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In this work, a novel lignin-based carbon/ZnO (LC/ZnO) hybrid composite with excellent photocatalytic performance was prepared through a convenient and environment friendly method using alkali lignin (AL) as carbon source. The morphological, microstructure and optical properties of the as-prepared LC/ZnO hybrid composite was characterized with scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman and UV–vis. The resulting LC/ZnO hybrid is composed of highly dispersed ZnO nanoparticles embedded on a lignin-based carbon nanosheet, showing excellent photogenerated electrons and holes separation and migration efficiency. The photocatalytic activity of LC/ZnO was much higher than the pure ZnO. The LC/ZnO hybrid composite showed different photocatalytic mechanism for degradation of negative methyl orange (MO) and positive Rhodamine B (RhB). It showed that h + was the main photocatalytic active group during the degradation of MO, ·O 2 − and ·OH were the photocatalytic active groups during degradation of RhB. This reported photocatalyst with selective degradation of positive and negative organic dyes may have a great application prospect for photoelectric conversion and catalytic materials. Results of this work were of practical importance for high-valued utilization of lignin for carbon materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Plamonic Ag@AgCl was intercalated in the layered space of K4Nb6O17. [•] Ag@AgCl greatly increased visible light absorption for K4Nb6O17. [•] The plamonic photocatalysts exhibited enhanced activity for the degradation of RhB. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report a simple mechanochemical ball milling method for synthesizing monodisperse CuS quantum dots (QDs) with sizes as small as sub-5 nm. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV–vis spectroscopy. The CuS QDs exhibited excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity and stability for degradation of Rodanmine B aqueous solution as Fenton-like reagents. Our study opens the opportunity to low-cost and facile synthesis of QDs in large scale for future industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The low-cost Cu 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction is constructed by simple hydrothermal method. • Cu 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 exhibited synergistic effects of thermalcatalysis and photocatalysis. • The overpotential reduce by 0.34 V in ILs than KHCO 3 electrolyte. • We provided strategy of CO 2 reduction to ethanol assisted by ILs under thermal field. Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction is a potential way to address simultaneously environmental pollution and energy shortage. However, the difficulties of CO 2 activation and C C coupling lead to quite low conversion efficiency of CO 2 to C2 products. In this study, we constructed Cu 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction for photocatalytic CO 2 reduction to ethanol by coupling thermal field and ionic liquids (ILs). The ethanol rate reached 0.71 mmol·g−1·h−1 over Cu 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 under photothermalcatalysis, which is 1.89 times that of photocatalysis and 7.05 times that of thermal catalysis. The temperature enhanced thermal motion of the radical, which promotes the formation of ethanol through the ·CH 3 dimerization. The 1-aminopropyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ILs shows superior CO 2 reduction performance with a high current density (21.3 mA·cm−2) than KHCO 3 electrolyte (12.8 mA·cm−2). The overpotential is reduced by 0.34 V, which accelerates CO 2 reduction by reducing polarization. It is found that the ILs played a key role in suppressing H 2 O reduction and increasing ethanol yield in this photothermalcatalytic strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]