title: Visible photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activities of TiO2nanobelts modified by In2O3nanoparticles.
abstract: Novel In2O3nanoparticle/TiO2nanobelt heterostructures with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance were successfully prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. Well-dispersed In2O3nanoparticles with small sizes are uniformly attached on the surface of TiO2nanobelts to form In2O3nanoparticle/TiO2nanobelt heterostructures. The TiO2nanobelts as backbones restrict the aggregation of In2O3nanoparticles, resulting in the formation of smaller In2O3nanoparticles with more interaction sites for pollutants. The visible photocatalytic activity of as-prepared heterostructures for degradation of methyl blue (MB) is higher than those of TiO2nanobelts and In2O3nanoparticles alone. Moreover, the In2O3nanoparticle/TiO2nanobelt heterostructure shows an enhanced PEC performance under irradiation of visible light. The enhanced photocatalytic and PEC activities are mainly ascribed to the synergic effect of efficient charge separation of heterostructure, visible-light harvesting ability of In2O3, and the formation of preferential adsorption sites by the small size of In2O3nanoparticles. Finally, based on the experimental results of Mott-Schottky, UV-vis DRS, photocurrent and open-circuit voltage response, a possible photocatalytic mechanism over the In2O3nanoparticle/TiO2nanobelt heterostructure is proposed.
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China.
authors: Hongru
authors: H
authors: Yang
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China. Electronic address: jiantian@sdust.edu.cn.
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Tian
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China.
authors: Yanyan
authors: Y
authors: Bo
authors: Department of Environment and Materials Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China.
authors: Yanli
authors: Y
authors: Zhou
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China. Electronic address: xzwang@sdust.edu.cn.
authors: Xinzhen
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China. Electronic address: cuihongzhi1965@163.com.
authors: Hongzhi
authors: H
authors: Cui
keywords: Electron transfer; Heterostructure; Indium oxide; Titanium oxide; Visible photocatalysis