Lattice-strained nanotubes facilitate efficient natural sunlight-driven CO_(2) photoreduction

Photocatalytic reduction of CO_(2) holds tremendous promise for alleviating the energy crisis.Despite the progress that has been,made,there are still some challenges to overcome,such as the realization under real sunlight rather than the simulation condition.In this work,ultrathin Ni_(2)(OH)(PO_(4))nanotubes(NTs)prepared through hydrothermal route are applied as a novel catalyst for photocatalytic reduction of CO_(2) under real sunlight.The prepared Ni_(2)(OH)(PO_(4))NTs exhibit a 11.3 μmol·h^(-1) CO production rate with,96.1% CO selectivity.Interestingly,Ni_(2)(OH)(PO_(4))NTs have a positive impact on the facilitation of photoreduction in diluted CO_(2).Notably,when the system is performed under real sunlight,Ni_(2)(OH)(PO_(4))NTs afford an accumulated CO of ca.26.8 nmol with,96.9% CO selectivity,exceeding most previous inorganic catalysts under simulated irradiation in the laboratory.Our experimental results demonstrate that the multisynergetic effects induced by surface-OH and the lattice strain serve as highly active sites for CO_(2) molecular adsorption and activation as well as electron transfer,hence enhancing photoreduction activity.Therefore,this work provides experimental basis that CO_(2) photocatalysis can be put into practical use.

Natural sunlight irradiated flower-like CuS synthesized from DMF solvothermal treatment

Three-dimensional CuS hierarchical crystals with high catalytic activity had been successfully fabricated using a facile solvothermal process, The CuS microparticles showed different flower-like morphology and good dispersion by optimizing reaction conditions. It was found that using N,N-dimethylformamide （DMF） as the solvent reagent in the proper temperature conditions was favorable for the growth of hierarchically structured CuS. The hexagonal flower-like CuS synthesized at 170℃ for 60 min displayed broad-spectrum photocatalytic properties under ultraviolet （UV） and visible irradiation. The as-prepared CuS crystals exhibited good performance to decolorize methylene blue （MB） solution under visible light irradiation. The total organic carbon （TOC） removal of rhodamine B （RhB） solution was nearly 60% after 5 h of the natural sunlight irradiation, and the property was stable after testing over four recycles, demonstrating a potential application in waster water treatment.

LaNiO_(3)/g-C_(3)N_(4) nanocomposite:An efficient Z-scheme photocatalyst for wastewater treatment using direct sunlight

The major findings in this report are(ⅰ)development of nanocomposite photocatalyst working through Z-scheme charge transfer pathway across the heterojunction,(ⅱ)utilization of direct sunlight as the photo-source,and(ⅲ)prospect of ligand-hole in photocatalysis through enhanced sub-band gap absorption,The photocatalysts,namely LaNiO_(3),g-C_(3)N_(4) and LaNiO_(3)/g-C_(3)N_(4) nanocomposites were synthesized via facile route and were characterized for their structure,morphology,microstructure,texture,elemental mapping and surface oxidation states by using several physicochemical techniques.The photocatalytic performance of the nanocomposite was tested through the degradation of hazardous azo dye pollutants,namely reactive black 5 and methylene blue as well as the colorless antibiotic-pollutant tetracycline hydrochloride in aqueous solution in presence of natural sunlight with excellent recycling activity.The 10%LaNiO_(3)/g-C_(3)N_(4) nanocomposite sample shows the best catalytic activity,degrading respectively 94%,98.6%and 88.1%of reactive black 5,methylene blue and tetracycline hydrochloride in60,180 and 120 min.The photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite phase is several times superior to that of the pure phases.The improvements of photocatalytic activity of g-C_(3)N_(4) in the nanocomposite have been rationalized through the construction of direct Z-scheme heterojunction and suppression of electron-hole pair recombination efficiency.The enhanced photo-absorption of the nanocomposite can possibly be related to sub-bandgap absorption,which is associated to the midgap state originating from ligand-hole formation or defects in the structure.The photodegradation process is mediated through the formation of super oxide radical(O_(2))and hole(h^(+))as the main responsible species.