Recent progress on elemental sulfur based photocatalysts for energy and environmental applications

Fabrication of highly luminescent and thermally stable composites of sulfur nanodots through surface modification and assembly

“…Sulfur nanodots (S-dots), a type of newly developed metal-free photoluminescence (PL) nanomaterial, have received intensive research interest because of their low toxicity, tunable PL, abundance of precursors, and anti-fungal properties. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Tremendous efforts have been devoted to converting bulk sulfur into luminescent nanodots, and they showed great potential for applications in light-emitting diodes (LEDs), 1,7 bioimaging, 8,9 photocatalysis, 10,11 and chemical sensing. [12][13][14] Shen and co-workers proposed the synthesis of S-dots through etching of bulk elemental sulfur using an alkali with the stabilization of surfactants.…”

Phytic Acid-Bridged Copper on Sulfur-Containing Carbon Nitride for Enhancing Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction to CH3OH

“…9,10 The lifespan is also effectively extended, which can be attributed to the existence of more stable excited photoelectrons between the intermediate and conduction band. 11,12 Visible light absorption and photoreduction ability of g-C 3 N 4 can be improved after sulfur-doping and its photocatalytic performance for the reduction of CO 2 to CH 3 OH is 2.5 times that of its undoped counterpart. 13 It is imperative to explore novel approaches for constructing heterostructures with the objective of enhancing the efficiency of catalytic carbon dioxide conversion.…”

“…Among different kinds of photocatalysts, the well-known graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ), a polymeric organic semiconductor of tris-s-triazine, is considered to be a promising photocatalyst due to its simple preparation, adjustable band structure, and hydrothermal stability. , However, there are limitations such as narrow light response range, low specific surface area, insufficient active sites, and easy recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. It is urgent to find suitable materials to complete the design and fabrication of heterojunction structures with g-C 3 N 4 in order to improve its disadvantages. , Doping g-C 3 N 4 with nonmetal elements, such as N, S, P, and B, promotes the generation of new band gaps in the energy band structure, effectively shorting the electron-transition distance. , The lifespan is also effectively extended, which can be attributed to the existence of more stable excited photoelectrons between the intermediate and conduction band. , Visible light absorption and photoreduction ability of g-C 3 N 4 can be improved after sulfur-doping and its photocatalytic performance for the reduction of CO 2 to CH 3 OH is 2.5 times that of its undoped counterpart . It is imperative to explore novel approaches for constructing heterostructures with the objective of enhancing the efficiency of catalytic carbon dioxide conversion.…”

Green Synthesis of ZnO/SnO2 Hybrid Nanocomposite for Degradation of Cationic and Anionic Dyes under Sunlight Radiation

“…Nonporous metal oxides' surface, structure, and crystalline properties make them suitable for photocatalytic applications in water treatment [14]. Moreover, an ideal semiconductor photocatalyst should be advanced with an appropriate band gap, non-toxicity, high water stability, abundance on Earth, and cost-effectiveness [15]. Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ), zinc oxide (ZnO), tin oxide (SnO 2 ), vanadium pentoxide, tungsten trioxide, copper(I) oxide, bismuth(III) oxide, etc., have been widely reported as photocatalysts [16].…”