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

• nanocomposites. Keywords: nanocomposites; nanosheets; ion irradiation; photocatalysis; ZnO–CuO; Introduction Semiconductor nanocomposites have gained significant attention in the last few decades due to their widespread applications. Various physical and chemical methods such as carbothermal reduction [1

• -heterojunctions leading to a modification of optical and electronic properties, which finds promising applications in photocatalysis [30], sensors [31] and solar cells [32]. Several methods have been used to modify the optical, electrical and structural properties of nanostructured materials and nanocomposite

• lateral mass flow leading to the formation of larger nanorod like structures with increased width and distinct facets, as can be seen in Figure 1c and Figure 1d. The photocatalysis studies were carried out by taking MB and MO as model organic dyes to demonstrate the capability of ion beam engineering to

Morphological and structural characterization of single-crystal ZnO nanorod arrays on flexible and non-flexible substrates

• Omar F. Farhat,
• Mohd M. Halim,
• Mat J. Abdullah,
• Mohammed K. M. Ali and
• Nageh K. Allam

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 720–725, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.73

• membranes. Consequently, low-temperature fabrication routes are essential to maximize the benefits of the unique material architecture. The crystallinity of the ZnO nanorods must also be controlled for their application in photocatalysis and in dye-sensitized solar cells. Further, single crystals are

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

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

• through Pd NPs onto anatase TiO2 for the enhancement of visible-light-driven photocatalysis. Results and Discussion Synthesis of Pd/TiO2 through solar-assisted photodeposition The Pd/TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized through photodeposition using solar energy. The irradiation with sunlight was

Inorganic Janus particles for biomedical applications

• Isabel Schick,
• Steffen Lorenz,
• Dominik Gehrig,
• Stefan Tenzer,
• Wiebke Storck,
• Karl Fischer,
• Dennis Strand,
• Frédéric Laquai and
• Wolfgang Tremel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2346–2362, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.244

• to the optical transitions in amorphous TiO2 leading to enhanced optical absorption and, thus, generation of electron–hole pairs for photocatalysis (Figure 6a,b) [50]. Furthermore, plasmonic dye-sensitized solar cells based on Au@TiO2 nanostructures show remarkably enhanced power conversion

Donor–acceptor graphene-based hybrid materials facilitating photo-induced electron-transfer reactions

• Anastasios Stergiou,
• Georgia Pagona and
• Nikos Tagmatarchis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1580–1589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.170

• another novel nanohybrid material (Figure 9). A slow recombination of the photoexcited charges was identified and demonstrates the high potential of the hybrid material for immediate applications in photocatalysis as well as in solar energy conversion schemes [62]. The Ru(bpy)2(py)Cl–graphene hybrid

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

• ) in 4 h with respect to the initial concentration of the added cobalt salts was shown to be 5.6 times larger than that without graphene. Keywords: cobalt salts; earth-abundant catalyst; photocatalysis; photocatalytic hydrogen evolution; water-dispersible sulfonated-graphene; Introduction

Photocatalysis

• Rong Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1071–1072, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.119

• Rong Xu School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459 10.3762/bjnano.5.119 Keywords: photocatalysis; Finding long-term solutions to meet the growing energy demands of the human society is one of the greatest challenges of our

• age. Photocatalysis, a topic of many decades of attention, has recently received renewed and more intense interest in developing innovative solutions towards achieving our sustainability goal. Though immensely inspired by natural photosynthesis, the research on artificial photosynthesis is still in

• , two review articles present an excellent overview of the significance of nanostructures in visible light photocatalysis in a timely manner. Many materials aspects of photocatalysts influence the photocatalytic performance, such as the electronic, structural, and morphological features of the

DFT study of binding and electron transfer from colorless aromatic pollutants to a TiO₂ nanocluster: Application to photocatalytic degradation under visible light irradiation

• Corneliu I. Oprea,
• Petre Panait and
• Mihai A. Gîrţu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1016–1030, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.115

• what makes possible the photocatalysis under visible light irradiation. In order to better understand why this red-shift takes place, it is useful to plot the densities of states for all adsorbed pollutants. But before that we take a more careful look at Figure 7. The first (low energy/high wavelength

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

• nanoscale, i.e., materials with the same compositions but different phases with certain band alignment. We conclude this review with perspectives on nanostructure design that might direct future research of this technology. Keywords: functionalized nanostructures; hydrogen; photocatalysis; photocatalytic

Growth and characterization of CNT–TiO₂ heterostructures

• Yucheng Zhang,
• Ivo Utke,
• Johann Michler,
• Gabriele Ilari,
• Marta D. Rossell and
• Rolf Erni

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 946–955, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.108

• -effectively and environmentally friendly, is a good candidate for electrochemical photocatalysis [6], recent research shows that its limited absorption of only the UV part of the sunlight spectrum can be extended to visible light when forming a nanocomposite with CNTs [7][8][9]. This can significantly

• increase the efficiency of electrochemical photocatalysis, and benefits largely in areas such as acquiring sustainable energy and preventing environmental pollution. In this context, this paper reviews growth of metal and/or metal oxide particles on CNTs and the characterisation by using analytical

• transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques with a focus on the TiO2–CNT material system. The mechanisms of efficiency enhancement for photocatalysis by using the ensemble are reviewed. Methods to fabricate nanocomposites consisting of CNTs and metal/metal oxides are surveyed. In particular, an atomic

Optical modeling-assisted characterization of dye-sensitized solar cells using TiO₂ nanotube arrays as photoanodes

• Jung-Ho Yun,
• Il Ku Kim,
• Yun Hau Ng,
• Lianzhou Wang and
• Rose Amal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 895–902, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.102

• ) revealed that the amount of dye and TNT lengths were critical factors influencing the performance of DSSCs, which is consistent with the experimental results. Keywords: charge generation; dye-sensitized solar cells; generalized transfer matrix method; optical process; photocatalysis; TiO2 nanotubes

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

• ; graphene oxide; H2 evolution; photocatalysis; photoreduction; sp2 conjugated domains; Introduction Hydrogen is an efficient and green energy carrier. Photocatalytic water splitting into hydrogen by means of solar energy and semiconductor photocatalysts is a environmentally friendly way to produce storable

Biomolecule-assisted synthesis of carbon nitride and sulfur-doped carbon nitride heterojunction nanosheets: An efficient heterojunction photocatalyst for photoelectrochemical applications

• Hua Bing Tao,
• Hong Bin Yang,
• Jiazang Chen,
• Jianwei Miao and
• Bin Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 770–777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.89

• : graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4); heterojunction; photoelectrochemical; photocatalysis; sulfur doping; Introduction Over the past few years, graphitic carbon nitride (CN) has attracted significant research attention in visible-light-driven photocatalysis because of its unique physical and chemical

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

• turnover numbers (TON ca. 1200) and turnover frequencies up to TOF ca. 3.44 min−1 are observed, illustrating the practical applicability of the cluster species. Keywords: photocatalysis; photooxidation; polyoxometalate; self-assembly; vanadium oxide; Introduction The bottom-up self-assembly of molecular

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

• photocatalysts has recently attracted a lot of interest. The photosensitization of transition metal oxides is a promising approach for achieving effective visible-light photocatalysis. This review article primarily discusses the recent progress in the realm of a variety of nanostructured photosensitizers such as

• dots; transition metal oxides; visible-light photocatalysis; Introduction In response to the decreasing supply of fossil fuels and the environmental problems caused by their exploitation, the search for a renewable and sustainable energy supply has been intensified in the past decades. Solar energy is

• clean and abundant, yet its utilization is still very low. There is a strong need for scientists to develop a sustainable and cost-effective manner for harvesting solar energy to satisfy the growing energy demand of the world with a minimal environmental impact. Photocatalysis plays an important role

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

• light irradiation. Keywords: anodic oxidation; graphene quantum dots; photocatalyst; photodegradation; TiO2 nanotube arrays; Introduction Semiconductor-mediated photocatalysis is a promising technique for the conversion of solar energy as well as degradation of organic pollutants in air and water [1

• suppressed because of the one-dimensional nature of the tubes [8]. Moreover, nanotube layers do have higher surface area for more active reaction sites over the bulk nanoparticle layers [9] and they were shown to be more efficient in photocatalysis [10]. Since TNAs can be grown directly on a conducting Ti

• visible-light-driven photocatalysis [35][36]. Very recently, the combination of GQDs with CdS-modified TNAs was reported for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. However, GQDs did not enhance the activity of bare TNAs in the study [37]. GQDs have also been chemically coupled with ZnO nanowires for

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

• . Considering the universalities of microemulsion, precipitation, and hydrothermal methods, this work may also provide a prototype for the comparative study of semiconductor based photocatalysis for water purification and environmental remediation. Keywords: microemulsion method; nanoparticles; photocatalysis

• ; 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

• corresponding colour of Ag2CrO4 after five circles of photocatalytic reaction is displayed in Figure 9d. It was found that the absorbance intensity in the visible-light region largely increased, which could be ascribed to the darkened colour of Ag2CrO4 after photocatalysis, resulting from the silver

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

• photocatalytic degradation efficiency, which has been found to increase with the extent of Ag nanoparticle loading. Keywords: Ag–ZnO; hybrid plasmonic nanostructures; photocatalysis; Introduction The removal of hazardous materials such as dyes and organic compounds from waste water has attracted ever

• increasing attention over the years. Semiconductor photocatalysis is one of the most important technologies used for the complete mineralization of a wide range of organic dyes and toxic chemicals. ZnO, a wide band gap semiconductor with large excitonic binding energy is suitable for diverse applications

• of their recombination rate [19]. Secondly, noble metal nanoparticles on ZnO exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption of light which can have significant impact on semiconductor photocatalysis. The LSPR wavelength of noble metal nanoparticles can be tuned from near UV to the

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

• tested in this study. Keywords: artificial sunlight; light irradiation effects; photo-epoxidation; ultraviolet (UV) light; V-Ti/MCM-41 photocatalyst; Introduction It is agreed that light, especially its wavelength spectrum and intensity, is a crucial factor for efficient photocatalysis. A

• photocatalytic reaction occurs only when the illumination with light enables the generation of highly reactive species such as hydroxyl radicals (OH•) and oxy radicals (O•) [1]. The light intensity in photocatalysis has attracted considerable attention. The positive effect of increasing the light intensity on

• photocatalysis process is under debate, and both the intensity and the exposure time to light irradiation need to be considered [4][10]. In the photo-decomposition of organic species and the inactivation of bacteria under ultraviolet sources (UV-A and UV-C), low-intensity light with long exposure times resulted

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

• and solar energy absorption processes by providing higher surface areas and more effective charge separation in semiconductor materials on the nanoscale. In fact, the commercially available Degussa P25 mixed-phase TiO2 is commonly employed as a benchmark in photocatalysis for applications ranging from

Applicability and costs of nanofiltration in combination with photocatalysis for the treatment of dye house effluents

• Wolfgang M. Samhaber and
• Minh Tan Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 476–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.55

• Nanofiltration (NF) is a capable method for the separation of dyes, which can support and even improve the applicability of photocatalysis in effluent-treatment processes. The membrane process usually will need a special pre-treatment to avoid precipitation and fouling on the membrane surface. Conceptually NF

• prove the usefulness of those concepts. Different applications of photocatalysis on the lab-scale have been published in recent years. Membrane technology is used almost in all those processes and an overview will be given of those recently published systems that have been reported to be potentially

• usefully adjusted and designed plants range from 1 to 6 US$/m3 treated effluent. Combination concepts will have a good precondition for further development and upscaling, if the NF costs discussed here in detail will be, together with the costs of photocatalysis, economically acceptable. Keywords: dye

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

• particle bridge. Keywords: charge transfer; dye-sensitization; photocatalysis; photocatalyst; solar fuels; water splitting; Introduction Since Honda and Fujishima reported the effective hydrogen evolution from water splitting by a TiO2 and Pt electrode in a photoelectrochemical cell in the early 1970s [1

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

• Liang Wei Yongjuan Chen Jialin Zhao Zhaohui Li Research Institute of Photocatalysis, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis–State Key Laboratory Breeding Base, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002, P. R. China 10.3762/bjnano.4.107 Abstract In this study, NiS/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites were

• loading amount of 0.5 wt %. This work demonstrates a high potential of the developing of environmental friendly, cheap noble-metal-free co-catalyst for semiconductor-based photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Keywords: co-catalyst; hydrogen evolution; NiS; photocatalytic; photocatalysis; visible light

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

• efficiency to photocatalytically degrade of MB. Keywords: ageing; nanoparticles; nanosheets; photocatalysis; ZnO; Introduction Water contamination due to hazardous water soluble organic dyes and chemicals poses a severe threat to the environment. The excess azo dyes in effluents from textile and dyeing

• treatment, these azo dyes may generate carcinogenic compounds such as aromatic amines. Because of this, purification and detoxification of industrial waste water has been one of the major challenges. Several methods such as adsorption, filtration, sedimentation and photocatalysis are used for the removal of

• synthesized by Umar et al. [31] for an efficient photocatalysis and the fabrication of efficient dye sensitized solar cells. Shi et al. [33] fabricated flower-like ZnO on ZnO nanorods without use of any surfactant. Self-supported ZnO photocatalysts in the form of plates were prepared by Yassitepe et al. [24