Electrospinning Preparation of GaN:ZnO Solid Solution Nanorods with Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Activity toward H2 Production

Abstract

The development of a facile method for the synthesis of GaN:ZnO solid solution, an attractive material with a wurtzite-type structure, is vital to enhance its photocatalytic activity toward H2 evolution. Herein, GaN:ZnO solid solution nanorods with diameters of around 180 nm were fabricated by combining the electro-spun method with a sequentially calcinating process. Photocatalytic water-splitting activities of the as-obtained samples loaded with Rh2−yCryO3 co-catalyst were estimated by H2 evolution under visible-light irradiation. The as-prepared GaN:ZnO nanorods at a nitridation temperature of 850 °C showed the optimal performance. Careful characterization of the GaN:ZnO solid solution nanorods indicated that the nitridation temperature is an important parameter affecting the photocatalytic performance, which is related to the specific surface area and the absorbable visible-light wavelength range. Finally, the mechanism of the GaN:ZnO solid solution nanorods was also investigated. The proposed synthesis strategy paves a new way to realize excellent activity and recyclability of GaN:ZnO solid solution nanorod photocatalysts for hydrogen generation.

Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Dehydrogenation of Alcohols on TiO2 via Ligand-to-Metal Charge Transfer for Coproduction of H2 and Aldehydes

“…In view of the severe environmental problems and energy crisis, the development of new green energy to replace fossil fuels is an urgent task of modern society. − Solar energy is a key sustainable energy source, while photocatalytic H 2 production is one of the effective ways to utilize solar energy by directly converting solar energy into chemical energy. − In recent years, photocatalytic H 2 production from organics’ dehydrogenation, such as alcohol dehydrogenation, has become a research hotspot in the field of photocatalysis. − Compared with the traditional H 2 production processes of overall water splitting and semiwater splitting assisted by sacrificial agents, this strategy selectively dehydrogenates the organics to coproduce H 2 and target compounds, which has the advantages of overcoming the slow kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction and theoretically realizing 100% utilization of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. , Among the various exploited photocatalysts for the organic dehydrogenation reaction, TiO 2 , as a typical “golden” photocatalyst with high chemical stability, easy availability, and nontoxicity, has been largely used . Nevertheless, TiO 2 with a large band gap of ∼3.2 eV is excited under ultraviolet (UV) light (Scheme ).…”

Pt-Chitosan-TiO2 for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution via Ligand-to-Metal Charge Transfer Mechanism under Visible Light

“…In recent years, semiconductor photocatalysis driven by solar light has had broad application prospects in the field of environmental chemistry [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. As a photocatalyst for environmental purification and solar energy conversion, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is known for its high oxidation power, low price, chemical stability, and non-toxicity [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

In/Fe Cospinning Nanowires for Triethylamine Gas Sensing

“…The biggest advantage of cospinning is that it can accurately control the element ratio in the product and allow the full interaction between different components just through a simple process. The cospinning method is also used to prepare solid solution or force in situ binding …”

“…The biggest advantage of cospinning is that it can accurately control the element ratio in the product and allow the full interaction between different components just through a simple process. The cospinning method is also used to prepare solid solution 39 or force in situ binding. 40 As reported, the ionic radii of some trivalent elements such as Ga 3+ , Fe 3+ , and In 3+ are 0.062, 0.067, and 0.092 nm, respectively.…”