Effect of Gold Nanoparticles on the Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Performance of Au Modified BiVO_4

An efficient visible light driven photocatalyst, gold nanoparticles(NPs) modified Bi VO_4(Au/Bi VO_4), has been synthesized by deposition-precipitation with urea method. Au/Bi VO_4 exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity for phenol degradation underλ>400 nm irradiation but negligible activity underλ>535 nm,indicating that the surface plasmon resonance(SPR) effect is too weak for organic photodegradation. According to the photoelectrochemical results of the porous powder electrodes of Bi VO_4 and Au/Bi VO_4, the SPR effect of Au NPs has been assessed. The role of Au NPs as electron sinks or sources, which is controllable by incident photon energy and applied potentials, has been discussed.

Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Properties of Cu_2O-loaded Short TiO_2 Nanotube Array Electrode Prepared by Sonoelectrochemical Deposition

Copper and titanium remain relatively plentiful in earth crust.Therefore,using them in solar energy conversion technologies are of significant interest.In this work,cuprous oxide（Cu2O）-modified short TiO2 nanotube array electrode was prepared based on the following two design ideas:first,the short titania nanotubes obtained from sonoelectrochemical anodization possess excellent charge separation and transportation properties as well as desirable mechanical stability;second,the sonoelectrochemical deposition technique favours the improvement in the combination between Cu2O and TiO2 nanotubes,and favours the dispersion of Cu2O particles.UV-Vis absorption and photo-electronchemical measurements proved that the Cu2O coating extended the visible spectrum absorption and the solar spectrum-induced photocurrent response.Under AM1.5 irradiation,the photocurrent density of the composite electrode（i.e.sonoelectrochemical deposition for 5 min） was more than 4.75 times as high as the pure nanotube electrode.Comparing the photoactivity of the Cu2O/TiO2 electrode obtained using sonoelectrochemical deposition with others that synthesized using plain electrochemical deposition,the photocurrent density of the former electrode was 2.2 times higher than that of the latter when biased at 1.0 V（vs.Ag/AgCl）.The reproducible photocurrent response under intermittent illumination demonstrated the excellent stability of the composite electrode.Such kind of composite electrode material will have many potential applications in solar cell and other fields.

Preparation and Characterization of Freestanding Hierarchical Porous TiO_2 Monolith Modified with Graphene Oxide

Catalyst recovery is one of the most important aspects that restrict the application of Ti O_2 photocatalyst. In order to reduce restrictions and improve the photocatalytic efficiency, a hierarchical porous Ti O_2 monolith(PTM) with well-defined macroporous and homogeneous mesoporous structure was prepared by using a sol-gel phase separation method. P123 was used as the mesoporous template and graphene oxide was applied to increase the activity and integrity of the monolithic Ti O_2. According to scanning electron microscopy and the Barrett-Joyner-Halenda measurements, PTM_3 is mainly composed of 10 nm anatase crystallines with3.6 nm mesopores and 2-8 μm macropores. Further characterization suggests carbon and nitrogen have been maintained in the PTM during calcinations so as to induce the visible light activity. The PTM with 0.07 wt%graphene oxide dosage shows high efficiency for methyl orange(MO) decolorization under both full spectrum and visible light irradiation(λ >400 nm). Besides, the monolith remains intact and has good photocatalytic stability after four cyclic experiments.

Visible light responsive TiO_(2) modification with nonmetal elements

Developing visible light responsive(VLR)TiO_(2) photocatalysts is essential and attractive for the consideration of solar energy utilization.A large amount of work have shown TiO_(2) modified with several nonmetal elements having VLR performance,although according to DFT calculation,Asahi denied the VLR properties of fluorine,carbon,etc.in doping TiO_(2).Therefore,the origins of VLR activity desire further delicate discussion.In this mini-review,several strategies for VLR TiO_(2) modification have been introduced,including N doping or B/N codoping,surface modification with sensitizing matter such as carbonaceous or other organic substances,surface alkoxyls modification via a ligand-to-metal charge transfer(LMCT)process,and enhanced dye sensitization by fluorine modification.Besides doping,there are much more approaches to fabricate VLR TiO_(2) modified with nonmetal elements.However,it is still in demand to explore new methods to obtain more stable and efficient VLR TiO_(2) for practical application.