Abstract
Heterostructures formed by close conjunctions of plasmonic metal nanoparticles and non-plasmonic (2D) lamellar nanostructures are receiving extensive interest as solar-light-driven photocatalysts for environmental pollutant remediation. Herein, the conjunction of plasmonic Au or Ag and Ga-substituted hydrotalcite are obtained by exploiting the manifestation of the structural “memory effect” of Ga-substituted hydrotalcite in the aqueous solutions of Au(CH3COO)3 and Ag2SO4, respectively. The 2D layered matrix of MgGaAl plays a dual function; it is involved in the synthesis of the plasmonic metal nanoparticles, and further, is acting as a support. The compressive investigations using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UVDR), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM/HRTEM), high-angle annular dark-field imaging/scanning transmittance electron microscopy (HAADF/STEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) describe structural, composition and nano/micromorphology characteristics of the novel heterostructures, while UVDR analysis afforded to study the features of their plasmonic responses. Results reveal that the catalysts are formed by close conjunction of small nanoparticles of Au or Ag (with a mean size less than 20 nm) that are formed on the larger particles of MgGaAl and own plasmonic features within the visible range. The catalysts performances were tested towards photocatalytic degradation of p-dichlorobenzene and 4-nitrophenol under solar light irradiation. Results revealed that the degradation of the pollutants is entangled to the plasmonic response of the heterostructured catalysts that is the key functionality in promoting photocatalysis and degrading the pollutants, under solar light irradiation. MgGaAl showed a very low photocatalytic activity when irradiated by UV or solar light. Notably, the heterostructured catalysts proceeded in good to excellent yield to remove the tested pollutants, under solar light irradiation. The sustainability of the novel catalysts was assessed through the kinetic analysis of the degradation processes of the tested pollutants and their mixture.
Subject
Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Catalysis,General Environmental Science
Reference51 articles.
1. (2022, July 27). Available online: https://www.dw.com/en/water-scarcity-eu-countries-forced-to-restrict-drinking-water-access/a-62363819.
2. (2022, July 21). Available online: https://www.statista.com/chart/26140/water-stress-projections-global/.
3. Lin, L., Jiang, W., Chen, L., Xu, P., and Wang, H. (2020). Treatment of produced water with photocatalysis: Recent advances, affecting factors and future research prospects. Catalysts, 10.
4. Designing for a green chemistry future;Science,2020
5. Novel TiO2-based catalysts employed in photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis for effective degradation of pharmaceuticals (PhACs) in water: A short review;Curr. Opin. Green Sustain. Chem.,2020
Cited by
3 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献