Good Light Harvesting Research Articles

Double-stranded DNA-nucleic acid dye complex-sensitized biocatalytic photosynthesis: Base pairing-switched regeneration of nicotinamide cofactor

Photo-biocatalysis, the combination of photosensitization and biocatalysis, is an emerging solution for sunlight-based renewable energy. It is thus important to develop light antennas with both good light harvesting and efficient electron transfer. Herein, the intriguing electrical conductivity of dsDNA and its host effect (for nucleic acid dyes to harvest light) were explored simultaneously to develop a dsDNA-based light antenna for photo-biocatalysis. With SYBR Green I (SG) as the example of the nucleic acid dye, the proposed SG-dsDNA system was found to be capable for visible-light-driven reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) regeneration, and the turnover frequency of which (1.35 min−1) exceeded most of the existing photocatalytic systems. Since SG can only be hosted by dsDNA, meanwhile dsDNA can be formed through hybridization between single strand DNA and its complementary strand, the proposed system adds an extra control of the photocatalytic activity (DNA base pairing-based switch). When integrating the SG-dsDNA system with NADH-dependent horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (HLADH), successful synthesis of 2-phenylpropanol (a crucial intermediates of profens manufacturing) was achieved.

Oxygen Functionalized Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Photocatalytic Degradation of Dye

Photocatalyst such as graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is being studied intensively due to its ability in photocatalysis. g-C3N4 is a metal-free semiconductor photocatalyst with a bandgap of approximately 2.7 eV which contributes to its good visible light harvesting ability. In this work, bulk g-C3N4 was produced via pyrolysis of melamine in a muffle furnace. Functionalized g-C3N4 with improved properties was synthesized via modified Hummers method. The powdered form of functionalized g-C3N4 were characterized using SEM and EDX to identify its physiological properties. The result showed that the introduction of oxygen into g-C3N4 is proven by the increased content of oxygen in the functionalized g-C3N4 upon oxidation using Hummers method. Besides, exfoliation of g-C3N4 to smaller particle size observed from the SEM images. Then, the phototcatalytic performances of the bulk g-C3N4 and functionalized g-C3N4 were evaluated by degrading of Methylene Blue (MB) dyes under LED light irradiation. The result revealed that the bulk g-C3N4 has a higher efficiency in removal of dyes (56.40 % in 150 minutes) than the functionalized g-C3N4 (22.60 % in 150 minutes) which indicates that it has a better photocatalytic degradation ability, which possibly due to the destruction of compound structure under strong acid treatment.

Unleashing synergistic co-sensitization of BOA dyes and Ru(ii) complexes for dye-sensitized solar cells: achieving remarkable efficiency exceeding 10% through comprehensive characterization, advanced modeling, and performance analysis.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have emerged as a promising alternative for renewable energy conversion. The synthesis and characterization of the 2-acetonitrile-benzoxazole (BOA) sensitizer MSW-1-4 are presented along with their chemical structures. Four new organic dyes, MSW-1 through MSW-4, were synthesized using BOA as the main building block, with different additional donor groups. The dyes were characterized and their photophysical and electrochemical properties were studied. Computational modeling using density functional theory (DFT) was performed to investigate their potential as sensitizers/co-sensitizers for photovoltaic applications. The modeling showed a distinct charge separation between the donor and acceptor parts of the molecules. For dye-sensitized solar cells, MSW-4 performed the best out of MSW-1-3 and was also better than the reference dye D-5. Moreover, MSW-3 was co-sensitized along with a typical highly efficient bipyridyl Ru(ii) sensitizer, N719, reference dye D-5, and metal-free dye MSW-4, to induce light harvesting over the expanded spectral region and hence improve the efficiency. Co-sensitizer (MSW-3 + N719) showed an improved efficiency of 10.20%. This outperformed a solar cell that used only N719 as the sensitizer, which had an efficiency of 7.50%. The appropriate combined dye loading of MSW-3 + N719 enabled good light harvesting and maximized the photoexcitation. The synergistic effect of using both MSW-3 and N719 as co-sensitizers led to enhanced solar cell performance compared with using N719 alone.

Synthesis of new benzimidazole based ruthenium (II) dyes for application in dye-sensitized solar cells with detailed spectroscopic and theoretical evaluation

In this work, four ancillary ligands named SL-1 to SL-4, having core nucleus of 2-(2-pyridyl) benzimidazole, augmented with electron donating and electron withdrawing groups were successfully synthesized in good yields. The characterization of ligands was assured by FTIR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, and X-ray crystallographic analysis. The as-synthesized ligands were subjected to complexation with 2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylic acid and potassium thiocyanate to prepare four new ruthenium (II) dyes. All the synthesized ruthenium (II) dyes were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and their photophysical and electrochemical studies were compared to the benchmarked dye (N719). Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) were performed to gain deep insights and better understanding of the quantitative structure-property relationships of the named ruthenium dyes (SL1–4). Results showed excellent correlation between the experimental and theoretical results; all the four new dyes exhibited narrow band gap and low singlet excitation energies (1.33 – 1.72 eV) indicating good light harvesting ability in DSSCs. Mulliken charge analysis reveals the intramolecular charge transfer between the highly electronegative nitrogen and oxygen donor centers and the strongly electropositive ruthenium acceptor in the synthesized dyes.

Triphenylamine based benzylidene ketones as visible-light-absorbing Type II photoinitiators for free radical photopolymerization

In this study, four Type II visible-light-absorbing triphenylamine benzylidene ketones (C1F–C4F) for radical photopolymerization were synthesized. The design strategy for ketone-cores involved the use of cyclobutanone for C1F, cyclopentanone for C2F, cyclohexanone for C3F, and acetone for C4F. The structures were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry, respectively. The triphenylamine benzylidene ketones had good light harvesting ranging from 350 to 500 nm. In addition, the core effects with alkane or alicyclic rings on the photophysical, thermal, photochemical and electrochemical properties for these compounds were investigated systematically. Finally, the photopolymerization experiments demonstrated that trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) monomer can be initiated for photopolymerization by triphenylamine benzylidene ketones (C1F–C4F)/triethanolamine (TEOA) photoinitiating systems under UV, LED@405 nm and LED@468 nm exposures. Particularly, C4F based formulation exhibits the best double bond conversion efficiency under UV and LED@468 nm exposure. On the other hand, C1F based formulation exhibits higher photoreactivity under LED@405 nm irradiation condition. This work thus demonstrates the introduction of different cores into the benzylidene, which can fine-tune the photopolymerization characteristics and let these novel photoinitiators promising candidates for industrial applications.

Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Quadrupolar Bithiophenes and Cyclopentadithiophenes as Fluorescent Oxygen Photosensitizers

The linear and nonlinear optical properties of two quadrupolar bithiophenes and two quadrupolar cyclopentadithiophenes have been investigated. At the 5,5′ positions of the central bi/dithiophene units, the molecules possess 1,4-phenylalkynyl groups that bear either electron-donating (NPh2) or electron-withdrawing (SO2CF3) groups. The optical properties were experimentally studied and modelled via quantum chemistry computations of key configurations and conformations. All the compounds show good light harvesting efficiency due to their strong absorption in the visible range. These fluorescent compounds are also good two-photon absorbers in the NIR range that can photosensitize oxygen in toluene. DFT calculations reveal that the mixtures of conformers in a solution show similar linear optical properties. TD-DFT calculations reproduce the experimental spectroscopic data fairly well, including vibronic couplings in the fluorescence spectra. The lowest excited state for two-photon absorption corresponds to the S2 state. The roles of the SO2CF3 and NPh2 terminal groups on the nonlinear response were analyzed for possible bio-oriented applications, with the cyclopentadithiophenes showing the most promising figures of merit.

A Review of Perovskite-Based Photodetectors and Their Applications.

Perovskite photodetectors have attracted much research and attention because of their outstanding photoelectric characteristics, such as good light harvesting capability, excellent carrier migration behavior, tunable band gap, and so on. Recently, the reported studies mainly focus on materials synthesis, device structure design, interface engineering and physical mechanism analysis to improve the device characteristics, including stability, sensitivity, response speed, device noise, etc. This paper systematically summarizes the application fields and device structures of several perovskite photodetectors, including perovskite photoconductors, perovskite photodiodes, and perovskite phototransistors. Moreover, based on their molecular structure, 3D, 2D, 1D, and 0D perovskite photodetectors are introduced in detail. The research achievements and applications of perovskite photodetectors are summarized. Eventually, the future research directions and main challenges of perovskite photodetectors are prospected, and some possible solutions are proposed. The aim of the work is to provide a new thinking direction for further improving the performance of perovskite photodetectors.

Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO2/CdS/BiSbS3 Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights

The development of efficient and novel p-n heterojunctions for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is still a challenging problem. We have demonstrated the complementary nature of (p-type) BiSbS3 as a sensitizer when coupled with (n-type) TiO2/CdS to improve the photocatalytic activity and solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency. The as-prepared p-n heterojunction TiO2/CdS/BiSbS3 exhibits good visible light harvesting capacity and high charge separation over the binary heterojunction, which are confirmed by photoluminescence (PL) and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The ternary heterojunction produces higher H2 than the binary systems TiO2/CdS and TiO2/BiSbS3. This ternary heterojunction system displayed the highest photocurrent density of 5 mA·cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in neutral conditions, and STH of 3.8% at 0.52 V vs. RHE is observed. The improved photocatalytic response was due to the favorable energy band positions of CdS and BiSbS3. This study highlights the p-n junction made up of TiO2/CdS/BiSbS3, which promises efficient charge formation, separation, and suppression of charge recombination for improved PEC water splitting efficiency. Further, no appreciable loss of activity was observed for the photoanode over 2500 s. Band alignment and interfaces mechanisms have been studied as well.

Influence of Nano Particles on Optical Properties of Cu-MOFs

A copper metal organic frame work (MOF) is synthesized by taking adequate concentration of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, 2-bromomalonaldehyde, 1,4 dicarboxylic acid and copper nitrate. Cu-MOF /Ag2O and Cu-MOF/rGO composites are fabricated and is characterized by XRD, UV-Vis spectroscopy and FT-IR. The band gap of the MOF/ nanocomposites is reduced when compare to individuals so that a good visible light harvesting catalyst is formed. This reduction of band gap is due to the either create of shallow state with small ionization energy, very close to the valence and conduction band edge. KEYWORDS: Mercaptobenzothiazole, 2-bromomalonaldehyde MOFs, Copper Composites, Optical Properties, Ag2O, rGO.

Hollow C, N-TiO2@C surface molecularly imprinted microspheres with visible light photocatalytic regeneration availability for targeted degradation of sulfadiazine

Novel hollow C, N-TiO2@C surface molecularly imprinted microspheres (HCNTC-SMIPs) with hydrophilicity, reusability, and selectivity were synthesized. The core–shell hollow structure yields large specific surface areas, high surface-to-volume ratios and effective diffusion rate on both inner and outer exposed surfaces. The C, N-TiO2 shell possesses high photo-catalytic decomposition capacity toward the specific pollutants. Moreover, TiO2 acts not only as a photocatalyst but also as a double cross-linker agent of molecularly imprinted to significantly reduce the molar ratio of formaldehyde. The hydrophilic surface imprinted layer provides the recognition sites and specific pore structures. The results showed that HCNTC-SMIPs possessed a high specific surface area of 305.10 m2 g−1 and a good visible light harvesting property with a bandgap of 1.67 eV. This could efficiently suppress the photoelectron-hole recombination, and thereby heightening the photocatalytic degradation of sulfadiazine (SDZ). The photodegradation efficiency of HCNTC-SMIPs can reach 99.25 % within 140 min and 90.00 % after 6 cycles. The HCNTC-SMIPs had a higher kinetic constant (0.01815 min−1) than those of HCNTC (0.00964 min−1) and TiO2 (0.00548 min−1). HCNTC-SMIPs can achieve targeted and efficient SDZ removal, as well as in-situ regeneration. The possible degradation pathways of SDZ primarily includes smiles-type rearrangement, SO2 extrusion, ring hydroxylation, direct oxidation and SN bond cleavage processes based on LC-MS analysis.

Constructing Direct Z-Scheme Heterostructure by Enwrapping ZnIn2 S4 on CdS Hollow Cube for Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Generation.

Rational design hybrid nanostructure photocatalysts with efficient charge separation and transfer, and good solar light harvesting ability have critical significance for achieving high solar‐to‐chemical conversion efficiency. Here a highly active and stable composite photocatalyst is reported by integrating ultrathin ZnIn2S4 nanosheets on surface of hollow CdS cube to form the cube‐in‐cube structure. Experimental results combined with density functional theory calculations confirm that the Z‐scheme ZnIn2S4/CdS heterojunction is formed, which highly boosts the charge separation and transfer under the local‐electric‐field at semiconductor/semiconductor interface, and thus prolongs their lifetimes. Moreover, such a structure affords the highly enhanced light‐harvesting property. The optimized ZnIn2S4/CdS nanohybrids exhibit superior H2 generation rate under visible‐light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm) with excellent photochemical stability during 20 h continuous operation.

Designing novel spiro compounds as favorable hole transport materials for quantum dot sensitized photovoltaics

Some hole transport materials (HTMs) containing 9,9´-spiro-bifluorene central moiety (core) were developed to achieve high performance quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The properties of all HTMs were explored via density functional theory (DFT) calculations along with Marcus and Einstein theories. It was exhibited that the HOMO and LUMO energies of all HTMs were positioned upper than the valence and conduction bands of CdS and CdSe QDs, respectively. Thus, they were appropriately aligned which could result in efficient hole injection from the CdS and CdSe QDs towards the HTMs. The negative solvation energies of all HTMs approved that they were highly stable and soluble in CH2Cl2 solution. All spiro-based HTMs displayed relatively good light harvesting efficiency (LHE) for light absorption and the materials with X = CH3 and F substituents exhibited the greatest LHE values of 0.3485 and 0.3317. Hirshfeld analysis illustrated that the H∙∙∙H contacts were the most important interactions that covered the greatest areas (41.1–71.2%) in all HTMs except for the X = CF3 which indicated F…H interaction as the most significant interaction with 42.2% surface area. The highest hole mobility (μh = 1.65 × 10-2 cm2V-1s−1) was measured for the HTM including the X = H substituent that was greater than that of the famous Spiro-OMeTAD. As a result, it was suggested as the most favorable HTM for QDSSCs as it could afford higher performances than those of Spiro-OMeTAD and other HTMs designed in this work.

Hole transport properties of some spiro-based materials for quantum dot sensitized solar devices

Hole transport characteristics of seven compounds including 9,9´-spiro-bifluorene core bound onto two S(O)2(4-C6H4-X) groups with X = CF3, CH3, CH2CH3, OCH3, OCH2CH3, OH and H substituents were examined using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. These materials were designed for employment in quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) to achieve great performances. All HTMs exhibited negative solvation energies in CH2Cl2 solution confirming they had extraordinary stability and solubility. As the HOMO and LUMO energies of all HTMs were situated at higher levels compared to the valence and conduction bands of both CdS and CdSe QDs, respectively, an appropriate alignment was observed which led to effective hole injection from the CdS and CdSe QDs to the HTMs while inhibited the electron backward towards the electrolyte. Rather good light harvesting efficiency (LHE) values were measured for the spiro-based samples so that the HTM composed of X = OCH3 substituent demonstrated the greatest LHE = 0.571. The HTM including the X = H substituent presented the highest hole mobility (μh = 1.19 × 10-1 cm2V-1s−1) that was very larger than that of the eminent Spiro-OMeTAD. Notably, the HTM with the X = OH group depicted a hole mobility of 2.29 × 10-2 cm2V-1s−1 which was superior to that of Spiro-OMeTAD. As well, the HTMs composed of X = CH3, OCH3 and CH2CH3 exhibited slightly smaller hole mobilities compared to that of Spiro-OMeTAD demonstrating they could display nearly similar hole mobility behaviors. Consequently, the sample including the X = H substituent was recommended as the most advantageous HTM for QDSSCs due to its capacity to cause the highest performance among all HTMs investigated in this effort plus Spiro-OMeTAD.

Facile synthesis of NaNbxTa1-xO3 with abundant oxygen vacancies for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution without co-catalyst

NaNbxTa1-xO3, sodium tantalate and niobate with B atoms substitution is synthesized by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. They are effective photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution from water splitting without co-catalyst. NaNb0.33Ta0.67O3 exhibits the best performance with produced H2 of 1038 μmol g−1 in 5 h, which is more than 5 times than NaTaO3 and NaNbO3. It is also close to 5 times and 2 times than NaTaO3/Pt and NaNbO3/Pt, respectively. NaNb0.33Ta0.67O3 has a transition state crystal structure between NaTaO3 and NaNbO3 crystalline phase. Moreover, XPS, ESR and TEM characterizations demonstrates that there are abundant oxygen vacancies in NaNb0.33Ta0.67O3. These features give the catalyst excellent properties, such as good light harvesting and efficient charge separation confirmed by optical and electrochemical characterizations. This work may offer a strategy to develop perovskite sodium tantalate and niobate with controllable crystal structure and oxygen vacancies for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution in the absence of co-catalyst.

Hydrothermal reaction time effect in wettability and photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanorods arrays films

Titanium dioxide nanorods arrays (NRAs) photoanodes have been grown by the hydrothermal method on FTO coated glass substrates for different hydrothermal reaction time. Synthesized TiO2 NRAs films were compared in terms of their structural, optical and morphological properties. Their wettability and photoelectrochemical performances were also investigated. We found that the sample elaborated at 10 h has the best physical properties. SEM images show that the surface of the FTO substrate is uniformly covered by TiO2 NRs with the optimum packing density. UV–vis-absorption measurements revealed that this sample exhibits good (excellent) light harvesting capabilities. The wettability tests revealed that this sample is more hydrophilic among all prepared samples. A strong correlation between morphological, optical and photoelectrochemical performance has been discussed.

Supported polyoxometalates as emerging nanohybrid materials for photochemical and photoelectrochemical water splitting

Abstract Sunlight and water are among the most plentiful and sustainable resources of energy. Natural photosystem II in the plants uses these resources in ecofriendly manner for the production of atmospheric oxygen and energy. Inspired by this natural process, the development of artificial catalytic system to facilitate the solar-induced water splitting for the continuous production of hydrogen is the holy grail of the chemist and energy experts to meet the future energy demand at minimal environmental cost. Despite considerable research efforts dedicated to this area in the last decade, the development of highly efficient, stable and economic photocatalysts remain a challenging task for the large scale H2 production from water. Polyoxometalates (POMs)-based materials are emerging photo/photoelectrocatalysts in this quest owing to their multi-electron redox potential and fast reversible charge transfer properties, which are the essential requirements of photo-assisted water splitting catalysis. They are generally soluble in aqueous medium and thus their inherent catalytic/co-catalytic properties can be better exploited by incorporating/immobilizing them over suitable support materials. Therefore, exploration of discrete POM units over the support materials possessing high surface area, functionalizable architecture, flexible pore size and good light harvesting ability is an attractive area of research that has resulted in the generation of a strong library of heterocatalysts. The underlying support not only offers stability and recyclability attributes to the POM units but also provides decent dispersion, easy/maximum accessibility to the active sites, enhanced absorption capability, and synergistically enhances the activity by transfer of electrons and efficient charge/carriers separation by creating POM-support junctions. This mini-review emphasizes on the strategies for the incorporation of POMs on various porous supports like metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), oxide-based semiconductors, carbonaceous materials, etc., and their applications as effective photo/photoelectrocatalysts for water splitting. In addition, the mechanistic study, comparative analysis and the future potential of these novel nanoscale materials is also highlighted. We believe that this review article will provide a new direction and scientific interest at the boundary of materials engineering, and solar-driven chemistry for the sustainable energy conversion/storage processes.

Hematite photoelectrodes grown on porous CuO–Sb2O5–SnO2 ceramics for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Photoelectrodes capable of cost-effective hydrogen production on a large scale, via photoelectrochemical water splitting under solar light, could offer an elegant solution to many current problems of humankind caused by over-reliance on fossil fuels and the resulting environmental pollution. The search and design of low-cost photoelectrode materials and substrates for practical applications are required. In this work, unmodified hematite photoanodes grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MO-CVD) onto CuO–Sb2O5–SnO2 ceramic substrates are reported. The deposition time of hematite precursor varied between 10 min, 60 min, and 90 min. The photoanode grown for 60 min exhibits the highest photocurrent density recorded at 1.23 V vs RHE (reversible hydrogen electrode): 4.79 mA/cm2 under blue light of Thorlabs LED M455L2 (455 nm), 0.41 mA/cm2 under the radiation of the real sun in Mexico, and 0.38 mA/cm2 under AM1.5G solar simulator conditions. The high porosity of CuO–Sb2O5–SnO2 ceramics permits the permeation of the hematite precursor into the substrate bulk, which results in 3D-growth of a thin Fe2O3-coating (50 nm or less) on conductive SnO2-grains in the ceramics to a depth of ca. 5 μm. The thick photocatalytic layer (SnO2-grains coated by hematite) of several micrometers assures a good light harvesting by the photoelectrode, while the nano-sized Fe2O3-films on conductive SnO2-grains is favorable for charge diffusion. This architecture of the photoelectrode results in good photoelectrochemical characteristics and is promising for further development.

Structural, physico-chemical landscapes, ground state and excited state properties in different solvent atmosphere of Avapritinib and its ultrasensitive detection using SERS/GERS on self-assembly formation with graphene quantum dots

Avapritinib is a complex molecule with many heterocyclic rings developed for the treatment of advanced PDGFRA D842V-mutant gastrointestinal stromal tumours. The manuscripts presents the study of the structure, ground state and excited state reactivity and stability indices in different solvent atmosphere using density functional theory in B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level. Different molecular properties like reactivity surface, average local ionization energy, nuclear and electronic electrostatic potential, reduced density gradient assay, and localized molecular orbital analysis are studied in detail. The various intramolecular electron delocalisations were studied using natural orbital formalism and intermolecular interactions analysed by evaluating the extended of non-covalent interactions. Another interesting study is the enhancement in Raman activity of the compound when it forms a self-assembly with graphene quantum dots leading to SERS/GERS, which is studied by incorporating Grimme's dispersion into the previous functional. The electronic spectrum was studied in detail using time dependent density functional theory using long range corrected CAM-B3LYP functionals. The compound showed good light harvesting efficiency also. The local information entropy study provides uncertainty of electrons in spatial distribution.

Benzophenone derivatives as novel organosoluble visible light Type II photoinitiators for UV and LED photoinitiating systems

AbstractFive organosoluble visible light benzophenone derivatives (BPs), incorporated different arylamine as electron donating groups have been synthesized and investigated for their roles as photoinitiating systems for free radical photopolymerization of acrylate monomer upon the UV and LED exposure. All the target compounds (BP‐1–5) have confirmed through 1H NMR, HR‐MS/EI‐MS spectra and elemental analysis. BPs displayed red‐shifted absorption, higher molar extinction coefficient and better thermal properties as compared to reference benzophenone (BP) compound. BP and BPs in combination with hydrogen donor, triethylamine (TEA), are prepared and investigated their electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and photo‐DSC (photo‐differential scanning calorimetry). ESR spectra of BP‐1/TEA package showed the highest radical intensity among the test photoinitiator packages. In addition, BP‐1‐based formulation exhibited the best double bond conversion efficiency than other BPs and comparable to the BP for the free radical polymerization (FRP) of TMPTA under similar UV light source. We then selected BP‐1/TEA and BP/TEA package for FRP under LED light irradiation. Interesting, the BP‐1/TEA system exhibited better efficiency and shorter time at maximum heat flow than BP/TEA. This result indicates BP‐1 photoinitiator not only displays good light harvesting, thermal property, but exhibits conversion efficiency under the irradiation of UV and LED.

In-situ fabrication of 3D hierarchical flower-like β-Bi2O3@CoO Z-scheme heterojunction for visible-driven simultaneous degradation of multi-pollutants

Development of an efficient heterojunction catalyst with a superior visible-light driven activity is regarded as a promising strategy to decontaminate organic wastewater. Herein, a novel direct Z-scheme β-Bi2O3@CoO heterojunction was well designed and successfully fabricated by in situ incorporating the two energy band-matched semiconductors. The obtained β-Bi2O3@CoO hybrid presented a unique 3D hierarchical structure with a mass of open channels and mesoporous, which afforded not only rapid mass transfer of targets but also good light-harvesting in view of the multiple reflections. Compared to the pristine β-Bi2O3 and CoO, the β-Bi2O3@CoO hybrid exhibited remarkably improved photocatalytic activity towards the simultaneous degradation of chlorotetracycline (CTC), tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH), oxytetracycline (OTC) and nitrobenzene (NB) under visible-light irradiation. The possible intermediates and degradation pathways were also tracked by mass spectra (MS) analysis. Moreover, a direct Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism in the intimate contact interface between β-Bi2O3 and CoO was verified for the improved catalytic activity, endowing the effective separation/transportation of the photo-excited charge carriers and maintenance of the strong redox ability in β-Bi2O3@CoO heterojunction. The present work affords a simple approach to design and construct 3D hierarchical direct Z-scheme photocatalysts with promising applications in water environment remediation.