Photocatalysis has been widely applied to solar-energy conversion and environmental purification. Photocatalyst, typically titanium dioxide (TiO(2)), produces active oxygen species under irradiation of ultraviolet light, and can decompose not only conventional pollutants but also different types of hazardous substances at mild conditions. We have recently started the study of photocatalytic dec...

Semiconductor photocatalysts that can effectively utilize solar irradiation hold great potential for harnessing renewable-energy sources, as well as for environmental protection and -remediation. Exploring advanced photocatalysts that have improved performance has been a central theme in photocatalysis research. Herein, we review the recent developments in the design- and fabrication of photoca...

Semiconductor photocatalysis has been identified as a promising avenue for the conversion of solar energy into environmentally friendly fuels, most notably by the production of hydrogen from water.[1–5] Nanometer-scale materials in particular have attracted considerable scientific attention as the building blocks for light-harvesting applications.[6,7] Their desirable attributes include tunabil...

The use of chlorine bleaching in study and pulp industry has resulted in chlorinated phenol contaminated wastewater from that industry. A new wastewater treatment process, sonophotodegradation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) in a heterogeneous aqueous system was investigated and reported in this study. TCP was degraded with ultrasonic or ultraviolet irradiation or a combination of both, in the p...

A photocatalyst is defined as a substance which is activated by adsorbing a photon and is capable of accelerating a reaction without being consumed [1]. These substances are invaria‐ bly semiconductors. Semiconducting oxide photocatalysts have been increasingly focused in recent years due to their potential applications in solar energy conversion and environmen‐ tal purification. Semiconductor ...

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals possess unique properties that are unmatched by other chromophores such as organic dyes or transition-metal complexes. These versatile building blocks have generated much scientific interest and found applications in bioimaging, tracking, lighting, lasing, photovoltaics, photocatalysis, thermoelectrics, and spintronics. Despite these advances, important chal...

Noble metal Ag nanoparticles with unique surface plasmon resonance property have attracted much attention recently in the field of photocatalysis. Based on the advantages of Ag nanoparticles and semiconductor CeO2, a novel plasmonic photocatalyst Ag-AgCl/CeO2 was prepared with a facile route. The as-prepared samples were characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray p...