title: High Piezo-photocatalytic Efficiency of CuS/ZnO Nanowires Using Both Solar and Mechanical Energy for Degrading Organic Dye.
abstract: High piezo-photocatalytic efficiency of degrading organic pollutants has been realized from CuS/ZnO nanowires using both solar and mechanical energy. CuS/ZnO heterostructured nanowire arrays are compactly/vertically aligned on stainless steel mesh by a simple two-step wet-chemical method. The mesh-supported nanocomposites can facilitate an efficient light harvesting due to the large surface area and can also be easily removed from the treated solution. Under both solar and ultrasonic irradiation, CuS/ZnO nanowires can rapidly degrade methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution, and the recyclability is investigated. In this process, the ultrasonic assistance can greatly enhance the photocatalytic activity. Such a performance can be attributed to the coupling of the built-in electric field of heterostructures and the piezoelectric field of ZnO nanowires. The built-in electric field of the heterostructure can effectively separate the photogenerated electrons/holes and facilitate the carrier transportation. The CuS component can improve the visible light utilization. The piezoelectric field created by ZnO nanowires can further separate the photogenerated electrons/holes through driving them to migrate along opposite directions. The present results demonstrate a new water-pollution solution in green technologies for the environmental remediation at the industrial level.
authors: College of Sciences, Northeastern University , Shenyang 110004, China.
authors: Deyi
authors: D
authors: Hong
authors: College of Sciences, Northeastern University , Shenyang 110004, China.
authors: Weili
authors: W
authors: Zang
authors: College of Sciences, Northeastern University , Shenyang 110004, China.
authors: Xiao
authors: X
authors: Guo
authors: College of Sciences, Northeastern University , Shenyang 110004, China.
authors: Yongming
authors: Y
authors: Fu
authors: College of Sciences, Northeastern University , Shenyang 110004, China.
authors: Haoxuan
authors: H
authors: He
authors: College of Sciences, Northeastern University , Shenyang 110004, China.
authors: Jing
authors: J
authors: Sun
authors: College of Sciences, Northeastern University , Shenyang 110004, China.
authors: Lili
authors: L
authors: Xing
authors: Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) , Shenyang 110016, China.
authors: Baodan
authors: B
authors: Liu
authors: College of Sciences, Northeastern University , Shenyang 110004, China.
authors: Xinyu
authors: X
authors: Xue
keywords: CuS/ZnO nanowire; heterostructure; photocatalytic activity; piezo-photocatalytic process; piezoelectric effect