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Herein, a ternary Bi 2 O 3 –CuO–CuBi 2 O 4 photocatalyst was synthesized by the solvothermal deposition via the adjustment of Cu/Bi concentration ratio. The Bi 2 O 3 –CuO (5%) with the 5% of Cu/Bi concentration ratio exhibited dramatically high solar/visible light-driven photocatalytic activity, and the photocatalytic rate was 2.69/2.06 and 2.39/1.75 folds of pure Bi 2 O 3 photocatalysts toward rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) photodegradation, which was ascribed to the high solar absorption and low interface resistance. In addition, the •O 2 − and •OH radicals were defected to be the active species for the dye degradation, and then the Z-scheme heterojunction scheme was proposed to explain the photocatalytic result. The prepared sample photoelectrode also displayed the attractive photoelectric conversion capacity. The investigation indeed confirms that the novel ternary Bi 2 O 3 –CuO–CuBi 2 O 4 photocatalysts exhibit wide application prospect in wastewater remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of ternary metal oxide to improve photoelectrochemical performances of TiO 2 photocatalysts is the hot topic in environmental and resource applications. Herein, Bi 2 Sn 2 O 7 nanoparticles were deposited on TiO 2 nanotube arrays (TiO 2 NTAs) by the solvothermal technology only by changing reagent concentration. The solar absorption region of TiO 2 NTAs was obviously extended into visible light after Bi 2 Sn 2 O 7 sensitization, and the photoelectric performance was also significantly improved. The high visible light photocurrent density and photovoltage achieved 30.24 μA/cm2 and -0.19 V, and the interface resistance was reduced that benefited the rapid electron transportation. The photocatalytic performances of methyl orange (MO), rhodamine b (RhB), methylene blue (MB) and Cr (VI) removal were enhanced, and 63.76%, 77.34%, 100% and 100% of these pollutants were photoremoved under solar irradiation. Moreover, the construction of direct Z-scheme Bi 2 Sn 2 O 7 /TiO 2 NTAs heterojunction was beneficial to the photoelectron transfer and active radical formation, and the experimental results indicated that •OH and •O 2 - were the decisive species for the dye degradation. The samples also exhibited outstanding photocatalytic water splitting for H 2 evolution, and the high efficiency (306.36 μmol·cm−2·h−1) and stability were confirmed. The excellent photocatalytic performances of the Bi 2 Sn 2 O 7 /TiO 2 NTAs photoelectrodes showed extensive potential applications in environmental pollution and green resource exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO 2 nanotube arrays (TiO 2 NTs) were regarded as the outstanding semiconductors for the photocatalytic application in waste water treatment and H 2 generation, and CdS nanoparticles as the visible light sensitizers were traditionally used to enhance the photocatalytic performance. In this paper, CdS–CuS co-sensitizers were deposited on TiO 2 NTs by one-pot hydrothermal method, and the Cu/Cd ratio was changed to adjust the hybrid photocatalyst composition and electron transfer. The photocatalytic data indicated that suitable CdS–CuS composition could effectively enhance the photocatalytic pollutant removal and photocurrent/H 2 evolution and the hybrid photocatalyst also exhibited the high stability by the inhibition of CdS photocorrosion. The p-n heterojunction construction of TiO 2 NTs/CdS–CuS benefited the solar response, photoelectron separation and photocatalytic reaction, and the photocatalytic mechanism and photoelectron transfer were investigated. The p-n heterojunctional photocatalyst is supposed to apply in environmental remediation and new energy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanofunctional photocatalysts are attractive materials in solar energy transformation for environmental protection and green energy source generation. TiO 2 nanoparticles are the most prospective photocatalysts due to the high photoactive property. In this paper, Ag nanoparticle-sensitized TiO 2 nanotube arrays (Ag/TiO 2 NTAs) were constructed as the photoelectrochemical platform for pollutant removal and hydrogen generation. TiO 2 NTAs were firstly obtained by the anodization method, and carbon layer was formed by the hydrothermal carbonization of glucose in different concentrations, and then Ag nanoparticles were deposited by carbon reduction of Ag+. Ag/TiO 2 NTAs could effectively decompose organic dye molecules and remove toxic heavy metal ions. The samples also could achieve visible light photocurrent and hydrogen generation. The surface plasmon resonance absorption and electron transfer path of Ag nanoparticles benefit photochemical performance improvement of TiO 2 NTAs. The construction of multifunctional platform of Ag/TiO 2 NTAs would cause extensive response and focus in the synergistic applications of semiconductor photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production was recognized as an effective strategy to obtain renewable energy for solving the environmental pollution and resource shortage crisis. Herein, we explored the solvothermal deposition method to successfully prepare blanket-like Bi 2 MoO 6 coated on TiO 2 nanotube arrays (TiO 2 NTA/Bi 2 MoO 6), and the TiO 2 NTA/Bi 2 MoO 6 photocatalyst showed outstanding visible light-driven photocatalytic water splitting capacity, and the hydrogen evolution rate achieved 129.26 μmol h-1 cm-2. Moreover, the sample also exhibited high photocatalytic pollutant decomposition performance. The remarkable photocatalytic performance was attributed to the synergistic effect of Bi 2 MoO 6 and TiO 2 NTA in the matched energy band location for solar absorption and carrier transportation. The synthesis and photocatalytic water splitting of Bi 2 MoO 6 /TiO 2 NTA could afford the reproducible lesson for novel resource utilization of semiconductor photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO 2 nanotube arrays (TiO 2 NTAs) were mainly synthesized by the anodization of Ti foils, and the Ti mesh anodization was little researched. TiO 2 NTAs/Ti mesh showed remarkably high photocatalytic performance in pollutant treatment and photocurrent/hydrogen generation. In this paper, TiO 2 NTAs were synthesized on flexible three dimensional Ti mesh surface, and CdS/PbS sensitizers covered TiO 2 NTAs by the hydrothermal deposition. Especially, the S –CdS photocatalyst prepared by CdS sensitization showed strong photocurrent and photocatalytic pollutant removal capacity. RhB, MB dyes and Cr(VI) ions were effectively purified under solar irradiation, and samples also showed excellent visible light-driven photoelectric ability. Furthermore, the S –PbS photocatalyst prepared by PbS sensitization showed high photocatalytic water splitting performance. The functional material offers a flexible, low cost and high photocatalytic membrane for waste water treatment and photocurrent/hydrogen generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a green Fe-doped TiO 2 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized on Ti mesh through the chemical impregnation and anodization method. The influence of sample Fe-content on the photocatalytic performance was investigated in detail. Ordered TiO 2 nanomesh was compactly decorated with nanospheres to form a novel photocatalyst Fe-doped TiO 2 with anatase phase. Simultaneously, it exhibits higher light absorption intensity compared to the pristine TiO 2 within the visible light range, and its absorption peak has a redshift. The VSM results showed that the sample has excellent magnetic properties. It is hard to achieve magnetic agglomeration after magnetic field removal, which benefits the strong recyclability and reusability of Fe-doped TiO 2 photocatalyst. Importantly, this higher visible-light photoresponse of TiO 2 was clearly obtained after Fe doping. When the Fe-content was 0.6 wt%, the degradation rate of methylene blue reached 87.9% under simulated sunlight irradiation for 2.5 h. The prepared nanocrystalline photocatalyst demonstrated excellent photocatalysis because of its prominent crystal morphology, strengthen light-absorption capacity, and commendable inhibition recombination of photo-induced electron-hole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]