title: Visible-Light-Active Plasmonic Ag-SrTiO3 Nanocomposites for the Degradation of NO in Air with High Selectivity.
abstract: Harnessing inexhaustible solar energy for photocatalytic disposal of nitrogen oxides is of great significance nowadays. In this study, Ag-SrTiO3 nanocomposites (Ag-STO) were synthesized via one-pot solvothermal method for the first time. The deposition of Ag nanoparticles incurs a broad plasmonic resonance absorption in the visible light range, resulting in enhanced visible light driven activity on NO removal in comparison with pristine SrTiO3. The Ag loading amount has a significant influence on light absorption properties of Ag-STO, which further affects the photocatalytic efficiency. It was shown that 0.5% Ag loading onto SrTiO3 (in mass ratio) could remove 30% of NO in a single reaction path under visible light irradiation, which is twice higher than that achieved on pristine SrTiO3. Most importantly, the generation of harmful intermediate (NO2) is largely inhibited over SrTiO3 and Ag-STO nanocomposites, which can be ascribed to the basic surface property of strontium sites. As identified by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra,·O2(-) and ·OH radicals are the major reactive species for NO oxidation. Essentially speaking, the abundance of reactive oxygen radicals produced over Ag-STO nanocomposites are responsible for the improved photocatalytic activity. This work provides a facile and controllable route to fabricate plasmonic Ag-SrTiO3 nanocomposite photocatalyst featuring high visible light activity and selectivity for NO abatement.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xi'an 710061, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xi'an 710061, China.|State Key Lab of Loess and Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG), Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xi'an 710061, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xi'an 710061, China.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xi'an 710061, China.|State Key Lab of Loess and Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG), Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Xi'an 710061, China.
authors.forename: Jun-ji
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Hong Kong Institute of Education , Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Wingkei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University , Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Shun Cheng
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Ag−SrTiO3 nanocomposites; NO removal; air pollution control; photocatalysis; plasmonic effect