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Efficient visible light-induced photoelectrocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B by polyaniline-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays

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Abstract

Self-organized anodic TiO2 nanotube arrays were sensitized with polyaniline by a simple electrodeposite method. The morphological and structural properties studied by scanning electron microscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy reveal the successful deposition of polyaniline on the nanotube arrays. The polyaniline-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays exhibit a distinguishable red shift on the absorption spectrum. Electrochemical impedance investigation attested to a significant improvement of the interfacial electron-transfer kinetics for promoted electron–hole effective separation. The as-prepared samples showed a high efficiency for the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation (λ > 400 nm). The enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity could be attributed to the extended absorption in the visible-light region by the polyaniline and the effective separation of photogenerated carriers driven by the photoinduced potential difference generated at the polyaniline/TiO2 nanotube arrays interface.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported financially by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 20877013 and NSFC-RGC 21061160495), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) (No. 2010AA064902), the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2011CB936002), the Excellent Talents Program of Liaoning Provincial University (LR2010090) and the Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, China Ministry of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemical, School of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, 116024, Dalian, China

    Xinyong Li, Wei Teng & Qidong Zhao

  2. ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, 4072, QLD, St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia

    Xinyong Li, Qidong Zhao & Lianzhou Wang

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  1. Xinyong Li
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  2. Wei Teng
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  3. Qidong Zhao
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  4. Lianzhou Wang
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Correspondence to Xinyong Li.

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Li, X., Teng, W., Zhao, Q. et al. Efficient visible light-induced photoelectrocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B by polyaniline-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays. J Nanopart Res 13, 6813–6820 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0589-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-011-0589-3

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