Upconversion carbon quantum dots as visible light responsive component for efficient enhancement of photocatalytic performance

Jun Ke; Xinyong Li; Qidong Zhao; Baojun Liu; Shaomin Liu; Shaobin Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2017.01.121

Upconversion carbon quantum dots as visible light responsive component for efficient enhancement of photocatalytic performance

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2017 Jun 15:496:425-433. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.01.121. Epub 2017 Feb 3.

Authors

Jun Ke¹, Xinyong Li², Qidong Zhao³, Baojun Liu³, Shaomin Liu⁴, Shaobin Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemical, Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China; School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430072, China; Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia.
² State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemical, Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China; Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia. Electronic address: xyli@dlut.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemical, Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, GPO Box U1987, WA 6845, Australia. Electronic address: shaobin.wang@curtin.edu.au.

PMID: 28254609
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.01.121

Abstract

It finds that CQDs synthesized by hydrothermal method possess obvious upconversion properties that could transfer low energy photons to high energy photons, resulting in enhanced visible light response and utilization. Herein, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) modified TiO₂ photocatylysts were successfully prepared by a facile sol-gel method. Photophysical and surficial properties of the as-prepared composite photocatalyst were investigated in details. Furthermore, photocatalytic performance was tested by degrading methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB) is as high as 90% within 120min, which is 3.6 times higher than that of pure TiO₂.

Keywords: Carbon materials; Photocatalysis; Quantum dots; Upconversion.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't