Realization of Visible Light Photocatalysis by Wide Band Gap Pure SnO 2 and Study of In 2 O 3 Sensitization Porous SnO 2 Photolysis Catalyst

A novel GO hoisted SnO2-BiOBr bifunctional catalyst for the remediation of organic dyes under illumination by visible light and electrocatalytic water splitting

It is imperative to develop affordable multi-functional catalysts based on transition metals for various applications, such as dye degradation or the production of green energy. For the first time, we propose a simple chemical bath method to create a SnO2-BiOBr-rGO heterojunction with remarkable photocatalytic and electrocatalytic activities. After introducing graphene oxide (GO) into the SnO2-BiOBr nanocomposite, the charge separation, electron mobility, surface area, and electrochemical properties were significantly improved. The X-ray diffraction results show the successful integration of GO into the SnO2-BiOBr nanocomposite. Systematic material characterization by scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that the photocatalysts are composed of uniformly distributed SnO2 nanoparticles (∼11 nm) on the regular nanosheets of BiOBr (∼94 nm) and rGO. The SnO2-BiOBr-rGO photocatalyst has outstanding photocatalytic activity when it comes to reducing a variety of organic dyes like rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB). Within 90 minutes of visible light illumination, degradation of a maximum of 99% for MB and 99.8% for RhB was noted. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance was also tested for the ternary nanocomposite, and significantly lower overpotential values of 0.34 and -0.11 V (vs. RHE) at 10 mA cm-2 were observed for the OER and HER, respectively. Furthermore, the Tafel slope values are 34 and 39 mV dec-1 for the OER and HER, respectively. The catalytic degradation of dyes with visible light and efficient OER and HER performance offer this work a broad spectrum of potential applications.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B Dye by Iron-Doped Europium Oxide Nanoparticles

As a wide-bandgap rare-earth oxide, Eu2O3 was often utilized as an auxiliary material of other photocatalysts because its photocatalytic performance was limited by the luminescence characteristics of Eu3+ and low light utilization. In this study, we improved the photocatalytic degradation performance of the Eu2O3 nanoparticles by doping with Fe cations. The Eu2O3 nanoparticles with different Fe-doping concentrations (1, 3, and 5%, noted as EF1.0, EF3.0, and EF5.0, respectively) were synthesized via chemical precipitation and calcination methods. It was found that doping could reduce Eu2O3's bandgap, which probably originated from the introduction of oxygen vacancies with lower energy levels than the conduction band of Eu2O3. Compared with the undoped Eu2O3 nanoparticles with a removal efficiency of 22% for degrading rhodamine B dye within 60 min, the photocatalytic degradation efficiencies of EF1.0, EF3.0, and EF5.0 were demonstrated to be improved to 42, 48, and 33%, respectively, and EF3.0's performance was the best. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of the doped samples was related to the oxygen vacancies acting as capture centers for electrons, such that the photogenerated electron-hole pairs were efficiently separated and the redox reactions on the surface of the nanoparticles were enhanced accordingly. Additionally, the enhanced light absorption and broadened spectral band further improved EF3.0's degradation efficiency.

Recent advances of semiconductor photocatalysis for water pollutant treatment: mechanisms, materials and applications

Semiconductor photocatalysis has become an increasing area of interest for use in water treatment methods. This review systematically presents the recent developments of emerging semiconductor photocatalysis system and their application in the removal of water pollutants. A brief overview of the semiconductor photocatalysis mechanism involved with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is provided first. Then a detailed explanation of the development of TiO2-based, g-C3N4-based, and bismuth-based semiconductor materials and their applications in the degradation of water pollutants are highlighted with recent illustrative examples. Furthermore, the future prospects of semiconductor photocatalysis for water treatment are critically analyzed.

Facile solvothermal synthesis of nitrogen-doped SnO2 nanorods towards enhanced photocatalysis

Heteroatom doping has proved to be one of the most effective approaches to further improve the photocatalytic activities of semiconducting oxides originating from the modulation of their electronic structures. Herein, nitrogen-doped SnO₂ nanorods were synthesized via facile solvothermal processes using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a dispersing agent and ammonium water as the N source, respectively. Compared with pure SnO₂ sample, the as-synthesized nitrogen-doped SnO₂ nanorods demonstrated enhanced photocatalytic performances, evaluated by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB), revealing the effectiveness of nitrogen doping towards photocatalysis. In particular, the optimal photocatalyst (using 0.6 g PVP and 1 mL ammonia water) could achieve up to 86.23% pollutant removal efficiency under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation within 150 min, showing 17.78% higher efficiency than pure SnO₂. Detailed structural and spectroscopic characterization reveals the origin of activity enhancement of nitrogen-doping SnO₂ in contrast with pure SnO₂. Specifically, the bandgap and the morphologies of nitrogen-doped SnO₂ have changed with more chemisorbed sites, which is supposed to result in the enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency. Moreover, the possible formation mechanism of nitrogen-doped SnO₂ nanorods was discussed, in which PVP played a crucial role as the structure orientator.

Recent insights into SnO2-based engineered nanoparticles for sustainable H2 generation and remediation of pesticides

Due to the ongoing industrial revolution and global health pandemics, solar-driven water splitting and pesticide degradation are highly sought to cope with catastrophes such as depleting fossil reservoirs, global warming, and environmental degradation.

Mechanisms of Interfacial Charge Transfer and Photocatalytic NO Oxidation on BiOBr/SnO2 p-n Heterojunctions

In this work, hydrothermally prepared p-n heterojunction BiOBr/SnO₂ photocatalysts were applied to eliminate NO in visible light. The as-synthesized BiOBr/SnO₂ photocatalysts exhibit superior photocatalytic activity and stability through the establishment of a p-n heterojunction, resulting in a significant improvement in charge separation and transfer properties. The morphological structure and optical property of the BiOBr/SnO₂ heterojunction were also investigated comprehensively. Extended light absorption into the visible range was achieved by SnO₂ coating on the surface of the BiOBr microsphere through the constructed heterojunction between BiOBr and SnO₂, thus achieving efficient NO removal. Moreover, the transfer channels and directions of charge at the BiOBr/SnO₂ interface were determined by a combination of theoretical calculations and experimental studies. Within this p-n heterojunction, the charge in SnO₂ migrates into BiOBr through the preformed electron transfer channels, thus generating an internal electric field (IEF) between SnO₂ and BiOBr. Under the influence of IEF, the photogenerated electrons of BiOBr migrate from the conduction band (CB) to the CB of SnO₂, thus promoting the separation of electrons (e^-)-holes (h⁺) pairs. The intermediates and final products were monitored by the in situ DRIFTS technology in the process of removal of NO in visible light; hence, the oxidation pathways of NO were reasonably proposed. Meanwhile, the construction of the heterojunction not only achieves more efficient NO photocatalytic oxidation but also inhibits the production of more toxic NO₂. This work provides mechanistic insights into the interfacial charge transfer for heterojunction photocatalysts and reaction mechanism for efficient air purification.