Enhanced H2evolution performance by carbonized SiC/g-C3N4heterojunction under visible-light illumination.

In this study, carbonized silicon carbide/graphitic carbon nitride ((SiC/C)/g-C3N4) composites were fabricated via a facile calcination method. The optimal SiC/C/g-C3N4composite shows an excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity for water splitting, with the highest hydrogen evolution amount being 200.2µmol, which is four times higher than that of pure g-C3N4when triethanolamine and platinum (1.0 wt%) are used as the sacrificial agent and cocatalyst, respectively. With an intimate interface between SiC/C and g-C3N4, the energy band structure of g-C3N4was well engineered for photocatalytic H2production. This study provides a novel method for fabricating g-C3N4-based heterojunctions for application in environmental conservation.

Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance of SAPO-5-Based g-C3N4 Composite for Rhodamine B (RhB) Degradation.

Novel visible-light responded aluminosilicophosphate-5 (SAPO-5)/g-C3N4 composite has been easily constructed by thermal polymerization for the mixture of SAPO-5, NH4Cl, and dicyandiamide. The photocatalytic activity of SAPO-5/g-C3N4 is evaluated by degrading RhB (30 mg/L) under visible light illumination (λ > 420 nm). The effects of SAPO-5 incorporation proportion and initial RhB concentration on the photocatalytic performance have been discussed in detail. The optimized SAPO-5/g-C3N4 composite shows promising degradation efficiency which is 40.6% higher than that of pure g-C3N4. The degradation rate improves from 0.007 min-1 to 0.022 min-1, which is a comparable photocatalytic performance compared with other g-C3N4-based heterojunctions for dye degradation. The migration of photo-induced electrons from g-C3N4 to the Al site of SAPO-5 should promote the photo-induced electron-hole pairs separation rate of g-C3N4 efficiently. Furthermore, the redox reactions for RhB degradation occur on the photo-induced holes in the g-C3N4 and Al sites in SAPO-5, respectively. This achievement not only improves the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 efficiently, but also broadens the application of SAPOs in the photocatalytic field.

Synthesis of novel waste batteries-sawdust-based adsorbent via a two-stage activation method for Pb2+ removal.

The novel waste alkaline battery-sawdust-based adsorbents (WABAs) are prepared by a two-stage activation method with the negative electrode materials as activator and different doping ratio of the positive electrode materials and pine sawdust as raw materials. The characteristics of the WABAs are analyzed by SEM, XRD, FT-IR, and specific surface determination (SBET). The Pb2+ adsorption properties of the WABAs are studied by changing the pH of solution, contact time, initial concentration, and temperature. It turns out that when the doping mass ratio is 1:4, the optimum performance of the WABAs is obtained, and comparing with the samples prepared by pure biomass, the iodine adsorption value, total acid groups, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) separately increased by 13, 106, and 22%, respectively. Kinetic studies show that the pseudo-second-order model is more suitable for describing the Pb2+ adsorption process and the Langmuir isotherm provides better fitting to the equilibrium data. The thermodynamic parameters indicate the adsorption process would be spontaneous and endothermic. Besides, the prepared WABAs could be reused for 5 cycles with high removal efficiency. This study provides an alternative route for waste alkaline battery treatment. Graphical abstract The schematic diagram of synthesis of waste batteries-sawdust-based adsorbent via a two-stage activation method for Pb2+ removal.

Effects of Er3+ spatial distribution on luminescence properties and temperature sensing of upconverting core-shell nanocrystals with high Er3+ content.

In upconversion nanocrystals where Er3+ acts as the activator, concentration quenching will easily occur when the content of Er3+ is high (generally >5mol%), and the Er3+ spatial distribution which is a key factor affecting the concentration quenching is an important issue that must be considered. Herein, we selected Yb:NaErF4 as a light-emitting layer and investigated its upconversion performance and temperature sensing behaviors in two kinds of core-shell nanoarchitectures. Yb3+ and Er3+ activators were distributed in a three-dimensional sphere and two-dimensional thin layer in Yb:NaErF4@Yb/Nd:NaYF4@NaGdF4 and NaGdF4@Yb:NaErF4@Yb/Nd:NaYF4@NaGdF4 core-shell nanocrystals, respectively. The difference in Er3+ spatial distribution in the core-shell structure resulted in significant modification of red-to-green ratios and decay behaviors upon excitation at 376 nm, 808 nm, 980 nm and 1532 nm, and the related mechanisms were systematically investigated. In addition, the spatial distribution of Er3+ was demonstrated to have no obvious effect on the transitions of Er3+ thermally coupled 2H11/2 → 4I15/2 and 4S3/2 → 4I15/2 and the relative sensitivity for temperature determination under 808 nm laser excitation.