Nano-/microstructure improved photocatalytic activities of semiconductors

Abstract

Photocatalysis has emerged as a promising technique owing to its valuable applications in environmental purification. With the demand of building effective photocatalyst materials, semiconductor investigation experienced a developing process from simple chemical modification to complicated morphology design. In this review, the general relationship between morphology structures and photocatalytic properties is mainly discussed. Various nano-/microsized structures from zero-to three-dimensional are discussed, and the photocatalytic efficiency correspon-ding to the structures is analysed. The results showed that simple structures can be easily obtained and can facilitate chemical modification, whereas one-or three-dimensional structures can provide structureenhanced properties such as surface area increase, multiple reflections of UV light, etc. Those principles of structure-related photocatalytic properties will afford basic ideology in designing new photocatalytic materials with more effective catalytic properties.

Femtosecond Laser Fabrication of Anatase TiO2 Micro-nanostructures with Chemical Oxidation and Annealing

“…Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is one of the most important semiconductor materials, substantiated by its wide range of applications including catalysis and energy harvesting/storage 1–5 . The performance of TiO 2 is affected tremendously by modification of chemical composition or construction of favorable structures 5–7 .…”

“…The performance of TiO 2 is affected tremendously by modification of chemical composition or construction of favorable structures 5–7 . Recently, the three-dimensional micro/nanostructured TiO 2 with enhanced performance have been widely reported in applications such as photocatalysis, dye-sensitized solar cells, and lithium-ion batteries, mainly due to the structure-induced properties including large specific surface area, superior light harvesting capacity, and prominent carrier mobility 8–11 .…”

Comparison of photocatalytic and transport properties of TiO2 and ZnO nanostructures for solar-driven water splitting

“…It has been found 2 that the photochemical water-splitting reaction can be catalyzed by over 140 metal oxides, perovskites and oxynitrides, and the principal controlling factors of the photocatalysis activity have been identified. Based on the fact that size, shape and also defects significantly affect the final photocatalytic activity, the optimization of the morphology and the crystalline structure has been studied, and a large variety of micro and nanostructures has been suggested 10 . At the same time, research efforts focused on proposing artificial photosynthesis devices have been recently greatly increased in number and importance, but functional prototypes with convenient efficiencies have still to be fabricated 3 .…”

Removal of alachlor from water by catalyzed ozonation on Cu/Al2O3honeycomb

“…The herbicide alachlor (2-chloro-2′6′-diethyl-N-methoxymethyl acetanilide) has been found in ground water and surface water in many parts of North America [1,2]. Alachlor is a probable human carcinogen, and the MCL (minimum contamination level) for drinking water has been set at 2 μg L -1 [3].…”