Band-gap tailoring and visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance of porous (GaN)1-x(ZnO)xsolid solution.
(GaN)1-x(ZnO)xsolid solution has attracted extensive attention due to its feasible band-gap tunability and excellent photocatalytic performance in overall water splitting. However, its potential application in the photodegradation of organic pollutants and environmental processing has rarely been reported. In this study, we developed a rapid synthesis process to fabricate porous (GaN)1-x(ZnO)xsolid solution with a tunable band gap in the range of 2.38-2.76 eV for phenol photodegradation. Under visible-light irradiation, (GaN)0.75(ZnO)0.25solid solution achieved the highest photocatalytic performance compared to other (GaN)1-x(ZnO)xsolid solutions with x = 0.45, 0.65 and 0.85 due to its higher redox capability and lower lattice deformation. Slight Ag decoration with a content of 1 wt% on the surface of the (GaN)0.75(ZnO)0.25solid solution leads to a significant enhancement in phenol degradation, with a reaction rate eight times faster than that of pristine (GaN)0.75(ZnO)0.25. Interestingly, phenol in aqueous solution (10 mg L-1) can also be completely degraded within 60 min, even under the direct exposure of sunlight irradiation. The photocurrent response indicates that the enhanced photocatalytic activity of (GaN)0.75(ZnO)0.25/Ag is directly induced by the improved transfer efficiency of the photogenerated electrons at the interface. The excellent phenol degradation performance of (GaN)1-x(ZnO)x/Ag further broadens their promising photocatalytic utilization in environmental processing, besides in overall water splitting for hydrogen production.
Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion, and Electron Beams (Ministry of Education), Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
Aimin
A
Wu
Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion, and Electron Beams (Ministry of Education), Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China and Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), No. 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. baodanliu@hotmail.com xjiang@imr.ac.cn.
Jing
J
Li
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), No. 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. baodanliu@hotmail.com xjiang@imr.ac.cn.
Baodan
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8141-8940
B
Liu
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), No. 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. baodanliu@hotmail.com xjiang@imr.ac.cn.
Wenjin
W
Yang
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), No. 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. baodanliu@hotmail.com xjiang@imr.ac.cn.
Yanan
Y
Jiang
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), No. 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. baodanliu@hotmail.com xjiang@imr.ac.cn.
Lusheng
L
Liu
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), No. 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. baodanliu@hotmail.com xjiang@imr.ac.cn.
Xinglai
X
Zhang
Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, P. R. China. cmxing@bnu.edu.cn.
Changmin
C
Xiong
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), No. 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China. baodanliu@hotmail.com xjiang@imr.ac.cn.
Xin
X
Jiang