Enhanced photoelectrochemical activity of electro-synthesized CdS–Bi2S3 composite films grown with self-designed cross-linked structure

In Situ Synthesis of Bi2S3/BiFeO3 Nanoflower Hybrid Photocatalyst for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants

Photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green oxalate (MG) in a water body is of significant importance to our health protection, as it could cause various serious diseases. However the photocatalytic activity of most catalysts is still unsatisfactory, due to the poor reactive oxygen species production as a result of sluggish charge separation. Here, innovative nanoflower-shaped Bi2S3/BiFeO3 heterojunctions are prepared via a facile sol-gel method, exhibiting an enhanced reactive oxygen species generation, which leads to the excellent photocatalytic performance toward MG degradation. We verify that interfacing BiFeO3 with Bi2S3 could form a fine junction and offers a built-in field to speed up charge separation at the junction area; as a result, this shows much higher charge separation efficiency. By virtue of the aforementioned advantages, the as-prepared Bi2S3/BiFeO3 heterojunctions exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance toward MG degradation, where more than 99% of MG is removed within 2 h of photocatalysis. The innovative design of nanoflower-like Bi2S3/BiFeO3 heterojunctions may offer new viewpoints in designing highly efficient photocatalysts for environmentally related applications.

Diiron Dithiolate Complex Induced Helical Structure of Histone and Application in Photochemical Hydrogen Generation

Very-lysine-rich calf thymus histone proteins form disordered structure and hydrophobic interaction-driven aggregates in weakly acidic solution. We reported that the conjugation of diiron dithiolate complex to the lysine residues induced formation of helical conformation and condensed nanoassemblies with a high loading capacity up to 18.7 wt %. The incorporated diiron dithiolate complex showed photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution in aqueous solutions, with a turnover number (based on [FeFe] catalyst moiety) up to 359 that was more than 6 times that of the free catalyst. The increase of helical conformation in proteins was well correlated to the increasing enhancement of photocatalytic activity. We demonstrated that the [FeFe]-hydrogenase-mimic biohybrid system based on the photocatalyst-induced protein conformational conversion and reassembly is efficient for hydrogen generation regardless of the relatively large size.

Multi-elemental chalcogeniden-BiCdSe films grown under controlled depth voltammetry: improved photo-electrochemical behaviour toward energy conversion

In this study, a combinatorial approach was developed for fabricating nanostructured composite semiconductor matrices, which exhibited promising photo-response, appreciable photo-current potential and enhanced energy conversion efficiency.

Biomolecule-mediated hydrothermal synthesis of polyoxoniobate-CdS nanohybrids with enhanced photocatalytic performance for hydrogen production and RhB degradation

Using a biomolecule of l-cystine as the sulfur source and coordinating agent, polyoxoniobate-CdS nanohybrids were successfully synthesized under mild hydrothermal conditions. The adsorption of ammonium group (-NH₂) in l-cystine molecular structure on the surface of CdS renders the amine-anchored CdS positively charged, which readily combines with the negatively charged polyoxoniobate clusters in terms of the electrostatic interaction. The as-obtained polyoxoniobate-CdS nanohybrids exhibit much superior activity for H₂ evolution and RhB degradation under visible light as compared to the unhybridized CdS and polyoxoniobate. After co-loading Nb₆ and NiS as cocatalyst, the H₂-evolution activity of the nanohybrids is further increased up to 39 times as high as that of naked CdS, which can be attributed to an enhanced electron-transfer by adopting polyoxoniobate as electron-acceptor to retard the electron-hole recombination. The work may open an avenue for the green synthesis of cost-effective POMs-CdS nanohybrid photocatalysts for solar energy applications.

CdTe nanoparticles decorated titania for dye sensitized solar cell: a novel co-sensitizer approach towards highly efficient energy conversion

A hybrid TiO₂–CdTe multi-layer matrix fabricated for validation in a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) operating with N3 dye as the sensitizer.

Controllable coverage of Bi2S3 quantum dots on one-dimensional TiO2 nanorod arrays by pulsed laser deposition technique for high photoelectrochemical properties

Through varying the laser ablation pulses, the controlled coverage of Bi₂S₃ QDs on nanorods is realized and an optimal energy conversion efficiency of 3.06% is obtained under one sun illumination.

Voltammetric deposition of BiCdTe composite films with improved functional properties for photo-electrochemical cells

n-Type BiCdTe nanostructured films produced by periodic voltammetry exhibit high photo-conversion efficiency and significantly promote charge transport across the electrode/electrolyte interface.

In situ fabrication of highly crystalline CdS decorated Bi2S3 nanowires (nano-heterostructure) for visible light photocatalyst application

Herein, we have demonstrated the in situ synthesis of the orthorhombic Bi₂S₃ nanowires decorated with hexagonal CdS nanoparticles by facile solvothermal method. The heterostructures have been used as photocatalyst for solar hydrogen production.

Visible-Light-Induced Self-Cleaning Property of Bi2Ti2O7-TiO2 Composite Nanowire Arrays

Bi2Ti2O7-TiO2 composite nanowire arrays were prepared via a two-step sequential solvothermal and subsequent calcination process. The morphology and structure of the Bi2Ti2O7-TiO2 composite nanowire array composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy analysis indicated that the absorption spectrum of the Bi2Ti2O7-TiO2 composite nanowire array composite was extended to the visible-light region due to the existence of Bi2Ti2O7. The Bi2Ti2O7-TiO2 composite nanowire arrays exhibit superhydrophilicity with water contact angles of 0° after irradiation with visible light, and the superhydrophilic nature is retained for at least 15 days. This effect enables us to consider self-cleaning applications that do not require permanent UV exposure. Compared to pure Bi2Ti2O7 and TiO2, the vertically aligned Bi2Ti2O7-TiO2 composite nanowire arrays showed more significant visible-light self-cleaning performance due to the synergistic effect of superhydrophilicity and significant photocatalytic activity caused by effective electron-hole separation at the interfaces of the two semiconductors, which was confirmed by the electrochemical analysis and surface photovoltage technique.

Hierarchical core-shell carbon nanofiber@ZnIn₂S₄ composites for enhanced hydrogen evolution performance

Improvement of hydrogen evolution ability is an urgent task for developing advanced catalysts. As one of the promising visible-light photocatalysts, ZnIn2S4 suffers from the ultrafast recombination of photoinduced charges, which limits its practical application for efficient solar water splitting. Herein, we reported a two-step method to prepare hierarchical core-shell carbon nanofiber@ZnIn2S4 composites. One-dimensional carbon nanofibers were first prepared by electrospinning and carbonization in N2. The subsequent solvothermal process led to the in situ growth of ZnIn2S4 nanosheets on the carbon nanofibers to fabricate hierarchical structure composites. The hierarchical core-shell configuration structure can help to form an intimate contact between the ZnIn2S4 nanosheet shell and the carbon nanofiber backbone compared with the equivalent physical mixture and can facilitate the interfacial charge transfer driven by the excitation of ZnIn2S4 under visible-light irradiation. Meanwhile, the ultrathin ZnIn2S4 nanosheets were uniformly grown on the surface of the carbon nanofibers, which can avoid agglomeration of ZnIn2S4. These synergistic effects made this unique hierarchical structure composite exhibit a significantly higher visible-light photocatalytic activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction compared with pure ZnIn2S4 or a physical mixture of ZnIn2S4 and carbon nanofibers in the absence of noble metal cocatalysts.

Facile ion-exchange synthesis of urchin-shaped CdS/Bi2S3 heterostructures with enhanced photostability and visible light photocatalytic activity

Core/shell CdS/Bi₂S₃ heterostructures have been synthesized through in situ cation-exchange method. These heterostructures exhibit enhanced photostability and visible light photocatalytic activity.

Noble metal-free reduced graphene oxide-ZnxCd₁-xS nanocomposite with enhanced solar photocatalytic H₂-production performance

Design and preparation of efficient artificial photosynthetic systems for harvesting solar energy by production of hydrogen from water splitting is of great importance from both theoretical and practical viewpoints. ZnS-based solid solutions have been fully proved to be an efficient visible-light driven photocatalysts, however, the H(2)-production rate observed for these solid solutions is far from exciting and sometimes an expensive Pt cocatalyst is still needed in order to achieve higher quantum efficiency. Here, for the first time we report the high solar photocatalytic H(2)-production activity over the noble metal-free reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-Zn(x)Cd(1-x)S nanocomposite prepared by a facile coprecipitation-hydrothermal reduction strategy. The optimized RGO-Zn(0.8)Cd(0.2)S photocatalyst has a high H(2)-production rate of 1824 μmol h(-1) g(-1) at the RGO content of 0.25 wt % and the apparent quantum efficiency of 23.4% at 420 nm (the energy conversion efficiency is ca. 0.36% at simulated one-sun (AM 1.5G) illumination). The results exhibit significantly improved photocatalytic hydrogen production by 450% compared with that of the pristine Zn(0.8)Cd(0.2)S, and are better than that of the optimized Pt-Zn(0.8)Cd(0.2)S under the same reaction conditions, showing that the RGO-Zn(0.8)Cd(0.2)S nanocomposite represents one of the most highly active metal sulfide photocatalyts in the absence of noble metal cocatalysts. This work creates a green and simple way for using RGO as a support to enhance the photocatalytic H(2)-production activity of Zn(x)Cd(1-x)S, and also demonstrates that RGO is a promising substitute for noble metals in photocatalytic H(2)-production.