Abstract
Ta2O5-TiO2 heterojunction photocatalysts with a structure of TiO2 nanodots deposited on Ta2O5 nanotube (NTs) were prepared by anodization and in situ growth methods following annealing treatment. The heterojunction photocatalytic material exhibited enhanced photodegradation behavior of methylene blue (MB) and photoelectrochemical water splitting performance under simulated solar light. The degradation rate of MB and photocurrent density of heterojunction is 3.99 and 8.33 times higher than that of pure Ta2O5 NTs respectively. The synergetic effect of the phase heterojunction and highly ordered structure increased the specific surface area and improved the separation and transmission efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes, thereby enhancing the photocatalytic activities. Hence, Ta2O5 TNs-TiO2 nanodots heterojunction has promising application in the fields of photodegradation, photoelectrochemical water splitting, solar cells, and other photocatalytic devices.
Graphical abstract
The heterojunction photocatalytic material exhibits enhanced photodegradation behavior of methylene blue (MB) and photoelectrochemical water splitting performance under simulated solar light. The degradation rate of MB is 3.17and 3.99 times higher than that of pure TiO2 NTs and Ta2O5 NTs, respectively; the photocurrent density increases by 8.33 times and 1.6 times compared with pure Ta2O5 NTs and TiO2, respectively.
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Funding
This study was funded by the program for Taishan Scholars of Shandong province (No.ts20190965), Open Fund of Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education (INMD-2019 M01), and “Innovation Leading Talents” program of Qingdao (19-3-2-23-zhc) in China.
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Zhang, S., Feng, M., Liu, Y. et al. Ta2O5 NTs-TiO2 nanodots heterostructure photocatalyst material for enhanced photodegradation and photoelectrochemical performance under simulated solar light. J Nanopart Res 22, 375 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-020-05100-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-020-05100-5