Interfacial insights into 3D plasmonic multijunction nanoarchitecture toward efficient photocatalytic performance

Abstract

Through effectively harvesting and converting solar energy, photocatalysis has become one of the most important technologies in wastewater decontamination and hydrogen production. Currently, extensive studies are being conducted to develop photocatalysts with advanced features, such as visible-light response, heterogeneous nanoarchitecture, plasmonic effect, and excellent optical behavior. Finding efficient utilization technique to improve photocatalytic performance motivates researchers all over the world. Herein, we demonstrate the design of a visible-light-driven Pd/Fe 2 O 3 /BiVO 4 hybrid with 3D ordered macro-/mesoporous (3DOM) nanoarchitecture for efficiently photocatalytic organic degradation and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The hybrid photocatalyst exhibited two-tier bandgap energies and possessed enhanced ability to harvest visible light and separate photo-induced carriers. It is shown that, over the Pd/Fe 2 O 3 /3DOM-BiVO 4 photocatalyst, not only the refractory phenol could be rapidly degraded into CO 2 and H 2 O, but also the photoconversion efficiency was greatly improved in water splitting to generate H 2. The excellent photocatalytic performance of Pd/Fe 2 O 3 /BiVO 4 was associated with the construction of low-crystalline plasmonic heterointerfaces through the 3DOM framework. The produced synergistic action enabled the hybrid material to absorb the sunlight adequately and transfer the photoexcited carriers expediently to drive phenol degradation or hydrogen evolution from water.

RGO-Promoted All-Solid-State g-C3N4/BiVO4 Z-Scheme Heterostructure with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity toward the Degradation of Antibiotics

“…For BVO, the E g value was determined to be about 2.4 eV from a plot of (α h υ) 2 versus energy ( h υ). These E g results for CN and BVO are closely approach the previously reported values. ,− These results also suggest that CN and BVO can respond to visible light and that the RGO/CN/BVO ternary nanocomposite can efficiently utilize visible light, possibly resulting in the formation of more electron–hole pairs.…”

NiSx Quantum Dots Accelerate Electron Transfer in Cd0.8Zn0.2S Photocatalytic System via an rGO Nanosheet “Bridge” toward Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution

“…It is notable that the surface of the Cd 0.8 Zn 0.2 S was partially covered by moderate NiSx species, and the introduced accommodation sites are beneficial in the direct transfer of photoinduced electrons from Cd 0.8 Zn 0.2 S to noble-metal-free cocatalyst NiSx QDs. Moreover, numerous monodispersed NiSx QDs are spatially confined in the graphene substrates, which undoubtedly provide sufficient catalytically active sites for efficient charge separation and fast charge transport via the close interfacial junction of Cd 0.8 Zn 0.2 S/rGO/NiSx in the hybrid. , This behavior is beneficial for enhancing their photocatalytic activities along with giving excellent stability.…”

Synergetic Enhancement of Light Harvesting and Charge Separation over Surface-Disorder-Engineered TiO2 Photonic Crystals

“…5,6 Many efforts have been made to improve the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO 2 -based materials, including metal or non-metal doping, [7][8][9] co-catalysts loading, 10,11 and coupling with other semiconductors. [12][13][14] Nevertheless, because of the wide band gap of TiO 2 (3.2 eV), it is only sensitive in the UV region. As the proportion of UV light in solar light is small, strategies for improving photon absorption and reducing the recombination of charge carriers of TiO 2 are crucial to achieve a high photocatalytic performance.…”