TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhanced photocatalytic activity of anatase-TiO 2 nanoparticles by fullerene modification
T2 - A theoretical and experimental study
AU - Qi, Kezhen
AU - Selvaraj, Rengaraj
AU - Al Fahdi, Tharaya
AU - Al-Kindy, Salma
AU - Kim, Younghun
AU - Wang, Gui Chang
AU - Tai, Cheuk Wai
AU - Sillanpää, Mika
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2016/11/30
Y1 - 2016/11/30
N2 - A series of fullerene (C 60 )-modified anatase TiO 2 (a-TiO 2 ) nanocomposites with different weight loadings of C 60 were successfully synthesized by a simple solution phase method. The as-prepared C 60 @a-TiO 2 nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), UV–vis diffuse reflectance absorption spectra (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) by the neat a-TiO 2 and C 60 @a-TiO 2 nanocomposites was investigated under UV-A light irradiation, demonstrating that C 60 effectively enhances the photocatalytic activity of a-TiO 2 nanoparticles with an optimal amount of 2.0 wt%. By combining with the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we investigated the electronic structures of C 60 @a-TiO 2 hetero-interfaces to reveal the underlying principle of the C 60 loading on the photocatalytic activity. It was found that the incorporation of C 60 on the a-TiO 2 surface not only narrowed the band gap, but also introduced an additional doping state between the valance and conduction band. Therefore, the presence of intermediate electronic state will in turn contribute to the efficient charge separation and enhanced light adsorption for the C 60 @a-TiO 2 nanocomposites, resulting in an improved photocatalytic performance.
AB - A series of fullerene (C 60 )-modified anatase TiO 2 (a-TiO 2 ) nanocomposites with different weight loadings of C 60 were successfully synthesized by a simple solution phase method. The as-prepared C 60 @a-TiO 2 nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), UV–vis diffuse reflectance absorption spectra (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) by the neat a-TiO 2 and C 60 @a-TiO 2 nanocomposites was investigated under UV-A light irradiation, demonstrating that C 60 effectively enhances the photocatalytic activity of a-TiO 2 nanoparticles with an optimal amount of 2.0 wt%. By combining with the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we investigated the electronic structures of C 60 @a-TiO 2 hetero-interfaces to reveal the underlying principle of the C 60 loading on the photocatalytic activity. It was found that the incorporation of C 60 on the a-TiO 2 surface not only narrowed the band gap, but also introduced an additional doping state between the valance and conduction band. Therefore, the presence of intermediate electronic state will in turn contribute to the efficient charge separation and enhanced light adsorption for the C 60 @a-TiO 2 nanocomposites, resulting in an improved photocatalytic performance.
KW - Anatase nanoparticles
KW - DFT calculation
KW - Fullerene modification
KW - Photocatalyst
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U2 - 10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.06.134
DO - 10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.06.134
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84978110498
SN - 0169-4332
VL - 387
SP - 750
EP - 758
JO - Applied Surface Science
JF - Applied Surface Science
ER -