• 文献标题:   Self-assembly of nitrogen-doped TiO2 with exposed {001} facets on a graphene scaffold as photo-active hybrid nanostructures for reduction of carbon dioxide to methane
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   ONG WJ, TAN LL, CHAI SP, YONG ST, MOHAMED AR
  • 作者关键词:   photocatalysi, nitrogendoped tio2, {001} facet, acid treated solvent exfoliated graphene, carbon dioxide reduction, visible light
  • 出版物名称:   NANO RESEARCH
  • ISSN:   1998-0124 EI 1998-0000
  • 通讯作者地址:   Monash Univ
  • 被引频次:   160
  • DOI:   10.1007/s12274-014-0514-z
  • 出版年:   2014

▎ 摘  要

Tailored synthesis of well-defined anatase TiO2-based crystals with exposed {001} facets has stimulated incessant research interest worldwide due to their scientific and technological importance. Herein, anatase nitrogen-doped TiO2 (N-TiO2) nanoparticles with exposed {001} facets deposited on the graphene (GR) sheets (N-TiO2-001/GR) were synthesized for the first time via a one-step solvothermal synthetic route using NH4F as the morphology-controlling agent. The experimental results exemplified that GR was uniformly covered with anatase N-TiO2 nanoparticles (10-17 nm), exposing the {001} facets. The percentage of exposed {001} facets in the N-TiO2-001/GR nanocomposites was calculated to be ca. 35%. Also, a red shift in the absorption edge and a strong absorption in the visible light range were observed due to the formation of Ti-O-C bonds, resulting in the successful narrowing of the band gap from 3.23 to 2.9 eV. The photocatalytic activities of the as-prepared photocatalysts were evaluated for CO2 reduction to produce CH4 in the presence of water vapor under ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure using a low-power 15 W energy-saving daylight lamp as the visible light source-in contrast to the most commonly employed high-power xenon lamps-which rendered the process economically and practically feasible. Among all the studied photocatalysts, the N-TiO2-001/GR nanocomposites exhibited the greatest CH4 yield of 3.70 mu mol center dot g(catalyst) (-1), approximately 11-fold higher activity than the TiO2-001. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance was ascribed to the effective charge anti-recombination of graphene, high absorption of visible light region and high catalytic activity of {001} facets relative to the {101} facets.