We report a novel “sacrificial template-accelerated hydrolysis” (STAH) approach to the synthesis of iron oxide-based nanotube arrays including hematite α-Fe2O3 and magnetite Fe3O4 on centimeter-scale conducting alloy substrates. ZnO nanowire arrays are chosen as the inexpensive and sacrificial templates that do not contribute to the component of final iron oxide nanotubes but can be in situ dissolved by the acid produced from the Fe3+ precursor hydrolysis. Interestingly, the ZnO template dissolution in turn accelerates the Fe3+ hydrolysis, which is essential to initiating the nanotube formation. Such a STAH approach provides a morphology-reservation transformation, when various shaped ZnO templates are adopted. Moreover, by introducing glucose into the precursor solution, we also successfully obtain carbon/hematite(C/α-Fe2O3) composite nanotube arrays on large-area flexible alloy substrate, with a large number of pores and uniform carbon distribution at a nanoscale in the nanotube walls. These arrays have been demonstrated as excellent additive-free anode materials for lithium ion batteries in terms of good cycling performance up to 150 times (659 mA h g−1) and outstanding rate capability. Our result presents not only a new route for inorganic nanotube formation but also an insight for rational design of advanced electrode materials for electrochemical batteries and sensors.
Carbon-modified Bi(2)WO(6) (C-Bi(2)WO(6)) nanostructures were synthesized via a hydrothermal process in the presence of glucose followed by the calcination in Ar gas at 500 degrees C. The morphologies and crystallinity of Bi(2)WO(6) and the nature of carbon in the composites obtained with different glucose amounts were characterized. Raman spectrum analysis, electron microscopy results and light absorption of C-Bi(2)WO(6) at wavelengths larger than 450 nm clearly confirmed the carbon modification. Further results indicated that glucose did not affect the final crystalline structure or the band gap of Bi(2)WO(6), but it had great influences on the photocatalytic activity of Bi(2)WO(6) towards rhodamine-B (RhB) degradation. When the glucose amount was less than 0.04 g, the photoactivity was enhanced step by step with an increase in the glucose amount. The improved photocatalytic performance could be ascribed to the enhanced photogenerated electron-hole separation and more RhB adsorption associated with carbon. However, when the glucose amount was higher than 0.04 g, the photocatalytic property dramatically decreased due to the severe absorption of almost incident light by carbon, which hindered the accessibility of light to Bi(2)WO(6). Our work provides an alternative way to improve the photoactivity of Bi(2)WO(6) nanomaterials.
We report the fabrication of BiOCl nanoflake film by a simple and reliable hydrolysis of BiCl(3) ethanol solution at room temperature. The as-prepared film, when modified with 1H,1H,2H,2H,-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS), exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity and long-term durability under UV light irradiation for the first time.
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