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A colloidal deposition process combined with the thermal spreading ability of Sb over hematite surface is used to obtain a mesoporous photoanode for water oxidation.

Bismuth titanate (Bi4Ti3O12 and Bi12TiO20) powders were synthesized by the Oxidant Peroxide Method (OPM), and the effect of temperatures on physical and chemical properties of particles was investigated. The results showed that the morphology and average particle size of materials can be successfully controlled by adjusting the temperature. The samples after calcination were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and BET isotherms. The photocatalytic activity of materials was also evaluated by studying the degradation of 10ppm aqueous rhodamine B dye under ultraviolet radiation.

The CO2 photoreduction process to produce light hydrocarbons is known to be influenced by the presence of CuO nanoparticles, but the actual role of this material, whether as a catalyst or a reactant, has not yet been revealed. In this work, we investigate the role of CuO nanoparticles produced by a solvothermal method as a catalyst in CO2-saturated water reaction media under UV light, considering the effects of different electrolytes (Na2C2O4, KBrO3, and NaOH) and temperatures on nanoparticle phase and activity. The electrolyte strongly influenced product selectivity (NaOH led to evolution of CH4, Na2C2O4 to CO, and KBrO3 to O2) and induced CuO phase change. A long-term analysis of these processes indicated that during the initial steps, CuO acted as a reactant, rather than as a catalyst, and was converted to CuCO3.Cu(OH)2, while the as-converted material acted as a catalyst in CO2 photoreduction, with conversion values comparable to those reported in the literature.

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From the viewpoints of materials chemistry and physical chemistry, crystal structure directly determines the electronic structure and furthermore their optical and photocatalytic properties. Zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) with tunable photoluminescence (PL) emission and high photocatalytic activity have been obtained by means of a microwave-assisted solvothermal (MAS) method using different precursors (i.e., zinc nitrate (ZN), zinc chloride (ZC), or zinc acetate (ZA)). The morphologies, optical properties, and electronic structures of the as-synthesized ZnS NPs were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) isotherms for N 2 adsorption/desorption processes, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), PL measurements and theoretical calculations. Density functional theory calculations were used to determine the geometries and electronic properties of bulk wurtzite (WZ) ZnS NPs and their (0001), (101 ̅0), (112 ̅0), (101 ̅1), and (101 ̅2) surfaces. The dependence of the PL emission behavior of ZnS NPs on the precursor was elucidated by examining the energy band structure and density of states. The method for degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) was used as a probe reaction to investigate the photocatalytic activity of the as-Synthesised ZnS NPs under UV light irradiation. The PL behavior as well as photocatalytic activities of ZnS NPs were attributed to specific features of the structural and electronic structures. Increased photocatalytic degradation was observed for samples synthesized using different precursors in the following order: ZA < ZC < ZN. These results indicated that samples synthesized with ZN present a greater percentage of exposed (0001) surface than those synthesized with the ZC and ZA. Furthermore, the possible photodegradation mechanism of the as-prepared ZnS NPs were also briefly discussed.

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