Electrochemical Synthesis of Functionalized Graphene/Polyaniline Composite Using Two Electrode Configuration for Supercapacitors.

An effective approach for the large-scale fabrication of conducting polyaniline (PANI) using in situ anodic electrochemical polymerization on nickel foam which had been coated in aryl diazonium salt (ADS)-modified graphene (ADS-G). In the present work, ADS-G was used as a high surface-area support material for the electrochemical polymerization of PANI. The electrochemical performances of the ADS-G/PANI composites exhibited better suitability as supercapacitor electrode materials than those of the PANI. The ADS-G/PANI composites achieved a specific capacitance of 528 F g-1, which was higher than that of PANI (266 F g-1) due to excellent electrode-electrolyte interaction and the synergistic effect of electrical conductivity between ADS-G and PANI in the composites. These findings suggest that the ADS-G/PANI composites are a suitable composite for potential supercapacitor applications.

Efficient Oxygen Vacancy Defect Engineering for Enhancing Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance over SnO2-x Ultrafine Nanocrystals.

Regardless of its good electron-transfer ability and chemical stability, pure Zn2SnO4 (ZSO) still has intrinsic deficiencies of a narrow spectral response region, poor absorption ability, and high photo-activated carrier recombination rate. Aiming to overcome the deficiencies above-mentioned, we designed a facile hydrothermal route for etching ZSO nanoparticles in a dilute acetic acid solution, through which efficient oxygen vacancy defect engineering was accomplished and SnO2-x nanocrystals were obtained with an ultrafine particle size. In comparison with the untreated ZSO nanoparticles, the specific surface area of SnO2-x nanocrystals was substantially enlarged, subsequently leading to the notable augmentation of active sites for the photo-degradation reaction. Aside from the above, it is worth noting that SnO2-x nanocrystals were endowed with a broad spectral response, enhancing light absorption capacity and the photo-activated carrier transfer rate with the aid of oxygen vacancy defect engineering. Accordingly, SnO2-x nanocrystals exhibited significantly enhanced photoactivity toward the degradation of the organic dye rhodamine B (RhB), which could be imputed to the synergistic effect of increasing active sites, intensified visible-light harvesting, and the separation rate of the photo-activated charge carrier caused by the oxygen vacancy defect engineering. In addition, these findings will inspire us to open up a novel pathway to design and prepare oxide compound photocatalysts modified by oxygen vacancy defects in pursuing excellent visible-light photoactivity.

One-Dimensional P-Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride Tube: Facile Synthesis, Effect of Doping Concentration, and Enhanced Mechanism for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

P-doped graphitic carbon nitride tubes (P-CNTS) with different P concentrations were successfully fabricated via a pre-hydrothermal in combination with a calcination process under a nitrogen atmosphere. The as-prepared samples exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance with a hydrogen production rate (HPR) of 2749.3 µmol g-1 h-1, which was 17.5 and 6.6 times higher than that of the bulk graphitic carbon nitride (CNB) and graphitic carbon nitride tube (CNT). The structural and textural properties of the P-CNT samples were well-investigated via a series of characterization methods. Compared with the bulk g-C3N4, the tubular structure of the doped samples was provided with a larger specific surface area (SSA) and a relatively rough interior. Besides the above, surface defects were formed due to the doping, which could act as more active sites for the hydrogen production reaction. In addition, the introduction of the P element could effectively adjust the band-gap, strengthen the harvest of visible-light, and boost the effective separation of photogenerated charges. More interestingly, these findings can open up a novel prospect for the enhancement of the photocatalytic performance of the modified g-C3N4.

One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of La-Doped ZnIn2S4 Microspheres with Improved Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance.

Impurity element doping is extensively taken as one of the most efficient strategies to regulate the electronic structure as well as the rate of photogenerated charge separation of photocatalysts. Herein, a one-pot hydrothermal synthesis process was exploited to obtain La-doped ZnIn2S4 microspheres, aiming at gaining insight into the role that doping ions played in the improvement of pollutant photodegradation. Systematical characterization means, comprising of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) diffuse reflection spectroscopy and Raman spectra, combination with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), were employed to in depth reveal the concomitancy of La ions and ZnIn2S4 crystal lattice. The results showed that the La-doped ZnIn2S4 samples exhibited a slightly wider and stronger spectral absorption than pristine ZnIn2S4; and the specific surface area of doped ZnIn2S4 samples was a bit larger. The La-doped ZnIn2S4 electrodes showed improved photocurrent response, and the photocurrent density reached a maximum value at La content of 1.5 wt%. As expected, La-doped ZnIn2S4 samples exhibited a remarkable enhancement of photocatalytic behaviour toward the photodegradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) and methyl orange (MO). The prominently enhanced photoactivity of doped ZnIn2S4 samples was due to the synergistic effect of the elevated visible-light absorption ability and effective photogenerated charge carriers' separation.

Continuously Improved Photocatalytic Performance of Zn2SnO4/SnO2/Cu2O Composites by Structural Modulation and Band Alignment Modification.

Improving the photocatalytic performance of multi-component photocatalysts through structural modulation and band alignment engineering has attracted great interest in the context of solar energy utilization and conversion. In our work, Zn2SnO4/SnO2 hierarchical architectures comprising nanorod building block assemblies were first achieved via a facile solvothermal synthesis route with lysine and ethylenediamine (EDA) as directing agents, and then chemically etched in NaOH solution to enlarge the surface area and augment active sites. The etched Zn2SnO4/SnO2 hierarchical architectures were further decorated by Cu2O nanoparticles though an in situ chemical deposition method based on band alignment engineering. In comparison with unetched Zn2SnO4/SnO2, the specific surface area of Zn2SnO4/SnO2/Cu2O hierarchical architectures became larger, and the responsive region and absorbance intensity became wider and higher in the whole visible-light range. Zn2SnO4/SnO2/Cu2O hybrid photocatalysts presented enormously improved visible-light photocatalytic behaviour for Rhodamine B (RhB) decomposition. The enhancement of photocatalytic behaviour was dominantly attributed to the synergy effect of the larger specific surface area, higher light absorption capacity, and more effective photo-induced charge carrier separation and migration. A proposed mechanism for the enormously promoted photocatalytic behaviour is brought forth on the basis of the energy-band structure combined with experimental results.

A Facile Approach for the Synthesis of Zn2SnO4/BiOBr Hybrid Nanocomposites with Improved Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance.

In this study, a novel Zn2SnO4/BiOBr hybrid photocatalyst was prepared via a mild hydrothermal synthesis combined with a chemical deposition method. The morphological structure, chemical composition, crystal structure, and optical properties were comprehensively characterized by a series of measurement techniques. Morphological observation showed that fine Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles were anchored on the nanoplate surface of a flower-like BiOBr 3D hierarchical structure. The experimental results of UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy revealed that the visible-light absorptive capacity of the Zn2SnO4/BiOBr hybrid photocatalyst was promoted, as compared to that of pure Zn2SnO4. Evidenced by electro-negativity theoretical calculation, Zn2SnO4 and BiOBr possessed matched band edges for accelerating photogenerated charge separation at the interface. The Zn2SnO4/BiOBr hybrid photocatalyst exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. According to the band energy structure and the experimental results, the enhanced photocatalytic performance was ascribed to the improved visible-light absorptive capacity and the contact interface between Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles and BiOBr nanoplates, being able to favor the prompt charge migration and suppress the recombination of photogenerated carriers in the hybrid system.

Carbon Nitride Decorated Ball-Flower like Co3O4 Hybrid Composite: Hydrothermal Synthesis and Ethanol Gas Sensing Application.

Recently, semiconducting metal oxide (SMO) gas sensors have attracted the attention of researchers for high conductivity, labile features by environment, low cost, easy preparation, etc. However, traditional SMOs have some defects such as higher operating temperature and lower response value, which greatly limit their application in the field of gas sensor. In this work, the carbon nitride decorated ball-flower like Co3O4 composite was successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method, the composition and morphology of the as-synthesized samples were studied by the techniques of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and N2-sorption. As a consequence, the pure Co3O4 and the carbon nitride decorated Co3O4 both possess ball-flower like structure, and the as-synthesized carbon nitride decorated Co3O4 composite exhibits significant sensing properties to ethanol which is 1.6 times higher than that of pure Co3O4, furthermore, the composite possesses high selectivity and stability towards ethanol detection.