Abstract
ZnO and TiO2 are semiconductor nanomaterials that are widely used in photocatalysis. However, the relatively high recombination rate and low quantum yield of photogenerated electron–hole pairs limit their practical applications. In this study, a series of TiO2/ZnO/diatomite composites with various compositions were successfully prepared via a two-step precipitation method. They exhibited stronger UV–visible absorption properties and substantially lower fluorescence intensities than those of ZnO and ZnO/diatomite, which was mainly due to the low recombination rate of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs in the composite system. The reaction intermediates of methylene blue were detected by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, and the degradation process was determined. The best composite catalyst was used for the degradation of gaseous methylbenzene and gaseous acetone. The gaseous acetone degradation product was determined to be acetaldehyde via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The results show that the composite catalyst exhibited a good photocatalytic degradation of both liquid pollutants and harmful volatile gases. When applied to the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, the composite catalyst retained a good photoresponsivity and electrolytic efficiency.
Highlights
Catalysts are widely used in modern chemical, energy, petroleum, and environmental industries [1]
We found that the ZnO(10%)/diatomite composite catalyst had the best photocatalytic performance [32]
TiO2 (X%)/ZnO(10%)/diatomite composite catalysts were successfully prepared via a two-step precipitation method using titanium tetrachloride and zinc acetate dihydrate in an ice-water bath
Summary
Catalysts are widely used in modern chemical, energy, petroleum, and environmental industries [1]. The effective inhibition of the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and the improvement of photocatalytic activity have become active areas of research [6,7]. Research shows that the photocatalytic efficiency can be effectively improved by improving the adsorption performance of the target degradation materials and reducing the recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs in photocatalysts. ZnO and TiO2 are common semiconductor nanomaterials with an appropriate theoretical bandwidth (approximately 3.2 eV) and high thermal and chemical stabilities [8,9]. They are commonly used to degrade organic pollutants and demonstrate good application prospects in the field of catalysis [10–12]. TiO2(X%)/ZnO(10%)/diatomite composite catalysts demonstrated the successfu planes of hexagonal wurtzite ZnO, respectively. In the TiO (X%)/ZnO(10%)/diatomite composite catalysts demonstrated the successful
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