Au-TiO 2 -ZnO sandwich-structured composite films with enhanced ultraviolet-light photocatalytic activity

Micro & nano letters

article

Aoqun Jian¹  Wanghao Li¹  Meiling Wang¹  Huaping Jia¹  Shengbo Sang¹ 

[1] MicroNano System Research Center, College of Information and Computer, Taiyuan University of Technology;Key Laboratory of Advanced Transducers and Intelligent Control System, Taiyuan University of Technology

关键词: Structure of solid clusters;    nanoparticles;    nanotubes and nanostructured materials;    Thin film growth;    structure;    and epitaxy;    Charge carriers: generation;    recombination;    lifetime;    and trapping (semiconductors/insulators);    Photoconduction and photovoltaic effects;    photodielectric effects;    Ion-molecule;    ion-ion;    and charge-transfer reactions;    Photolysis and photodissociation by IR;    UV and visible radiation;    Heterogeneous catalysis at surfaces and other surface reactions;    Physical chemistry aspects of chemical technology;    Water (environmental science);    II-VI and III-V semiconductors;    Oxide and ferrite semiconductors;    Semiconductor junctions;    Nanometre-scale semiconductor fabrication technology;    Environmental issues;    Nanofabrication;    Engineering materials;    Contamination remediation (environmental science technology);    Nanofabrication using thin film deposition methods;    Photocatalysis;   

DOI  :  10.1049/mna2.12088

学科分类：计算机科学（综合）

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

The rapid recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs is one of the main reasons for limiting the photocatalytic efficiency of semiconductor photocatalysts. This paper investigates and analyzes two methods to improve the separation and lifetimes of electron-hole pairs: semiconductor heterojunction and metal electron sink. As a specific example, an Au-TiO 2 -ZnO composite film with a sandwich structure is prepared. The energy level gradient formed at the TiO 2 /ZnO heterojunction separates the electron-hole pairs effectively, and the AuNPs promote the photo-induced charge transfer. Moreover, a synergistic effect of TiO 2 /ZnO heterojunction and AuNPs, which can further improve the photocatalytic performance, has been found by the photoelectric performance measurement. The experimental results demonstrate that the UV photocurrent density of the Au-TiO 2 -ZnO composite film is almost 22 times that of the pure TiO 2 film. And a similar result has been observed in the UV light degradation of methylene blue. Such Au-TiO 2 -ZnO composite film combining semiconductor heterojunctions and metal electron sink has a potential prospect in the photo-degradation of organic pollutants.

【 授权许可】

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