Heterostructured ZnFeO/FeTiO/TiO Composite Nanotube Arrays with an Improved Photocatalysis Degradation Efficiency Under Simulated Sunlight Irradiation.

Journal: Nano-micro letters
Published Date: Nov 16, 2017

Abstract

To improve the visible light absorption and photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide nanotube arrays (TONTAs), ZnFeO (ZFO) nanocrystals were perfused into pristine TONTA pipelines using a novel bias voltage-assisted perfusion method. ZFO nanocrystals were well anchored on the inner walls of the pristine TONTAs when the ZFO suspensions (0.025 mg mL) were kept under a 60 V bias voltage for 1 h. After annealing at 750 °C for 2 h, the heterostructured ZFO/FeTiO (FTO)/TiO composite nanotube arrays were successfully obtained. Furthermore, Fe was reduced to Fe when solid solution reactions occurred at the interface of ZFO and the pristine TONTAs. Introducing ZFO significantly enhanced the visible light absorption of the ZFO/FTO/TONTAs relative to that of the annealed TONTAs. The coexistence of type I and staggered type II band alignment in the ZFO/FTO/TONTAs facilitated the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, thereby improving the efficiency of the ZFO/FTO/TONTAs for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue when irradiated with simulated sunlight.

Authors

  • Kun Xiong
    State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, People's Republic of China.
  • Kunzhou Wang
    State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, People's Republic of China.
  • Lin Chen
    College of Sports, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China.
  • Xinqing Wang
    Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
  • Qingbo Fan
    State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, People's Republic of China.
  • Jérémie Courtois
    State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, People's Republic of China.
  • Yuliang Liu
    State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, People's Republic of China.
  • Xianguo Tuo
    Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong, 643000, People's Republic of China. tuoxianguo@suse.edu.cn.
  • Minhao Yan
    State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, People's Republic of China. yanminhao@swust.edu.cn.

Keywords

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