Photocatalytic degradation of Acid Blue 62 over CuO-SnO_2 nanocomposite photocatalyst under simulated sunlight

The novel CuO-SnO2 nanocomposite oxide photocatalysts were prepared by simple co-precipitation method, and characterized by X- ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption measurement and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of CuO-SnO2, evaluated using the photodegradation of Acid Blue 62 as a probe reaction under the irradiation of Xenon light, were also found to be related to the calcination temperature and the molar ratio of Cu to Sn. The maximum photocatalytic activity of the CuO-SnO2 photocatalyst was observed to be calcined at 500~C for 3 h （the molar ratio of Cu to Sn was 1：1） due to the sample with good crystallization and high surface area. It also showed much higher photocatalytic activity in treatment dye wastewater under simulated sunlight irradiation compared to Degussa P25 TiO2.

Photocatalytic activity of CuO towards HER in catalyst from oxalic acid solution under simulated sunlight irradiation

CuO was synthesized by thermal decomposition of Cu(NO3)2·3H2O at various temperatures and characterized by powder X-ray diffractometry(XRD) as well as scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The effects of calcination temperature,category of sacrificial reagent,initial sacrificial reagent concentration,and Ag loading content on the photocatalytic activity of the as-obtained CuO sample were investigated.The results show that the as-obtained CuO exhibits high activity for photocatalysis of H2 evolution reaction(HER) in oxalic acid solution under simulated sunlight irradiation.The highest photocatalytic activity of the as-obtained CuO was achieved at the calcination temperature of 1000℃,and oxalic acid was used as the sacrificial reagent with the concentration 0.05 mol/L.H2 evolution rate is as high as 2.98 mmol/(h·g) with 2%(mass fraction) loaded Ag.The possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism on the CuO photocatalyst for HER in oxalic acid solution was also discussed.

Preparation of BiOCl0.9I0.1/β-Bi2O3 composite for degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride under simulated sunlight

A novel and effective BiOCl0.9I0.1/x%β-Bi2O3 composite catalyst was synthesized through a precipitation method. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of the samples were certified by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic characterizations. Photocatalytic experiments demonstrated that the synthesized BiOCl0.9I0.1/x%β-Bi2O3 composite catalyst exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance toward the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride(TCH) under simulated sunlight. Furthermore, the TCH degradation rate of BiOCl0.9I0.1/15%β-Bi2O3 increased by 27.6% and 61.4% compared with those of the pure BiOCl0.9I0.1 and pure β-Bi2O3, respectively. Due to the multiple vacancies and valence states possessed by BiOCl0.9I0.1/x%β-Bi2O3, namely Bi5+, Bi(3-x)+, Bi5+–O, Bi3+–O, I- and I3-, the charge separation in photocatalysis reactions can be effectively promoted. The Mott-Schottky measurements indicate that the conduction band(CB) level of BiOCl0.9I0.1/15%β-Bi2O3 becomes more negative relative to that of BiOCl0.9I0.1, guaranteeing an advantageous effect on the redox ability of the photocatalyst. This study provides a new bright spot for the construction of high-performance photocatalysts.

Photocatalytic H_2 evolution activity of CuO/ZrO_2 composite catalyst under simulated sunlight irradiation

Zirconia-supported CuO （CuO/ZrO2） composite photocatalysts were successfully synthesized via citric acid-assisted sol-gel technique. For comparison, CuO/ZrO2 materials were also prepared by solid state reaction and co-precipitation method. The as-prepared powders were characterized by X-ray diffractometry （XRD）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis （TG-DTA）. The photocatalytic activity of CuO/ZrO2 catalyst was investigated based on the H2 evolution from oxalic acid solution under simulated sunlight irradiation. The effects of molar ratio of CuO to ZrO2, preparation method, phase change with the calcination temperature and the durability on the photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst were investigated in detail. It is found that the optimal activity of photocatalytic H2 evolution （2.41 mmol.h i.g-~） can be obtained when CuO/ZrO2 composite photocatalyst is synthesized by sol-gel technique and the mole ratio of CuO to ZrO2 is 40%. The activity of copper oxide supported on monoclinic ZrO2 calcined at higher temperature is much higher than that on tetragonal ZrO2 calcined at lower temperature, and the best calcination temperature is 900 ℃.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Acid Blue 62 over La/I/TiO2 Nanocomposite Photocatalyst under Simulated Sunlight

In order to explore the photocatalytic activity of the lanthanum and iodine co-doped TiO2,the degradation of acid blue 62 as a probe reaction under simulated sunlight irradiattion was investigated.A novel visible-light-activated La/I/TiO2 nanocomposition photocatalyst was prepared using precipitation-diping method,and characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM）and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy（UV-Vis-DRS）.The photocatalytic efficiency of La/I/TiO2 was evaluated by the photodegradation of reactive acid blue 62 as a probe reaction under simulated sunlight irradiationt.Photocatalytic experiment results shows that the La/I co-doped TiO2 catalyst has higher photocatalytic activity than the standard Degussa P25,La-doped TiO2 and I-doped TiO2 photocatalysts under simulated sunlight irradiation,and the way of La/I co-doping extends the absorption spectra of TiO2 and shifts the absorption edge remarkably toward longer wavelength.

Preparation,characterization and photocatalytic properties of BiOBr/ZnO composites

BiOBr/ZnO composite photocatalysts were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM), UV–Vis diffusion reflectance spectroscopy(DRS) and photoluminescence(PL) spectroscopy, respectively. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the degradation of methyl blue(MB) under the simulated sunlight irradiation. Among all the samples, the BiOBr/ZnO composite with a mole ratio of 3:1(Bi:Zn) exhibited the best photocatalytic activity. The improvement of photocatalytic activity was mainly attributed to the low recombination ratio of photo-induced electron-hole pairs. The possible photocatalytic mechanism was discussed on the basis of the band structures of BiOBr and ZnO.

Preparation and photocatalytic performance of ZnO/ZnGa_2O_4 composite microspheres

ZnO/ZnGa_2O_4 composite microspheres with heterojunction were successfully synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal method.These samples were characterized by TG/DTA,XRD,TEM,HRTEM,UV-vis DRS,FL and BET techniques.The results indicated the as-prepared samples showed better degree of crystalline and large specific surface area.The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degradation of methyl orange with the concentration of 50 mg/L under the irradiation of simulated sunlight.The effects of molar ratio of Zn to Ga and calcination temperature on the photocatalytic activity were investigated in detail.The results showed that the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency was observed at the molar ratio of Zn to Ga of 1:0.5 in the starting materials and the calcination temperature of 400 °C.The maximum photocatalytic degradation rate of MO was 97.1% within 60 min under the simulated sunlight irradiation,which is greatly higher than that of ZnO and ZnGa_2O_4.

Role of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide,crystal violet and humic acid in the degradation of diclofenac under simulated sunlight irradiation

The photodegradation of diclofenac in the absence/presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide,crystal violet and humic acid under simulated sunlight has been studied.Under the study conditions,it is apparent that cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and crystal violet concentrations inhibit effects on the photodegradation of diclofenac.Humic acid has no distinct effect on the photodegradation of diclofenac.Crystal violet has an obvious antagonistic action for humic acid and a similar antagonistic action between cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and crystal violet.Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and humic acid have synergistic effect.An antagonistic action is present between cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide,crystal violet and humic acid.Moreover,a simple linear model which describes the obtained results is shown.

g-C3N4/Ag/GO Composite Photocatalyst with Efficient Photocatalytic Performance: Synthesis, Characterization, Kinetic Studies, Toxicity Assessment and Degradation Mechanism

The g-C3N4/Ag/GO(CNAG)photocatalysts were synthesized by a facile two-step reaction route.The as-prepared CNAG samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),photoluminescence spectroscopy(PL)and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques(UV-vis DRS).The photocatalytic activity was obtained by degrading rhodamine B(RhB)under simulated sunlight and the results showed that photocatalytic activity of CNAG was much higher than that of pure g-C3N4 and g-C3N4/Ag.When the mass ratio of GO was 6%,the as-prepared CNAG-6%sample possessed the highest photocatalytic activity and the kinetic constant of RhB degradation was 0.077 min-1,which was almost 4.3 times higher than that of pure g-C3N4(0.018 min-1)and 2.5 times higher than that of the g-C3N4/Ag(0.031 min-1)composite,respectively.The toxicity of CNAG samples was assessed via seed germination experiment and no significant inhibitory effect was observed.The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the synergistic effect of partial surface plasma resonance(SPR)effect of Ag,strong visible light absorption and the high separation efficiency of photon-generated carrier.The CNAG-6%sample exhibited excellent stability during the cycle experiment.Finally,a possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed.