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

• Abstract To develop efficient and stable visible-light-driven (VLD) photocatalysts for pollutant degradation, we synthesized novel heterojunction photocatalysts comprised of AgI nanoparticle-decorated Ag2WO4 nanorods via a facile method. Various characterization techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX

• photocatalytic performance. Keywords: AgI/Ag2WO4; nanocomposites; photocatalysis; visible light; Introduction The development of high-performance novel photocatalysts for the degradation of pollutants has received great interest due to the worsening of environmental pollution [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11

• ]. However, achieving high efficiency for photocatalytic conversion under natural sunlight irradiation is still a great challenge because many catalysts only respond to ultraviolet (UV) light [5][12]. Exploring photocatalysts that can be driven by visible light, which comprises 43% of solar energy, is

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

• Wuhan, China Graduate School of Environmental Science, N10 W5, 060-0810 Sapporo, Japan Institute of Inorganic Technology and Environment Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Pulaskiego 10, 70-322 Szczecin, Poland 10.3762/bjnano.9.77 Abstract Commercial titania photocatalysts

• and sporulation by gold-modified titania. Although, the growth of fungi was hardly inhibited through disc diffusion (inhibition zones around discs), it indicates that gold does not penetrate into the media, and thus, a good stability of plasmonic photocatalysts has been confirmed. In summary, it was

• found that silver-modified titania showed superior antibacterial activity, whereas gold-modified samples were very active against fungi, suggesting that bimetallic photocatalysts containing both gold and silver should exhibit excellent antimicrobial properties. Keywords: antifungal properties

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

• the most widely exploited by taking advantage of their long-term stability and environmental non-toxicity, in addition to providing a low-cost alternative to the n-type semiconductor photocatalysts [14][15][16]. However, further application of these metal oxides is usually significantly limited by the

• becoming a key focus area for the design of novel and multifunctional materials in the field of photocatalysis. To date, unremitting efforts have been devoted to improving the photocatalysis efficiency [26][27][28][29]. Furthermore, coupling n-type semiconductor photocatalysts to p-type to form p–n

• photocatalysts which showed higher activity than single-phase BiOI or TiO2 and 50% BiOI possessed the best performance [32]. Jiang and co-workers used a chemical bath to produce ZnO/BiOI heterostructures. By tuning the ratio of Zn/Bi, they could rationally control the morphology, constituents and optical

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

• target gases [14][15][16]. In another research strategy to obtain high photocatalytic performance materials, ZnO, a wide-band gap semiconductor (Eg > 3 eV), can also be used as a suitable material for photocatalysts based on the particular plasmonic characteristics of the nanostructures. Herein, it was

• are expected to serve as a potential photocatalysts with highly effective performance. For instance, plasmonic Au NP/vertically aligned ZnO nanorod structures were proposed for water splitting, solar cells, and environmental remediation [17][18][19]. Ag/ZnO nanohybrid structures were synthesized and

• 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

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

• potential towards utilization of solar energy [1][2][3]. Therefore, extensive efforts have been made for the design and synthesis of highly efficient and stable photocatalyst systems over the past few decades [4][5][6][7]. Hence, the development of such photocatalysts with high stability and good activity

• their recombination rate [12][13]. The 2D–2D heterojunctions exhibit larger face-to-face contact area as compared with the line-to-face contact (1D–2D) and point-to-face contact (0D–2D) photocatalysts, which is responsible for their enhanced photocatalytic activity [14]. It is worth mentioning here that

• activity is limited to UV excitation only [35]. Recently, our group has reported a novel RGO–N–CaTiO3 (RGO-NCT) bifunctional photocatalyst which comprises both adsorption and photocatalytic properties [36]. The photocatalytic activity of RGO-NCT photocatalysts was evaluated by studying the degradation of

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

• that can be of value to the society through sustainable development derived through energy available for all for diverse applications. We have comprehensively prepared this review to specifically focus on fundamental insights into plasmonic photocatalysts, various synthesis routes, together with their

• strengths and weaknesses, and the interaction of the plasmonic photocatalyst with pollutants as well as the role of active radical generation and identification. The review ends with a pinnacle insight into future perspectives regarding realistic applications of plasmonic photocatalysts. Keywords

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

• achieve visible-light-activated photocatalysts. Another, actually surprising, way to improve the efficiency of solar-driven photocatalysis appeared in an application of ionic liquids (ILs) for TiO2 preparation [12][13][14]. Sometimes referred to as “solvents of the future”, ILs have induced a large and

• photocatalysts [12][13][36][37][38]. Interestingly, in all mentioned publications [12][13][36][37][38] the same ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF4]), was used. However, the proposed mechanisms were different. The photoactivity enhancement under visible-light irradiation was

• photocatalysts [38]. The only exception is our previous work [14], where three ILs composed of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium cation [BMIM] and bromide, hexafluorophosphate [PF6] and octylsulphate [OctSO4] anions were used. In contrast to [BMIM][BF4], the improved TiO2 photoactivity under visible-light irradiation

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

• Poznan, 60-780 Poznan, Poland Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences,01-224 Warsaw, Poland Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan 10.3762/bjnano.9.43 Abstract Nd-modified TiO2 photocatalysts have been obtained via hydrothermal (HT) and sol–hydrothermal

• TiO2, which leads to enhanced surface adsorption properties of TiO2 and indirectly increases the photocatalytic activity of the photocatalysts [13][14]. Moreover, it has been reported that the presence of RE ions slowed down the rate of the charge-carrier recombination processes [15]. Besides, RE ions

• . The Nd-modified TiO2 photocatalysts have been prepared using two different preparation routes, namely hydrothermal and sol–hydrothermal methods. The surface properties of these photocatalysts have been correlated with the preparation method as well as with the photoactivity in two model reactions

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 scientific community. To exploit solar light more efficiently, photocatalysts with narrow band gap (e.g., ZnSnO3 [2], Bi2WO6 [3], Ce(MoO4)2 [4] and ZnFe2O4 [5]) have been used, for absorbance of solar light in the visible region. Among ternary metal oxides, transition metal ferrites have drawn a

• 750 UV–vis spectrophotometer. Figure 14 shows the spectral changes after degradation for 60 min. Utilizing the Beer–Lambert law, the degradation was found to be 60% for ZFO-500. Conclusion ZnFe2O4 photocatalysts were successively fabricated by a facile solution-combustion method. XRD showed the

Photocatalytic and adsorption properties of TiO₂-pillared montmorillonite obtained by hydrothermally activated intercalation of titanium polyhydroxo complexes

• Mikhail F. Butman,
• Nikolay L. Ovchinnikov,
• Nikita S. Karasev,
• Nataliya E. Kochkina,
• Alexander V. Agafonov and
• Alexandr V. Vinogradov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 364–378, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.36

• . Keywords: adsorption; intercalation; mesoporosity; photocatalytic activity; pillared montmorillonite; titanium oxide; Introduction Titanium dioxide in its nanometer-sized form is one of the most promising modern photocatalysts [1]. However, the use of pure TiO2 nanoparticles is hindered by some

• results for the removal of the MO and RhB dyes in aqueous solution in the presence of produced photocatalysts under UV irradiation are shown in Figure 10 and Figure 11. These results indicate that the degradation of the MO and RhB dyes upon irradiation for 1 hour in the absence of photocatalysts was only

• -PMM800 (79% and 94%, respectively), and the lowest efficiency among all photocatalysts under study was shown by the TiO2-PMM500 sample, which removed about 62% MO and 89% RhB in 120 minutes. The photocatalyst series TiO2-PMMH500, TiO2-PMMH700, TiO2-PMMH800 features a reverse trend – removal rate

Anchoring of a dye precursor on NiO(001) studied by non-contact atomic force microscopy

• Sara Freund,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Nathalie Marinakis,
• Edwin C. Constable,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Catherine E. Housecroft and
• Thilo Glatzel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 242–249, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.26

• (II) oxide (NiO); non-contact atomic force microscopy; p-type semiconductor; sub-molecular resolution; Introduction Inorganic substrates functionalized with organic molecules are nowadays highly regarded materials for emerging hybrid technologies including molecular electronics, photocatalysts or

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

• materials are effective water splitting catalysts and produce up to 30 mmol of hydrogen per 24 h. Overall the article demonstrates that the combination of a renewable and robust scaffold such as B. mori silk with a photoactive material provides a promising approach to new monolithic photocatalysts that can

• described so far are powders or NPs. As a result, recycling is rather difficult and other photocatalysts that can more easily be recycled and are suited for continuous processes are necessary. For example, Liu et al. used a titanium sheet to make TiO2 nano-sheet films doped with different amounts of silver

• ]. Photocatalytic water splitting is among the most promising technologies for point-of-use H2 production and therefore a large number of photocatalysts have been developed [8][87][88][89][90]. As pointed out in the introduction, however, NP-based photocatalysts have disadvantages, for example in terms of recycling

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

• [38], easy flow control and improved mass and photon transfer in the reaction system [49][50][51][52][53]. The small volume of optofluidic systems reduces the diffusion time, dramatically increases the reaction rate on the photocatalyst surface, and reduces the consumption of expensive photocatalysts

• and enzymes. Therefore, this platform is also useful for the rapid screening of various photocatalysts [54][55][56][57][58][59]. Inexpensive, parallel tests are beneficial for the rare or expensive chemical reactions, too [60][61]. Moreover, for enzymatic reactions, the flow-based reaction has the

• regeneration) utilize the electrons on the reduction site, as shown in Figure 2. However, recombination of photoexcited electrons and holes may occur. Even after the electrons are moved to the surface of photocatalysts, some of them would be wasted due to recombination if the electrons are not used immediately

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

• 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

• improve the visible-light catalytic performance of Ag-based materials [8][9][10]. Among them, plasmonic photocatalysts consisting of Ag/AgX (X = Cl, Br, I) have exhibited improvement in separation of photogenerated electrons and holes [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. However, these Ag-based

• photocatalysts, Ag/AgX (X = Cl, Br, I), suffer from instability during the recycling application, mainly due to the decomposition of AgX (X = Cl, Br, I) under irradiation [19][20][21][22]. Therefore, the development of visible-light catalysts with both high catalytic activity and long-term stability is of great

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

• catalysts show high potential for real water decontamination. Keywords: CdSe nanorods; heterojunction; photocatalysis; TiO2; Introduction The development of efficient photocatalysts to address environmental and energy needs, such as degradation of harmful organic compounds in water and in the air or the

• ][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37], very little attention has been devoted to the influence of CdSe crystal morphology on the photocatalytic activity of the CdSe/TiO2 heterostructured photocatalysts. CdSe nanorods (NRs) and wires are of

• and TiO2 favors the transfer of electrons in the CB of TiO2 followed by the production of O2•− radicals (Figure 11b). Conclusion In this study, CdSe NRs with an average length of ≈120 nm were successfully associated to TiO2 particles to form heterostructured CdSe/TiO2 photocatalysts. Due to their

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

• . The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy (UV–vis). The photocatalytic activity of the

• , similar to what occurs in natural photosynthesis. Until now, the organics produced by such artificial photosynthesis include methane [2], formaldehyde [3], methanol [4], methyl formate [5], among others. Alkaline niobates, which are great potential photocatalysts, have been developed in virtue of their

• knowledge, there have been few reports about the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 using KNb3O8 nanosheets. In this paper, we describe the synthesis of composite photocatalysts comprised of ZnO quantum dots and KNb3O8 nanosheets, produced by hydrothermal synthesis. The as-prepared photocatalysts were tested

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

• alters the rate of chemical reactions, when exposed to light (photocatalyst) [1]. TiO2-based NPs have already found wide applications as efficient photocatalysts for sterilization, sanitation, air and water purification systems, hydrogen production by water splitting, and dye-sensitized solar cells [1

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

• carbon nitride-based nanocomposites as photocatalysts for energy and environmental applications is discussed in detail. This review concludes by highlighting the advantages and challenges involved in the use of two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalysis. Finally, the future

• separation rate of photogenerated charge carriers to enhance the quantum yield. Notably, such heterojunction formation with semiconductors also enhances the light absorption efficiency of photocatalysts from UV to visible region of the solar energy spectrum. Furthermore, it is noteworthy to mention here that

• the preparation of g-C3N4 based nanocomposites, which includes molecular self-assembly [93], microwave assisted heating [38], molten salt synthesis [94] and ionic liquid strategy [95]. 2D carbon-based nanocomposites as photocatalysts 2D graphene-based photocatalysts for energy generation

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

• air [1][2][3][4][5] and can also be used to produce energy vectors such as hydrogen from water [6][7][8]. Due to their strong catalytic activity, reasonable photo- and chemical stability, and weak toxicity, TiO2 and ZnO semiconductors are the most commonly used photocatalysts. However, their large

• bandgap (≈3.2–3.3 eV) restricts light activation to the UV range (which accounts for only ≈4% of the solar spectrum) for the generation of the charge carriers responsible for the surface redox reactions. To improve the efficient use of solar light, visible-light-responsive photocatalysts should be

• coupled to those of the QDs [10][11][12]. Heterostructured photocatalysts such as ZnO/CdS or TiO2/CdS or TiO2/PbS exhibit extended light absorption and improved photoreactivity due to the promoted separation of photo-induced charge carriers [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. However, QDs such as CdS or PbS

Assembly of metallic nanoparticle arrays on glass via nanoimprinting and thin-film dewetting

• Sun-Kyu Lee,
• Sori Hwang,
• Yoon-Kee Kim and
• Yong-Jun Oh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1049–1055, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.106

• surface [1][2]. Because it is a relatively simple process [3], this technique opens up numerous applications, such as high-density magnetic recording media [2][4], photovoltaic devices [5][6][7][8][9][10], photocatalysts [11] and catalysts for the fabrication of carbon nanotubes and nanowires. However

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

• have been widely suggested for environmental remediation under mild conditions. In the presence of only a photocatalyst and a light source of appropriate energy, the process can mineralize organic pollutants to harmless products such as carbon dioxide and water. Among the semiconductor photocatalysts

• of the best modifiers, the use of a co-catalyst has been recognized to improve the photocatalytic performance of semiconductor photocatalysts as it promotes charge separation and suppresses photocorrosion of the semiconductor photocatalyst [3][4]. One of the potential co-catalyst modifiers is iron

• (III) oxide (Fe2O3), which is nontoxic, stable, cost effective and found abundantly in the earth. It has been reported that Fe2O3 can be used to increase the photocatalytic activity or selectivity of semiconductor photocatalysts for degradation of organic pollutants [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14

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

• ), sensors, photocatalysts, removal of organic pollutants, etc. Recent studies have shown that a single graphene sheet (GS) has extraordinary electronic transport properties. One possible route to connecting those properties for application in electronics would be to prepare graphene-wrapped TMO NPs. In this

• synthesis, properties and applications of graphene–metal oxide composite NPs are discussed in detail [21]. The review by Yin et al. focusses on graphene–NP-based hybrid sensors [22], while Xiang et al. review the state of the art in graphene–semiconductor photocatalysts [23]. In this review, we

• then the TiO2 NPs were wrapped by graphene. These hybrids have high potential for photocatalytic application [72]. Zhang et al. have reported graphene-encapsulated TiO2 nanospheres as efficient photocatalysts for the decomposition of rhodamine B with an efficiency up to 91% in 90 min, which is much

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

• and CeO2, serve as potential photocatalysts [1][2][3][4]. The properties of the metal oxide nanoparticles (surface area, band gap, porosity) determine its photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic pollutants from water. Because of properties such as high refractive index and large band

Photocatalysis applications of some hybrid polymeric composites incorporating TiO₂ nanoparticles and their combinations with SiO₂/Fe₂O₃

• Andreea Laura Chibac,
• Tinca Buruiana,
• Violeta Melinte and
• Emil C. Buruiana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 272–286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.30

• pursued to reuse and reduce the expense caused by complex centrifugation or filtration steps of the nanostructured photocatalysts, for example, the preparation of TiO2 NPs with magnetic properties [27][28][29][30] or the immobilization of titania on/in diverse matrices such as glass, zeolite, ceramic

• maximization of the photocatalytic efficiency. An interesting route to reach this goal is the use of iron(III) added to titanium dioxide photocatalysts, which improves the photocatalytic activity under visible light reducing the recombination rates of the photo-excited carriers [38]. Also, the immobilization

• of TiO2 photocatalysts in a polymer matrix allowing a re-use seems to be beneficial in contrast to the colloidal photocatalytic systems. In fact, the fabrication of such composites from conjugated organic polymers (polypyrrole, polyaniline) and TiO2 NPs [39][40][41] or other polymer matrices as

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

• of the prepared heterostructures were characterized by diverse physico-chemical techniques (such as XRD, FTIR, TEM, FE-SEM). The efficiency of these new porous ZnO/SiO2-clay heterostructures as potential photocatalysts in the degradation of organic dyes and the removal of pharmaceutical drugs in

• immobilized and photoactive. To confirm this, the resulting ZnO/silica-clay heterostructured porous solids have been tested in photocatalytic experiments using water solutions of methylene blue (MB) dye or ibupofren drug, as models of organic pollutants, to prove their efficiency as photocatalysts for

• heterostructures acting as photocatalysts. Apparently, ZnO/SiO2-clay materials act as efficient photocatalysts as MB is completely degraded after 180 min of irradiation in presence of ZnO/SiO2-SEP or ZnO/SiO2-CLO heterostructures, and after only 120 min in presence of the ZnO/SiO2-TSM clay heterostructure. It