain the redox ability of their components. The superior photocatalytic activity demonstrated by the Z-scheme Bi2WO6/Ag2S/ZnS attributes its unique properties such as the rapid generation of electron-hole pairs, slow recombination rate, and narrow bandgap. The performance of the Bi2WO6/Ag2S/ZnS was evaluated for the simultaneous degradation of methyl green (MG) and auramine-O (AO) dyes, while the influences of the initial MG concentration (4-12 mg L-1), initial AO concentration (2-6 mg L-1), pH (3-9), irradiation time (60-120 min) and photocatalyst dosage (0.008-0.016 g L-1) were investigated through the response surface methodology. The desirability function approach was applied to optimize the process and results revealed that maximum photocatalytic degradation efficiency was obtained at optimum conditions including 6.08 mg L-1 of initial MG concentration, 4.04 mg L-1 of initial AO concentration, 7.25 of pH, 90.58 min of irradiation time and 0.013 g L-1 of photocatalyst dosage. In addition, a possible photocatalytic mechanism of the Bi2WO6/Ag2S/ZnS heterojunction was proposed based on the photoinduced charge carriers.
Project description:Visible-light-driven Ag3PO4/graphite-like carbon nitride/Ag2WO4 photocatalysts with different weight fractions of Ag3PO4 were synthesized. Ag2WO4 nanorods with a scale of 500 nm to 3 μm were prepared by using a hydrothermal reaction. Via a facile deposition-precipitation technique, graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) quantum dots and Ag3PO4 nanocrystals were then deposited onto the surface of Ag2WO4 nanorods sequentially. Under visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), the Ag3PO4/g-C3N4/Ag2WO4 nanorods degraded Rh B efficiently and displayed much higher photocatalytic activity than that of pure Ag2WO4 and the g-C3N4/Ag2WO4 composite, and the Ag3PO4/g-C3N4/Ag2WO4 hybrid photocatalyst with 30 wt% of Ag3PO4 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. The quenching effects of different scavengers demonstrated that reactive h+ and ·O2- played the major roles in Rh B degradation. It was elucidated that the excellent photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4/g-C3N4/Ag2WO4 for the degradation of Rh B under visible light (λ > 420 nm) can be ascribed to the efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes through the Ag3PO4/g-C3N4/Ag2WO4 heterostructure.
Project description:This study is on photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical residues of atenolol (ATL) and acetaminophen (ACT) present in secondary effluent under visible light irradiation stimulated by Ag doped ZnO (Ag-ZnO) photocatalyst. Lawsonia inermis leaf extract was used for reduction of Zinc sulphate to ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). Further, ZnO NPs were doped with Ag and characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, surface area analyzer, UV-Vis, and photoluminescence spectrometry to analyze the structure, morphology, chemical composition, and optical property. FT-IR analysis revealed major functional groups such as OH, C=O, and SEM analysis depicted the polyhedron shape of the NPs with size range of 100 nm. Ag-ZnO NPs were used in the photocatalytic degradation of ATL and ACT, and its removal was evaluated by varying initial contaminant concentration, catalyst dosage, and initial pH. Findings indicate that Ag-ZnO NPs demonstrated relative narrow bandgap and efficient charge separation that resulted in enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light illumination. The photocatalytic degradation of ATL and ACT fitted well with pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Further, it was found that under optimal conditions of 5 mg/L of contaminants, pH of 8.5, and catalyst dose of 1 g/L, degradation efficiency of 70.2% (ATL) and 90.8% (ACT) was achieved for a reaction time of 120 min. More than 60% reduction in TOC was observed for both contaminants and OH• pathway was found to be the major removal process. Ag-ZnO photocatalyst showed good recycling performance, and these findings indicate that it could be cost effectively employed for removing emerging contaminants under visible light radiation.
Project description:WO3/Ag3PO4 with different weight ratios were prepared by ultrasonic assisted two-step deposition method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The photocatalytic activities of all samples were evaluated by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. WA-60 shows the highest photocatalytic activity in the WA-x series composite, while the photocatalytic activity of WAA-60 is the best among all samples. The free radical trapping experiments show that photogenerated holes (h+) are the main active species. The Ag nanoparticles produced by the decomposition of Ag3PO4 are located at the interface of Ag3PO4/WO3, which promotes the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. To further explain the photocatalytic mechanism, electrochemical and physical tests are introduced to explore the flow of electrons inside the catalyst.
Project description:The BiVO4 photocatalyst plays a very important role in photocatalytic reactions attributed to its unique crystalline structure, size, morphology and surface area. Herein, we report a facet-dependent monoclinic scheelite BiVO4 (m-BiVO4) photocatalyst with uniform truncated square (18 sided) hexagonal bipyramidal shape synthesized by a template-free and surfactant-free solvothermal method using ethylene glycol solvent under cost-effective and mild reactions. The structural, morphological and optical properties of the m-BiVO4 photocatalyst are widely characterized. The photocatalytic activity of the m-BiVO4 photocatalyst is tested towards 20 ppm methylene blue (MB) dye aqueous solution as a pollutant model under visible light irradiation. Enhanced visible-light driven photoactivity with dye degradation efficiency of approx. 91% at a rate of 0.388 × 10-2 min-1 is obtained, presumably due to the presence of high-active (040) facets. Zebrafish embryo toxicity test of treated MB dye solution reveals the degradation and toxicity reduction of the MB dye. Moreover, the recycling experiment validates that the m-BiVO4 photocatalyst has a great structural stability with reliable performance. This work may provide a lucid and expedient strategy to synthesize highly crystalline (040) facet-dependent semiconductor photocatalyst toward dye degradation and obviously industrial wastewater remediation.
Project description:Ternary NiO/Ag/TiO2 heterojunction photocatalyst was prepared by deposition coprecipitation for visible light photocatalytic applications. Physicochemical properties of the synthesized NiO/Ag/TiO2 composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurement method, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique, and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy. The results suggest that the well-dispersed small metallic silver nanoparticles (<3 nm) facilitate electron transfer and bridge nickel oxide and titanium oxide. The photocatalytic degradation and the methylene blue (MB) dye kinetics were carried out on a ternary NiO/Ag/TiO2 composite and compared to bare TiO2 under visible light irradiation. The results indicate that NiO/Ag/TiO2 has superior MB photodegradation efficiency with a high reaction rate constant and low degradation time (93.15% within 60 min) compared to Ag/TiO2, NiO/TiO2, and bare TiO2. NiO/Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite was also investigated for the most common pharmaceutical waste degradation and exhibited excellent degradation efficiency. The enhancement of the composite's performance could be attributed to the surface plasmonic resonance of the Ag nanoparticles, the formation of Schottky junctions at the Ag-TiO2 and Ag-NiO interface, and the p-n heterojunction between NiO and TiO2. Ag NPs act as a photosynthesizer and a photocatalyst, facilitate electron transfer, shift the absorption to the visible light region, reduce the band gap of TiO2, suppress the electron-hole recombination, and enhance the photocatalytic activity and stability as a result.
Project description:Three-dimensional hierarchical mesoporous structures of titanium dioxide (3D-HPT) were synthesized by self-assembly emulsion polymerization. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and pluronic 123 (P123) were used as the soft templates and co-templates for assisting the formation of hierarchical 3D porous structures. The TiO2 crystal structure, morphology, and Remazol red dye degradation were investigated. The 3D-HPT and normal three-dimensional titanium dioxide (3D-T) presented the good connection of the nanoparticle-linked honeycomb within the form of anatase. The 3D-HPT structure showed greatly enhanced adsorption of Remazol dye, and facilitated the efficient photocatalytic breakdown of the dye. Surprisingly, 3D-HPT can adsorb approximately 40% of 24 ppm Remazol dye in the dark, which is superior to 3D-T and the commercial anatase at the same condition (approx. 5%). Moreover, 3D-HPT can completely decolorize Remazol dye within just 20 min, which is more than three folds faster than the commercial anatase, making it one of the most active photocatalysts that have been reported for degradation of Remazol dye. The superior photocatalytic performance is attributed to the higher specific surface area, amplified light-harvesting efficiency, and enhanced adsorption capacity into the hierarchical 3D inverse opal structure compared to the commercial anatase TiO2.
Project description:Membrane technology is an advanced approach to making a healthier and cleaner environment. Using such catalytic membrane technology to get clean, usable water by removal of dye impurities as well as pathogenic microbes is the main goal behind the research work. Here, we present the synthesis and efficacy study of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based Ag/ZnO/TiO2 trimetallic bifunctional nanofibers with antibacterial and photocatalytic activity. The nanofibers have been proven to be effective for the degradation of methylene blue (MB 93.4%), rhodamine B (Rh 34.6%), auramine-O (Au 65.0%) and fuchsin basic (FB 69.8%) dyes individually within 90 min in daylight. The study is further extended in abating a mixture of these dyes from contaminated water using composite nanofibers. Also, in the case of a mixture of these dyes (3 ppm each), nanofibers show dye degradation efficiency (DDE) of 90.9% (MB), 62.4% (Au) and 90.3% (FB and Rh) in 60 min. The role of Ag nanoparticles with a synergic photocatalytic effect on ZnO and TiO2 is also demonstrated. Also, PMMA/ZnO/TiO2 composite fiber membrane in synergy with silver particles shows better antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria E. coli, making PMMA/Ag/ZnO/TiO2 fibers a promising candidate in water purification.
Project description:A Z-scheme system In2S3/WO3 heterojunction was fabricated via a mild hydrothermal method and further applied for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TCH) and Rhodamine B (Rh B) under visible light irradiation. The morphological structure, chemical composition and optical properties were studied by XRD, SEM, HRTEM and UV-visible absorption spectra. The results revealed that In2S3/WO3 hierarchical structures were successfully constructed, and the prepared In2S3/WO3 photocatalysts exhibited enhanced visible-light absorption compared to pure WO3 nanorods, which are essential to improve the photocatalytic performance. The degradation rate of TCH using the In2S3(40 wt%)/WO3 heterostructure (WI40) photocatalyst was about 212 times and 22 times as high as that for pure WO3 and pure In2S3, respectively. The degradation rate of Rh B with the WI40 photocatalyst was about 56 times the efficiency of pure WO3 and 7.6 times that of pure In2S3. The results of the surface photovoltage (SPV), transient photovoltage (TPV) and reactive oxidation species (ROS) scavenger experiments indicated that the Z-scheme system of In2S3/WO3 is favorable for photoexcited charge transfer at the contact interface of In2S3 and WO3, which benefits the charge separation efficiency and depresses the recombination of photoexcited charge, resulting in favorable photocatalytic pollutant degradation efficiency under visible light irradiation.