Defect-poor BaSn(OH)6 enhanced charge separation for efficient photocatalytic degradation of toluene.

Crystal defect is well-known to have a significant effect on the photocatalytic performance of semiconductors. Herein, defect-rich and -poor BaSn(OH)6 (BSOH-Sn and BSOH-Ba) photocatalysts were synthesized by exchanging the addition order of Ba and Sn. Results show that the defect-poor BSOH-Ba exhibited more efficient toluene degradation under ultraviolet (UV) light, which could attribute to the great suppression of photogenerated electron-hole (e--h+) pairs recombination by tuning the defect concentration. The low defect concentration in BSOH-Ba finally promotes the charge separation efficiency, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the photocatalytic toluene degradation reactions. This work not only provides an effective way to inhibit the recombination of photogenerated carriers and improve the photocatalytic performance, but also promotes the understanding of defective perovskite-type hydroxide for more photoreactions.

Management of typical VOCs in air with adsorbents: status and challenges.

The serious harm of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the ecological environment and human health has attracted widespread attention worldwide. With economic growth and accelerated industrialization, the anthropogenic emissions of VOCs have continued to increase. The most crucial aspect is to choose the appropriate adsorbent, which is very important for the VOCs removal. The search for environmentally friendly VOCs treatment technologies is urgent. The adsorption method is one of the most promising VOCs emission reduction technologies with the advantages of high cost-effectiveness, simple operation, and low energy consumption. One of the most critical aspects is the selection of the appropriate adsorbent, which is very important for the removal of VOCs. This work provides an overview of the sources and hazards of VOCs, focusing on recent research advances in VOCs adsorption materials and the key factors controlling the VOCs adsorption process. A summary of the key challenges and opportunities for each adsorbent is also provided. The adsorption capacity for VOCs is enhanced by an abundant specific surface area; the most efficient adsorption process is achieved when the pore size is slightly larger than the molecular diameter of VOCs; the increase in the number of chemical functional groups contributes to the increase in adsorption capacity. In addition, methods of activation and surface modification to improve the adsorption capacity for VOCs are discussed to guide the design of more advanced adsorbents.

Promote hydroxyl radical and key intermediates formation for deep toluene mineralization via unique electron transfer channel.

The degradation and mineralization of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in gas-solid phase photocatalytic systems suffer great challenges due to the low electron transfer efficiency and slow benzene ring-opening kinetics. Hence, a heterojunction photocatalyst of Bi2SiO5/TiO2 has been synthesized by a facile method. Bi2SiO5/TiO2 shows the ability of mineralizing toluene to CO2 with a degradation rate of 85.5%, while TiO2 is 49.0% and presents a continuous deactivation. Experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations indicate that a unique electron transfer channel of Bi/Si-O-Ti can be established in the heterojunction sample due to the coupling of the interface. The channel facilitates electron transfer to the catalyst surface, generating •OH radicals with strong oxidation and ring-opening ability. Moreover, in-situ DRIFTS reveal that the selective generation of benzoic acid on Bi2SiO5/TiO2 heterojunction plays a critical role in the ring-opening of toluene. This work discloses a novel paradigm to obtain the deep and durable photocatalytic mineralization of toluene.

Low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH(3) over Mn-Ce oxides supported on TiO2 and Al2O3: a comparative study.

MnCe oxides were supported on TiO(2) and Al(2)O(3) by an ultrasonic impregnation method and used for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH(3) at low-temperature (80-220 degrees C). MnCe/TiO(2) showed a relatively higher SCR activity than MnCe/Al(2)O(3) at the temperature range of 80-150 degrees C. When the reaction temperature was higher than 150 degrees C, MnCe/Al(2)O(3) exhibited superior SCR activity to MnCe/TiO(2). NH(3) temperature programmed desorption study proved that MnCe/TiO(2) was mainly Lewis acidic, while MnCe/Al(2)O(3) could provide more Brönsted acid sites. These acid sites play an important role in SCR according to in situ diffuse reflectance infrared transform spectroscopy (DRIFT) analysis. The main SCR reaction was a typical Eley-Rideal mechanism on MnCe/TiO(2), which took place between coordinated NH(3)/NH(4)(+) and gas-phase NO. For MnCe/Al(2)O(3), the reaction mainly occurred via another pathway when the temperature exceeded 150 degrees C, which commenced with the adsorption and oxidation of NO and was followed by reaction between NO(2) or NO(2)-containing compounds and NH(3) adspecies. This reaction pathway makes a significant contribution to the improved NO conversion for MnCe/Al(2)O(3) at higher temperature.

Photocatalytic reduction of NO with NH3 using Si-doped TiO2 prepared by hydrothermal method.

A series of Si-doped TiO2 (Si/TiO2) photocatalysts supported on woven glass fabric were prepared by hydrothermal method for photocatalytic reduction of NO with NH3. The photocatalytic activity tests were carried out in a continuous Pyrex reactor with the flow rate of 2000mL/min under UV irradiation (luminous flux: 1.1x10(4)lm, irradiated catalyst area: 160cm2). The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometer, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). The experiment results showed that NO conversion on Si/TiO2 at 323K could exceed 60%, which was about 50% higher than that on Degussa P25 and pure TiO2. With the doping of Si, photocatalysts with smaller crystal size, larger surface area and larger pore volume were obtained. It was also found that Ti-O-Si bands were formed on the surface of Si/TiO2 and that the surface hydroxyl concentration was greatly increased. As a result, total acidity and NH3 chemisorption amount were enhanced for Si/TiO2 leading to its photocatalytic activity improvement.

DRIFT study of manganese/ titania-based catalysts for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3.

Manganese oxides and iron-manganese oxides supported on TiO2 were prepared by the sol-gel method and used for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3. Base on the previous study, Mn(0.4)/ TiO2 and Fe(0.1)-Mn(0.4)/TiO2 were then selected to carry out the in situ diffuse reflectance infrared transform spectroscopy (DRIFT) investigation for revealing the reaction mechanism. The DRIFT spectroscopy for the adsorption of NH3 indicated the presence of coordinated NH3 and NH4+ on both of the two catalysts. When NO was introduced, the coordinated NH3 on the catalyst surface was consumed rapidly, indicating these species could react with NO effectively. When NH3 was introduced into the sample preadsorbed with NO + O2, SCR reaction would not proceed on Mn(0.4)/TiO2. However, for Fe(0.1)-Mn(0.4)/ TiO2 the bands due to coordinated NH3 on Fe2O3 were formed. Simultaneously, the bidentate nitrates were transformed to monodentate nitrates and NH4+ was detected. And NO2 from the oxidation of NO on catalyst could react with NH4+ leading to the reduction of NO. Therefore, it was suggested that the SCR reaction on Fe(0.1)-Mn(0.4)/TiO2 could also take place in a different way from the reactions on Mn(0.4)/TiO2 proposed by other researchers. Furthermore, the SCR reaction steps for these two kinds of catalysts were proposed.