Photocatalysis Using Semiconductor Nanoclusters

Application of Semiconductor Photocatalysis for Effective Elimination of Organic Contaminants from Sewage

The ZnO/SiO2 semiconductor nanophotocatalysis was synthesized via sol-gel method. Also, theplatinum particles were loaded on the ZnO/SiO2 nanoparticles by photoreductive method. Thestructure of catalyst was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) andfourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The XRD patterns of ZnO particlesdisplayed the nanoparticles have ...

Semiconductor nanowire array: potential substrates for photocatalysis and photovoltaics

A novel vapor–liquid–solid epitaxy (VLSE) process has been developed to synthesize high-density semiconductor nanowire arrays. The nanowires generally are single crystalline and have diameters of 10–200nm and aspect ratios of 10–100. The areal density of the array can readily approach 10 cm . Results based on Si and ZnO nanowire systems are reported here. Because of their single crystallinity a...

Hydrogen Production from Semiconductor-based Photocatalysis via Water Splitting

Hydrogen is the ideal fuel for the future because it is clean, energy efficient, and abundant in nature. While various technologies can be used to generate hydrogen, only some of them can be considered environmentally friendly. Recently, solar hydrogen generated via photocatalytic water splitting has attracted tremendous attention and has been extensively studied because of its great potential ...

Plasmonic Photocatalysis: Plasmon‐Mediated Solar Energy Conversion via Photocatalysis in Noble Metal/Semiconductor Composites (Adv. Sci. 6/2016)

One-pot, low-temperature synthesis of self-doped NaTaO3 nanoclusters for visible-light-driven photocatalysis.

Herein we first report the synthesis of self-doped NaTaO3 nanoclusters using a facile and one-pot low-temperature solvothermal method. Ta(4+) in bulk NaTaO3 greatly narrows its band gap from 3.94 to 1.70 eV and thus extends its photoresponse from the UV to the visible light region, which leads to enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for water splitting and dye degradation without load...