title: ZnO based heterojunctions and their application in environmental photocatalysis.
abstract: As an alternative to TiO2 photocatalysts, ZnO exhibits a large potential for photocatalytic (PC) applications in environmental treatments, such as degradation of wastewater, sterilization of drinking water, and air cleaning. However, the efficiency achieved with ZnO to date is far from that expected for commercialization, due to rapid charge recombination, photo-corrosion as well as poor utilization of solar energy. Fortunately, in recent years, a great number of breakthroughs have been achieved in PC performance (including activity and stability) of micro-/nano- structured ZnO by forming heterojunctions (HJs) with metal nanoparticles (NPs), carbon nanostructures and other semiconductors. In most cases, the improvement of PC performance was ascribed to the better charge separation at the interfaces between ZnO and the other components. Sometimes, the formation of hybrids is also in favor of visible light harvesting. This review summarizes recent advances in the fields of environmental photocatalysis by ZnO based HJs, and especially emphasizes their abilities in degradation of organic pollutants or harmful substances in water. We aim to reveal the mechanism underlying the enhanced PC performance by constructing HJs, and extend the potential of ZnO HJ photocatalysts for future trends, and practical, large-scale applications in environment-related fields.
authors: Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden. School of Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, People's Republic of China.
authors: Xiuquan
authors: X
authors: Gu
authors: Cuiyan
authors: C
authors: Li
authors: Shuai
authors: S
authors: Yuan
authors: Mingguo
authors: M
authors: Ma
authors: Yinghuai
authors: Y
authors: Qiang
authors: Jiefang
authors: J
authors: Zhu