Photoelectrochemical(PEC) water splitting using solar energy has attracted great attention for generation of renewable hydrogen with less carbon footprint, while there are enormous challenges that still remain for imp...Photoelectrochemical(PEC) water splitting using solar energy has attracted great attention for generation of renewable hydrogen with less carbon footprint, while there are enormous challenges that still remain for improving solar energy water splitting efficiency, due to limited light harvesting, energy loss associated to fast recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, as well as electrode degradation. This overview focuses on the recent development about catalyst nanomaterials and nanostructures in different PEC water splitting systems. As photoanode, Au nanoparticle-decorated TiO_2 nanowire electrodes exhibited enhanced photoactivity in both the UV and the visible regions due to surface plasmon resonance of Au and showed the largest photocurrent generation of up to 710 nm. Pt/Cd S/CGSe electrodes were developed as photocathode. With the role of p–n heterojunction, the photoelectrode showed high stability and evolved hydrogen continuously for more than 10 days. Further, in the Z-scheme system(Bi_2S_3/TNA as photoanode and Pt/Si PVC as photocathode at the same time), a self-bias(open-circuit voltage Voc= 0.766 V) was formed between two photoelectrodes, which could facilitate photogenerated charge transfers and enhance the photoelectrochemical performance, and which might provide new hints for PEC water splitting. Meanwhile, the existing problems and prospective solutions have also been reviewed.展开更多
In this work, a series of Cu2O-Ag/ZnO, Cu2O/ZnO and Ag/ZnO nanocomposites with various compositions were prepared via a hydrothermal method followed by chemical modification, and their antibacterial performance was in...In this work, a series of Cu2O-Ag/ZnO, Cu2O/ZnO and Ag/ZnO nanocomposites with various compositions were prepared via a hydrothermal method followed by chemical modification, and their antibacterial performance was investigated in detail. X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy results confirmed that 31 nm Cu20 and 30 nm Ag nanoparticles are well-dispersed on 202 nm ZnO grains to form a Cu2O/ZnO and Ag/ZnO heterojunction, respectively. The bi-heterojuction structure in the Cu20-Ag/ZnO provided a synergistic effect on antibacterial activity, and the(Cu2O)0.04Ag0.06ZnO0.9nanocomposites showed the highest antimicrobial activity of all samples with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as low to 31.25 μg/mL, 250μg/mL, 125μg/mL and 500μg/mL, respectively. This is the first report of the antibacterial activities of Cu2O and Ag co-modified ZnO nanocomposites.展开更多
基金supported by the EU-China EcoFuel project(FP7,246772)from the European Commission
文摘Photoelectrochemical(PEC) water splitting using solar energy has attracted great attention for generation of renewable hydrogen with less carbon footprint, while there are enormous challenges that still remain for improving solar energy water splitting efficiency, due to limited light harvesting, energy loss associated to fast recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, as well as electrode degradation. This overview focuses on the recent development about catalyst nanomaterials and nanostructures in different PEC water splitting systems. As photoanode, Au nanoparticle-decorated TiO_2 nanowire electrodes exhibited enhanced photoactivity in both the UV and the visible regions due to surface plasmon resonance of Au and showed the largest photocurrent generation of up to 710 nm. Pt/Cd S/CGSe electrodes were developed as photocathode. With the role of p–n heterojunction, the photoelectrode showed high stability and evolved hydrogen continuously for more than 10 days. Further, in the Z-scheme system(Bi_2S_3/TNA as photoanode and Pt/Si PVC as photocathode at the same time), a self-bias(open-circuit voltage Voc= 0.766 V) was formed between two photoelectrodes, which could facilitate photogenerated charge transfers and enhance the photoelectrochemical performance, and which might provide new hints for PEC water splitting. Meanwhile, the existing problems and prospective solutions have also been reviewed.
基金supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.51677120 and 51207093)the Shenzhen Government Fund(Grant Nos.JCYJ20160422102919963)the Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials(Grant Nos.T201502)
文摘In this work, a series of Cu2O-Ag/ZnO, Cu2O/ZnO and Ag/ZnO nanocomposites with various compositions were prepared via a hydrothermal method followed by chemical modification, and their antibacterial performance was investigated in detail. X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy results confirmed that 31 nm Cu20 and 30 nm Ag nanoparticles are well-dispersed on 202 nm ZnO grains to form a Cu2O/ZnO and Ag/ZnO heterojunction, respectively. The bi-heterojuction structure in the Cu20-Ag/ZnO provided a synergistic effect on antibacterial activity, and the(Cu2O)0.04Ag0.06ZnO0.9nanocomposites showed the highest antimicrobial activity of all samples with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as low to 31.25 μg/mL, 250μg/mL, 125μg/mL and 500μg/mL, respectively. This is the first report of the antibacterial activities of Cu2O and Ag co-modified ZnO nanocomposites.
