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Through comparing the photocatalytic performance of microscale ZnO, nano ZnO, and Degussa P25 titania (P25), it was found that the microscale ZnO exhibited 2.6-35.7 times higher photocatalytic activity for the photodegradation of various dye pollutants than P25 under both UV-visible and visible irradiation and showed much better photostability than the nano ZnO. The photocatalysts were characterized with XRD, Raman, BET, DRUV-vis, adsorption of dye, photoelectrochemical measurement, and PL. The much higher photocataltyic activity of the microscale ZnO than P25 under UV-visible irradiation is attributed to the higher efficiency of generation, mobility, and separation of photoinduced electrons and holes. The much higher visible photocataltyic activity of the microscale ZnO than P25 is due to the higher photosensitization efficiency of electron transfer from an excited dye to the conduction band of the microscale ZnO than that of P25. The much better photostability of the microscale ZnO than the nano ZnO is due to its better crystallinity and lower defects. The photostability of the microscale ZnO is greatly improved by the surface modification of ZnO with a small amount of TiO(2). On the basis of the excellent photocatalytic performance of the microscale ZnO and TiO(2)-modified ZnO, a novel device of coupling photodegradation with light-to-electricity conversion was developed, which is a promising candidate for the photocatalytic removal of dye pollutants and a renewable energy source.

We demonstrate a novel way to realize room-temperature polariton parametric scattering in a one-dimensional ZnO microcavity. The polariton parametric scattering is driven by a polariton condensate, with a balanced polariton pair generated at the adjacent polariton mode. This parametric scattering is experimentally investigated by the angle-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy technique under different pump powers and it is well described by the rate equation of interacting bosons. The direct relation between the intensity of the scattered polariton signal and that of the polariton reservoir is acquired under nonresonant excitation, exhibiting the explicit nonlinear characteristic of this room-temperature polariton parametric process.

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Perovskites-compounds with the CaTiO 3-type crystal structure-show outstanding performance in photovoltaics and multiparameter optical emitters due to their large oscillator strength, strong solar absorption, and excellent charge-transport properties. However, the ability to realize and control many-body quantum states in perovskites, which would extend their application from classical optoelectronic materials to ultrafast quantum operation, remains an open research topic. Here, we generate a cooperative quantum state of excitons in a quantum dot ensemble based on a lead halide perovskite, and we control the ultrafast radiation of excitonic quantum ensembles by introducing optical microcavites. The stimulated radiation of excitonic quantum ensemble in a superlattice microcavity is demonstrated to not be limited by the classical population-inversion condition, leading to a picosecond radiative duration time to dissipate all of the in-phase dipoles. Such a perovskite-assembly superlattice microcavity with a tunable radiation rate promises potential applications in ultrafast, photoelectric-compatible quantum processors.