Multimetallic Oxynitrides Nanoparticles for a New Generation of Photocatalysts

Abstract

Av ersatile synthetic strategy for the preparation of multimetallic oxynitrides has been designeda nd here exemplarily discussed considering the preparation of nanoscaled zinc-gallium oxynitrides and zinc-gallium-indium oxynitrides, two important photocatalysts of new generation, which proved to be active in key energy relatedp rocesses from pollutant decomposition to overall water splitting. The synthesis presented here allows the preparation of small nanoparticles (less than 20 nm in average diameter), well-defined in size and shape, yet highly crystalline and with the highest surfacea rea reported so far (up to 80 m 2 g À1 ). X-ray diffraction studies show that the final mate-rial is not am ixture of singleo xidesb ut ad istinctive compound. The photocatalytic propertieso ft he oxynitrides have been tested towards the decomposition of an organic dye (as am odel reaction for the decomposition of air pollutants), showingb etter photocatalytic performances than the corresponding pure phases (reaction constant 0.22 h À1 ), whereas almost no reactionw as observed in absence of catalyst or in the dark. The photocatalystsh ave been also testedf or H 2 evolution (semi-reactiono ft he waters plittingp rocess) with results comparable to the best literature values butl eaving room for further improvement.Supporting information and the ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this articlecan be found under: https://doi.

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