Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2017, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (7): 1174-1183.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(17)62849-3

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Enhanced plasmonic photocatalysis by SiO2@Bi microspheres with hot-electron transportation channels via Bi-O-Si linkages

Zilin Nia, Wendong Zhangb, Guangming Jianga, Xiaoping Wanga, Zhenzhen Luc, Yanjuan Suna, Xinwei Lia, Yuxin Zhangd, Fan Donga   

  1. a Chongqing Key Laboratory of Catalysis and New Environmental Materials, Engineering Research Center for Waste Oil Recovery Technology and Equipment of Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Resources, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing 400067, China;
    b Department of Scientific Research Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China;
    c College of Civil Engineering, Chongqing JiaoTong University, Chongqing 400074, China;
    d College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
  • Online:2017-07-18 Published:2017-06-27
  • Contact: 10.1016/S1872-2067(17)62849-3
  • Supported by:

    This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21501016, 51478070, 21406022, 21676037), the National Key R&D Project (2016YFC0204702), the Innovative Research Team of Chongqing (CXTDG201602014), the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing (cstc2016jcyjA0481, cstc2015jcyjA0061), the Science and Technology Project of Chongqing Education Commission (KJ1600625, KJ1500637), the Application and Basic Science Project of Ministry of Transport of People's Republic of China (2015319814100), and the Innovative Research Project from CTBU (yjscxx2016-060-36).

Abstract:

The semimetal Bi has received increasing interest as an alternative to noble metals for use in plas-monic photocatalysis. To enhance the photocatalytic efficiency of metallic Bi, Bi microspheres modi-fied by SiO2 nanoparticles were fabricated by a facile method. Bi-O-Si bonds were formed between Bi and SiO2, and acted as a transportation channel for hot electrons. The SiO2@Bi microspheres exhibited an enhanced plasmon-mediated photocatalytic activity for the removal of NO in air under 280 nm light irradiation, as a result of the enlarged specific surface areas and the promotion of elec-tron transfer via the Bi-O-Si bonds. The reaction mechanism of photocatalytic oxidation of NO by SiO2@Bi was revealed with electron spin resonance and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy experiments, and involved the chain reaction NO → NO2 → NO3- with ·OH and ·O2- radicals as the main reactive species. The present work could provide new insights into the in-depth mechanistic understanding of Bi plasmonic photocatalysis and the design of high-performance Bi-based photocatalysts.

Key words: SiO2@Bi metal, Bi-O-Si bond, Electron transfer, In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, Photocatalytic nitric oxide removal