Perovskite CuO@BaSnO3 nanorods photocatalysts with promoted visible light ability for desulfurization of thiophene

Abstract

BackgroundThe desulfurization of fuels is critical to upgrade their performance and to match the demands of sulfur standards MethodMesoporous p-n heterojunctions CuO/BaSnO3 nanorods were fabricated by the hydrothermal process in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone. The photocatalytic performance of the synthesized CuO/BaSnO3 nanorods at various CuO percentages compared with the pristine BaSnO3 was evaluated by desulfurising thiophene under visible light illumination Significant findingsXRD and HRTEM results verified the fabrication of perovskite BaSnO3 in cubic structure and CuO in the monoclinic phase, and TEM images of CuO/BaSnO3 exhibited nanorod-like morphology with a length of 100 nm and width of 10 nm decorated with CuO NPs (5 nm). After optimization, the experimental results showed that with a photocatalyst dosage of 2 g/L and CuO percentage of 15%, the maximal desulfurization rate of thiophene was around 100% within 60 min. The rate constant of 15% CuO/BaSnO3 photocatalyst was the maximum, and it was enhanced larger 3.36 times than that of the pristine BaSnO3 nanorods. The photocurrent intensity of 15% CuO/BaSnO3 photocatalyst was enhanced 9.2 times greater than that of pristine BaSnO3. The enhancement of the desulfurization rate illustrated that the creation of an internal electric field through the p-n heterojunction CuO/BaSnO3 system could facilitate the separation of photoinduced holes and electrons, improving the charge transport ability and hence promoting the photocatalytic performance. PL, transient photocurrent responses and electrochemical impedance results were determined to confirm our photocatalytic results. Cycling runs displayed that the obtained CuO/BaSnO3 photocatalyst still exhibited high photocatalytic ability and stability after five cycles. This work is anticipated to strengthen the design of effective and novel p-n heterojunctions photocatalysts for practical photocatalysis applications in terms of H2 production and detoxification of toxic organic compounds.