Construction of charge transfer chain in Bi_(12)TiO_(20)-Bi_(4)Ti_(3)O_(12)/α-Bi_(2)O_(3)composites to accelerate photogenerated charge separation

Photogenerated charge separation and transfer is one of the bottleneck steps in photocatalysis,and efficient charge separation strategies are strongly desired.Here,mimicking the electron transport chain in natural photosynthesis,we report the design and fabrication of a charge transfer chain using bismuth-based semiconductor as a proof-of-concept.In view of the thermodynamic energy band positions and structural similarity based on the density functional theory(DFT)analysis,heterostructured combination ofα-Bi_(2)O_(3),perovskite-like Bi_(4)Ti_(3)O_(12),and sillenite Bi12TiO20 was designed for fabrication of charge transfer chain.By tuning the molar ratio of Bi and Ti precursors,the Bi_(4)Ti_(3)O_(12)and Bi12TiO20 particles were formed on the surface ofα-Bi_(2)O_(3)by an insitu transformation process,giving rise to Bi_(12)TiO_(20)-Bi_(4)Ti_(3)O_(12)/α-Bi_(2)O_(3)composites with charge transfer chain.We propose that the effective charge transfer is accomplished amongα-Bi_(2)O_(3),Bi12TiO20,and Bi_(4)Ti_(3)O_(12),which significantly improves the photogenerated charge separation and transfer,as indicated by photoluminescene,time-resolved photoluminescene,and electrochemical impedance spectra results.As expected,the Bi_(12)TiO_(20)-Bi_(4)Ti_(3)O_(12)/α-Bi_(2)O_(3)shows the superior photocatalytic activity for the degradation of environmental pollutants with high concentration.Even for the refractory pollutants like 4-chlorophenol,the optimal Bi_(12)TiO_(20)-Bi_(4)Ti_(3)O_(12)/α-Bi_(2)O_(3)composite shows 28 times higher than that ofα-Bi_(2)O_(3)for photocatalytic degradation,verifying the superiority of photogenerated charge transfer chain in photocatalysis.This work demonstrates the feasibility of the charge transfer chain strategy to boost the photogenerated charge separation,which is of great significance for designing energy and environmental-related materials in heterogonous photocatalysis.

Significantly influenced photocatalytic performance for H_(2)O_(2)generation over ultrathin g-C_(3)N_(4)through regulating the migration orientation of photogenerated charge carriers

H_(2)O_(2)has been widely applied in the fields of chemical synthesis,medical sterilization,pollutant removal,etc.,due to its strong oxidizing property and the avoidable secondary pollution.Despite of the enhanced performance for H_(2)O_(2)generation over g-C_(3)N_(4)semiconductors through promoting the separation of photo-generated charge carriers,the effect of migration orientation of charge carriers is still ambiguous.For this emotion,surface modification of g-C_(3)N_(4)was employed to adjust the migration orientation of charge carriers,in order to investigate systematically its effect on the performance of H_(2)O_(2)generation.It was found that ultrathin g-C_(3)N_(4)(UCN)modified by boron nitride(BN),as an effective hole-attract agent,demonstrated a significantly enhanced performance.Particularly,for the optimum UCN/BN-40%catalyst,4.0-fold higher yield of H_(2)O_(2)was obtained in comparison with the pristine UCN.As comparison,UCN modified by carbon dust demonstrated a completely opposite tendency.The remarkably improved performance over UCN/BN was ascribed to the fact that more photo-generated electrons were remained inside of triazine structure of g-C_(3)N_(4),leading to the formation of larger amount of 1,4-endoxide.It is anticipated that our work could provide new insights for the design of photocatalyst with significantly improved performance for H_(2)O_(2)generation.