Enhanced Photoelectrocatalytic Activity of BiOI Nanoplate-Zinc Oxide Nanorod p-n Heterojunction.
The development of highly efficient and robust photocatalysts has attracted great attention for solving the global energy crisis and environmental problems. Herein, we describe the synthesis of a p-n heterostructured photocatalyst, consisting of ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) decorated with BiOI nanoplates (NPs), by a facile solvothermal method. The product thus obtained shows high photoelectrochemical water splitting performance and enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity for pollutant degradation under visible light irradiation. The p-type BiOI NPs, with a narrow band gap, not only act as a sensitizer to absorb visible light and promote electron transfer to the n-type ZnO NRAs, but also increase the contact area with organic pollutants. Meanwhile, ZnO NRAs provide a fast electron-transfer channel, thus resulting in efficient separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs. Such a p-n heterojunction nanocomposite could serve as a novel and promising catalyst in energy and environmental applications.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Waihuan Xi Road No. 230, 510006 (P. R. China).
Pan-Yong
PY
Kuang
School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia).
Jing-Run
JR
Ran
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Waihuan Xi Road No. 230, 510006 (P. R. China). lzqgzu@gzhu.edu.cn.|School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia). lzqgzu@gzhu.edu.cn.
Zhao-Qing
ZQ
Liu
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Waihuan Xi Road No. 230, 510006 (P. R. China).
Hong-Juan
HJ
Wang
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Waihuan Xi Road No. 230, 510006 (P. R. China).
Nan
N
Li
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Environmentally Functional Materials and Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Waihuan Xi Road No. 230, 510006 (P. R. China).
Yu-Zhi
YZ
Su
CSIRO Energy Flagship, PO Box 883, Kenmore, QLD 4069 (Australia).
Yong-Gang
YG
Jin
School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia). s.qiao@adelaide.edu.au.
Shi-Zhang
SZ
Qiao
electron transport; nanostructures; p-n heterojunction; photoelectrochemical performance; solvothermal methods