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Fabrication of Ag2O/KNbO3 heterojunction with high visible-light photocatalytic activity

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Abstract

In the present work, a series of Ag2O/KNbO3 composite photocatalysts are prepared for the first time through an in situ growth method. The as-obtained samples are well characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic properties of the samples are assessed by decomposition of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light excitation. The results demonstrate Ag2O/KNbO3 illustrated superior photocatalytic activity. The rate constant of RhB degradation over the optimal sample (Ag2O/KNbO3-6:1) exceeded 2.78 and 65 times higher than that of pure Ag2O and KNbO3, respectively. The improved photocatalytic activity could be due to the heterostructure of the catalyst, which enhance the visible light absorption capacity and the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. The quenching experiments of varied scavengers illustrated that •O2− and h+ were the primary active species in the decoloration of RhB.

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Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (1908085QF293 and 1908085QA36), the Natural Science Foundation of China (51572103 and 51973078), and the Foundation of Educational Commission of Anhui Province (KJ2018A0394, KJ2018A0393, and KJ2016SD53).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, 235000, Huaibei, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoxiao Lu, XiangDong Ma, Qiang Li, Kai Dai, Jinfeng Zhang, Min Zhang, Chaopeng Cui & Guangping Zhu

  2. Key Laboratory of Materials Physics and Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 230031, Hefei, People’s Republic of China

    Changhao Liang

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  1. Xiaoxiao Lu
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  2. XiangDong Ma
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  3. Qiang Li
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  4. Kai Dai
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  5. Jinfeng Zhang
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  6. Min Zhang
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  7. Chaopeng Cui
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  8. Guangping Zhu
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  9. Changhao Liang
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Correspondence to Qiang Li or Changhao Liang.

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Lu, X., Ma, X., Li, Q. et al. Fabrication of Ag2O/KNbO3 heterojunction with high visible-light photocatalytic activity. J Nanopart Res 21, 251 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-019-4677-0

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