Photo/Electrocatalytic Properties of Nanocrystalline ZnO and La–Doped ZnO: Combined DFT Fundamental Semiconducting Properties and Experimental Study

This work reports the synthesis of nanocrystalline ZnO and 5% La‐doped ZnO (La/ZnO) materials for photo/electrocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B. The samples were characterized by X‐Ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X‐Ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance spectra. The effect of La doping on electronic structure was investigated using density functional theory calculations (DFT),…

Design of Ag/ and Pt/TiO2-SiO2 nanomaterials for the photocatalyti degradation of phenol under solar irradiation

The design of hybrid mesoporous TiO2-SiO2(TS1) materials decorated with Ag and Pt nanoparticles was performed. The photocatalytic degradation of phenol under artificial solar irradiation was studied and the activity and selectivity of the intermediate products were verified. TiO2-SiO(2)was prepared by sol-gel method while Ag- and Pt-based photocatalysts (TS1-Ag and TS1-Pt) were prepared by photodeposition of…

Photo-induced processes on Nb2O5 synthesized by different procedures

The properties of Nb2O5 strongly depend on its synthesis procedure as well as the conditions of ulterior thermal treatment. We report the synthesis of Nb2O5 powders prepared by sol-gel precipitation method using niobium(V) ethoxide as precursor. Two chemical routes were chosen: the presence of tryethyl amine (TEA) as precipitant/template agent, or the oxidant peroxide method.…

Study of the effectiveness of the flocculation-photocatalysis in the treatment of wastewater coming from dairy industries

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effectiveness of flocculation-photocatalysis as combined processes in the treatment of dairy industries wastewater. Different commercial and lab prepared flocculants and photocatalysts were evaluated. All the materials prepared were extensively characterized. Commercial materials presented the best physicochemical properties and performance in the treatment of the studied…

Silver-modified ZnO highly UV-photoactive

ZnO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a controlled precipitation procedure by mixing aqueous solutions of Zn(II) acetate and dissolved Na2CO3 at pH ca. 7.0 without template addition and ulterior calcination at 400 °C for 2 h. The Ag-ZnO catalysts (ranging from 0.5 to 10 Ag wt.-%) were obtained by photochemical deposition method at the surface of the prepared ZnO…

High {0 0 1} faceted TiO2 nanoparticles for the valorization of oxygenated compounds present in aqueous biomass-derived feedstocks

{0 0 1} faceted TiO2 catalysts are hydrothermally synthesized by using titanium(IV) isopropoxide and butoxide precursors (ISO and BUT TiO2samples) together with HF addition. Their activity and stability are evaluated in the catalytic condensation of light oxygenated organic compounds present in an aqueous model mixture simulating a real bio-refinery effluent, under moderate operation conditions. High {0 0 1} faceted TiO2 catalysts…

Enhanced photocatalytic removal of phenol from aqueous solutions using ZnO modified with Ag

Different photocatalysts based on commercial ZnO modified by silver photodeposition were prepared in this work. The samples were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), specific surface area (SSA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance (UV–vis DRS). XRD and XPS showed that Ag/ZnO samples are composed of…

A facile shape-controlled synthesis of highly photoactive fluorine containing TiO2 nanosheets with high {001} facet exposure

Surface-fluorinated TiO2 materials with high {001} facet exposure were prepared by a simple and high-yield preparation procedure. Faceted/fluorinated samples showed a high photocatalytic performance not only in oxidation processes, tested in phenol and methyl orange degradation, but also in a reduction process as Cr(VI) photoreduction. Reaction rates for these materials greatly exceeded the ones obtained for…