Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yoonsang Park, Hoang Tran Bui, Yurim Sohn, Cheolwoo Park, Bupmo Kim, Taehyung Lee, Daegun Kim, Dajin Lee, Kilwon Cho, Hyo Won Kim, Woosung Kwon, Wooyul Kim
Summary: In this study, nanocomposites composed of graphite-derived carbon dots (GCDs) and TiO2 were shown to have ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) activity across the entire visible-light spectrum. The effect of GCDs on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 was investigated through the production of hydrogen peroxide and the degradation of pollutants. The research demonstrates the formation of an LMCT band in TiO2/GCD nanocomposites and provides a novel method for expanding the light-absorption spectrum of photocatalysts.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chul-Jun Yoon, Sung-Hyun Lee, Yoo-Bin Kwon, Kyoungsoo Kim, Kun-Hong Lee, Seung Min Kim, Young-Kwan Kim
Summary: Incorporation of TiO2 nanoparticles onto carbon nanotube fibers enhances their thermal stability and structural integrity, resulting in sustainable mechanical and electrical properties as well as high photocatalytic activity under UV exposure. This demonstrates that the incorporation of TiO2 NPs is an efficient strategy to improve the long-term stability and applicability of CNTFs.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ximin Hu, Wenyuan Han, Manqi Zhang, Degang Li, Hongqi Sun
Summary: Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were used to modify TiO2 and enhance its photocatalytic efficiency. Different amounts of CQDs modified TiO2 (CQDs-x/TiO2) were synthesized by a facile and environmental friendly hydrothermal method. The anchoring of CQDs increased the specific surface area of CQDs-x/TiO2, promoting the adsorption of organic pollutants and enhancing the rate of photocatalytic oxidation. CQDs-20/TiO2 showed the highest pollutant removal efficiency under visible light irradiation.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ricardo M. S. Sendao, Manuel Algarra, Eduarda Ribeiro, Mariana Pereira, Antonio Gil, Nuno Vale, Joaquim C. G. Esteves da Silva, Luis Pinto da Silva
Summary: In this study, the conjugation of carbon dots (CDs) with TiO2 nanoparticles was reported to prepare a photocatalytic nanocomposite for enhanced visible-light-driven photodegradation. The addition of CDs led to an increase in visible-light absorption and hindered the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, resulting in a significant improvement in the catalytic performance of TiO2. The nanocomposites exhibited a different active species profile compared to bare TiO2, with superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals being the main active species. Additionally, a life cycle assessment showed that the nanocomposites had lower relative environmental impacts and the safety of the produced CDs was confirmed by in vitro assays. This study provides an important step towards the sustainable rational design of active visible-light-driven photocatalysts.
ADVANCED SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Ricardo M. S. Sendao, Joaquim C. G. Esteves da Silva, Luis Pinto da Silva
Summary: TiO2-carbon dots nanocomposites can enhance photocatalytic efficiency by increasing the adsorption of organic pollutants and enhancing absorption in the visible range.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jie Yu, Angel Caravaca, Chantal Guillard, Philippe Vernoux, Liang Zhou, Lingzhi Wang, Juying Lei, Jinlong Zhang, Yongdi Liu
Summary: A highly efficient photocatalyst for degrading toluene has been developed, capable of converting 93% of toluene into non-toxic products. This enhanced performance is attributed to the inverse opal structure and the incorporation of carbon nitride quantum dots.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Marco Pinna, Gilberto Binda, Marco Altomare, Marcello Marelli, Carlo Dossi, Damiano Monticelli, Davide Spanu, Sandro Recchia
Summary: The use of biochar nanoparticles as co-catalysts significantly enhances the photocatalytic degradation activity of TiO2 nanotube arrays towards the organic pollutant methylene blue, mainly influenced by the amount of biochar deposition. By optimizing the biochar deposition conditions, the photocatalytic degradation rate of methylene blue can be increased by approximately three times.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jingjie Zhang, Quanrun Liu, Junhao Wang, He He, Feng Shi, Baolin Xing, Jianbo Jia, Guangxu Huang, Chuanxiang Zhang
Summary: A facile and energy-efficient impregnation method using coal tar pitch as natural CQDs was proposed for the preparation of effective CQDs/TiO2 composite photocatalysts at room temperature. The composites show significantly improved photodegradation performance of rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation, with the degradation rate constant 43.7-fold higher than pure TiO2 at the optimum CQDs content. The enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to improved absorption ability of visible light, accelerated charge carrier separation/transfer, and reduced recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs through successful coupling between TiO2 and CQDs.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yu Liu, Lijun Liao, Liping Guo, Zhenzi Li, Xuepeng Wang, Decai Yang, Mingtao Wang, Shijie Wang, Wei Zhou
Summary: Developing photocatalytic technologies with high selectivity for pollutant removal is a significant challenge. In this study, a unique popcorn-stick-like nanocomposite was fabricated and exhibited distinguished photocatalytic activity for simultaneous removal of carbon particles and nitrogen dioxide.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jiangwei Zhang, Fei Yu, Xi Ke, He Yu, Peiyuan Guo, Lei Du, Menglong Zhang, Dongxiang Luo
Summary: In this study, a S-scheme photocatalyst was optimized by loading carbon quantum dots (CQDs) during the synthetic process, resulting in successful conversion of PAHs to value-added chemicals. Experiments and theoretical calculations demonstrated the significant role of CQDs in TiO2/CQDs/CdIn2S4 towards photocatalysis.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Min Cheng, Shuxia Bai, Yanze Xia, Xun Zhu, Rong Chen, Qiang Liao
Summary: The composite photocatalyst of CdS/ZnS quantum dots sensitized TiO2 nanotube array exhibited high performance for photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to methanol under visible light, with the product yield varying with different CO2 flow rates and light intensities.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Martin Motola, Raul Zazpe, Ludek Hromadko, Jan Prikryl, Veronika Cicmancova, Jhonatan Rodriguez-Pereira, Hanna Sopha, Jan M. Macak
Summary: A reconstruction process of TiO2 nanotube (TNT) layers was conducted to enhance their photoelectrochemical performance and photocatalytic activity. By preparing double-wall (DW) TNT layers, etching the inner wall to obtain single-wall (SW) TNT layers, and coating with TiO2 coatings of different thicknesses, significant improvements were achieved in incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency and photocatalytic performance compared to untreated TNT layers.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zekun Xin, Xiaodong Zhao, Huiming Ji, Tianyi Ma, Hui Li, Shuhui Zhong, Zhurui Shen
Summary: A TiO2/amorphous carbon/carbon nanotube film (TCC) composite with uniform structure was prepared, showing good photocatalytic activity under ultraviolet light. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of TCC is attributed to the presence of carbon nanotube film and amorphous carbon.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Li-Yuan Zhang, Yan-Lin Han, Jin-Ju Yang, Sheng-Lian Deng, Bi-Yu Wang
Summary: Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were prepared using citric acid as a carbon source, and then compounded with layered mesoporous titanium dioxide (LM-TiO2) to form composites. The addition of CQDs greatly enhanced the light absorption intensity of LM-TiO2 in the ultraviolet range and improved the degradation rate of organic pollutants compared to simple TiO2 and LM-TiO2.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Hao Yuan, Haoran Sun, Yuxing Shi, Jiaxuan Wang, Ang Bian, Youyou Hu, Feng Guo, Weilong Shi, Xin Du, Zhenhui Kang
Summary: Researchers constructed a g-C3N4 system doped with carbon and loaded with carbon dots (CDs) to investigate the effect of trap states, revealing a 4-fold increase in H2 evolution efficiency compared to ordinary g-C3N4 during photocatalysis. The study provides insight into interfacial charge transfer and transport dynamics, which can guide the design and development of highly active carbon-based composite photocatalysts.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)