Photocatalysis Meets Piezoelectricity in a Type-I Oxygen Vacancy-Rich BaTiO3/BiOBr Heterojunction: Mechanism Insights from Characterizations to DFT Calculations.

It is a challenging task to design a piezoelectric photocatalyst with excellent performance under mechanical agitation instead of ultrasonic irradiation. Integrating vacancy defects into a heterojunction seems to be an effective strategy for synergistically increasing its piezo-photocatalytic performance. For this goal, a two-step hydrothermal method was adopted to architect a type-I oxygen-vacancy-rich BaTiO3/BiOBr heterojunction to surge the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under the combined action of simulated sunlight irradiation and mechanical agitation. Various instrumental techniques demonstrated the formation of a BaTiO3/BiOBr heterojunction with high crystallinity. The existence of surface oxygen vacancies was confirmed by XPS and EPR tests. PFM results manifested that this heterojunction had excellent piezoelectric properties, with a piezoelectric response value of 30.31 pm V-1. Comparative experiments indicated that RhB degradation efficiency under piezo-photocatalysis over this heterojunction largely exceeded the total sum of those under piezocatalysis and photocatalysis. h+, ·O2-, and 1O2 were the dominant reactive species for RhB degradation. The improved separation efficiency of photogenerated charges was verified by electrochemical measurements. DFT calculations indicated that the polarization of BaTiO3 could affect the electronic band structure of BiOBr. This work will provide comprehensive insights into piezo-photocatalytic mechanism at a microcosmic level and help to develop new-styled piezoelectric photocatalysts.

Carrier confinement activated explicit solvent dynamic of CdS/BiVO4/H2O and optimized photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performances.

Herein, using an electrophoretic deposition strategy, a S-scheme CdS (cubic)/BiVO4 (monoclinic) heterostructured photocatalyst is fabricated. The as-synthesized photocatalysts exhibit high carrier separation efficiency, prominent hydrogen evolution ability and high stability. The results of the detailed density functional theory (DFT) prove that the photogenerated electrons and holes are located in BiVO4 and CdS components, respectively. Besides, an explicit solvent model based on the electron-enriched region in CdS/BiVO4 heterojunction is designed deliberately to investigate the solid/liquid interface issues. Intriguing findings demonstrate that the surface hydrogen diffusing rate in CdS/BiVO4/H2O is faster than that of BiVO4/H2O and is highly associated with the electron-enrich effect, which has a greater capacity to promote water decomposition, the possibility of proton collision and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Notably, the H p orbital can participate in the electron-enrich effect during solvation, thus reforming the orbital energy level and activating the HER of the BiVO4 component in the CdS/BiVO4 system.

NIR-II responsive PEGylated MoO2 nanocrystals with LSPR for efficient photothermal and photodynamic performance enhancement.

Phototherapy, including photothermal and photodynamic therapy, has gained extensive attention in the tumor treatment field recently, while synergistic therapy can significantly improve curative effects. However, a complicated photo-responsive nanosystem, different excitation wavelengths, and low tissue depth hindered its actual application. Herein, single near-infrared responsive PEGylated defective MoO2 nanocrystals were fabricated by a green hydrothermal method. The photothermal and photodynamic performances of the samples were presented in detail under a safe power of 1064 nm (NIR-II, 1.0 W cm-2). Interestingly, the photodynamic properties were prompted by the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) photothermal effect obviously, and the collaborative enhancement mechanism was explored in depth. Subsequently, the in vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated on the 4T1 cancer cells under NIR-II irradiation. This work may provide guidance for the facile fabrication of TMOs for NIR-II responsive and enhanced dual-modal phototherapy.

Molecular Engineered Carbon-Based Sensor for Ultrafast and Specific Detection of Neurotransmitters.

In the quest for designing affordable diagnostic devices with high performance, precisely functionalized carbon-based materials with high accuracy and selectivity are required. Every material has its own unique ability to interact with the analyte, and its performance can be enhanced by probing the interaction mechanism. Herein, p-aminophenol (PAP)-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoscale material is developed by a one-step synthetic route as an all-organic-based sensor. As the PAP molecules are precisely covalently interacted with the rGO at the basal plane and form a wrinkled-paper-like structure, the functionalized material exhibits an outstanding sensing ability (7.5 nM neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) at a wide linear range, 0.01-100 µM) with fast electrical transduction (<3 s) and good recyclability (∼10 cycles) in a real sample. Combining various analytical and density functional theory (DFT) calculation methods, physicochemical properties and the interaction mechanism of analyte-materials transduction are discussed exclusively. Besides, the potential application of the well-dispersed rGO-PAP gravure ink in flexible-printed electronics fields is explored. This study not only provides new insights into the surface/interface chemistry and working principle of this unique anchoring of PAP on rGO but also offers a new pathway for developing other forms of metal-free/organic functionalized biosensors with high efficiency.

An α-Bi2O3/BiOBr core-shell heterojunction with high photocatalytic activity.

We prepared an α-Bi2O3/BiOBr core-shell heterojunction via a facile in situ chemical transformation method. Ultrathin BiOBr nanosheets were observed and these were found to be evenly distributed on the surface of α-Bi2O3/BiOBr by SEM and TEM. The results revealed that the prepared α-Bi2O3/BiOBr photocatalysts were porous, and their specific surface areas were found to be raised on comparing with α-Bi2O3 and BiOBr. In our experiments, the photocatalytic activity of α-Bi2O3 was obviously enhanced when assembling with ultrathin BiOBr compared with α-Bi2O3/BiOBr and the individual phase. It is considered that the surface porous structure increases the specific surface areas, which improved the adsorption characteristics of α-Bi2O3/BiOBr. The suitable band alignment (between α-Bi2O3 and BiOBr) and oxygen vacancy effect can be attributed to the increased photocatalytic activity under visible irradiation.

Band alignment and enhanced photocatalytic activation of α/ß-Bi2O3 heterojunctions via in situ phase transformation.

The assembling heterojunction, one of the key topics in photocatalysts and semiconductors (SCs), is generally accomplished in at least two steps, of which the first step is the synthesis of a matrix, and then the growth of the second phase on the matrix. Herein we present the preparation of α/ß-Bi2O3 heterojunctions by an in situ phase transformation technique. Under normal pressure, a facile citrate method was used to synthesize ß-Bi2O3 nanosheets and α/ß-Bi2O3 heterojunctions. The novel features of the process are the mild operating conditions by an appropriate selection of heat treatment temperature and time. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we found that a number of nano-sized α-Bi2O3 form on the ß-Bi2O3 nanosheet via a controlled ß→α phase transition, generating a large number of heterojunctions. The CM1 (calcining ß-Bi2O3 precursor at 363 °C for 4 h) heterojunction achieves a strong visible light absorption and dye absorption capacity and produces a very high reaction rate for Rhodamine B (RhB) photodegradation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed excellent charge transfer characteristics of the heterojunction, which accounts for its high photoactivity. Using the X-ray electron valence band spectra, it is found that the valence band of α-Bi2O3 is more negative than that of ß-Bi2O3. Thus, in heterojunctions, the photogenerated holes in ß-Bi2O3 are transferred to α-Bi2O3 with good charge transport characteristics by the intrinsic driving force in the interface field. Furthermore, a separated hole can accomplish a transfer process from α-Bi2O3 to the aqueous solution within its lifetime due to the diameter of α-Bi2O3 being less than 17.6 nm.