Surface-Mediated Energy Transfer and Subsequent Photocatalytic Behavior in Silicon Carbide Colloid Solutions

Abstract

We demonstrate that particle-particle interaction affects the photocatalytic efficiency of colloids. Colloid silicon carbide nanoparticles were examined by varying their size, size distribution, and surface chemistry, and we found that surface moieties show no effect on the individual particles but dramatically affect the collective photocatalytic efficiency of the system.

Carbon nanotube@silicon carbide coaxial heterojunction nanotubes as metal-free photocatalysts for enhanced hydrogen evolution

“…The main reason for this is the rapid recombination of the photoinduced electron-hole pairs in SiC photocatalysts [39,40]. Therefore, various engineering strategies, including the formation of unique SiC nanostructures (e.g., quantum dots [41], nanoparticles [42], nanowires [43], and hollow spheres [44]), construction of heterostructures (e.g., SiC-TiO2 [45], SiC-ZnS [46], SiC-MoS2 [47], SnO2-SiC [48,49], and SiC-CdS [50]), hybridization of SiC with metal co-catalysts (e.g., SiC-Pt [43], SiC-IrO2 [51]), and nanocarbon materials (e.g., SiC-graphene [52,53]), have been employed to promote the performance and durability of SiC photocatalysts since the initial research on water splitting in 1990 [54]. Further investigations show that the SiC-graphene nanoheterojunction with intimate interfacial contacts between SiC and graphene exhibits enhanced photoactivities for water splitting owing to the improved charge separation resulting from the formation of Schottky-junction interfaces [55].…”

Silicon-Carbide (SiC) Nanocrystal Technology and Characterization and Its Applications in Memory Structures

“…Such an effect was diminished for larger particles. As a result, SiC-I had size-independent, molecular-like properties, whereas the optical properties of SiC-II were strongly size-dependent [11]; the electron and hole transfer from SiC-II to a surrounding media was found to be significantly stronger [12] as well. SiC-I and SiC-II nanoparticles shared the same surface termination.…”

Enhancement of X-ray-Excited Red Luminescence of Chromium-Doped Zinc Gallate via Ultrasmall Silicon Carbide Nanocrystals

“…Larger SiC NPs (i.e., ø = 4−6 nm) do not participate in core−shell structure formation and do not enhance the luminescence, and the particle growth follows the same single sigmoidal kinetics as that of the SiC-free sample (see the Supporting Information), indicating that the size, or the sizeselective properties 23,35 of the seeds, has considerable impact on the reaction.…”