Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation

Spinel ferrite materials have an electronic band structure that is well suited for visible light-induced catalysis, however, their photocatalytic activity remains low due to the daunting charge-carrier separation process. In this article, we report that high-surface-area mesoscopic architectures com...

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Main Authors: Skliri, Euaggelia, Miao, Jianwei, Xie, Jian, Liu, Guangfeng, Salim, Teddy, Liu, Bin, Zhang, Qichun, Armatas, Gerasimos S.
Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138366
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1383662020-06-01T10:01:34Z Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation Skliri, Euaggelia Miao, Jianwei Xie, Jian Liu, Guangfeng Salim, Teddy Liu, Bin Zhang, Qichun Armatas, Gerasimos S. School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering School of Materials Science & Engineering Engineering::Materials Cr(VI) Reduction Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles Spinel ferrite materials have an electronic band structure that is well suited for visible light-induced catalysis, however, their photocatalytic activity remains low due to the daunting charge-carrier separation process. In this article, we report that high-surface-area mesoscopic architectures composed of tightly connected ultrasmall spinel ferrite nanocrystals can efficiently suppress electron-hole recombination, manifesting an exceptional activity and magnetic recyclability in photocatalytic reduction of aqueous Cr(VI). Revealed by electron microscopy, N2 physisorption, and X-ray scattering studies, the resulting materials, which were obtained through a block copolymer-assisted cross-linking aggregation of colloidal nanoparticles, show a 3D interconnected nanoporous structure with a large internal surface area (up to 159 m2 g−1) and exhibit small grain composition (ca. 6–8 nm in size). Through a systematic synthesis of various structural analogues to the spinel ferrite family and optical absorption and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses, we demonstrate that the electronic band structure fits the electronic requirements for both Cr(VI) reduction and water oxidation under UV–vis light irradiation. Among spinel ferrites, ZnFe2O4 presents the highest activity, readily operating without additional sacrificial reagents in photocatalytic detoxification of aqueous Cr(VI), which together with transient gas analysis and fluorescence spectroscopy results suggest a competitive formation of oxygen and hydroxyl radicals at the catalyst surface. These findings provide an essential tool for the delineation of the electronic structure-catalytic property relationship in spinel ferrite nanostructures offering intriguing possibilities for designing new photocatalytic systems for efficient environmental pollution purification and energy conversion. 2020-05-05T02:50:27Z 2020-05-05T02:50:27Z 2018 Journal Article Skliri, E., Miao, J., Xie, J., Liu, G., Salim, T., Liu, B., . . . Armatas, G. S. (2018). Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 227, 330-339. doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.01.045 0926-3373 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138366 10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.01.045 2-s2.0-85042908692 227 330 339 en Applied Catalysis B: Environmental © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This paper was published in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental and is made available with permission of Elsevier B.V.
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Engineering::Materials
Cr(VI) Reduction
Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles
spellingShingle Engineering::Materials
Cr(VI) Reduction
Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles
Skliri, Euaggelia
Miao, Jianwei
Xie, Jian
Liu, Guangfeng
Salim, Teddy
Liu, Bin
Zhang, Qichun
Armatas, Gerasimos S.
Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation
description Spinel ferrite materials have an electronic band structure that is well suited for visible light-induced catalysis, however, their photocatalytic activity remains low due to the daunting charge-carrier separation process. In this article, we report that high-surface-area mesoscopic architectures composed of tightly connected ultrasmall spinel ferrite nanocrystals can efficiently suppress electron-hole recombination, manifesting an exceptional activity and magnetic recyclability in photocatalytic reduction of aqueous Cr(VI). Revealed by electron microscopy, N2 physisorption, and X-ray scattering studies, the resulting materials, which were obtained through a block copolymer-assisted cross-linking aggregation of colloidal nanoparticles, show a 3D interconnected nanoporous structure with a large internal surface area (up to 159 m2 g−1) and exhibit small grain composition (ca. 6–8 nm in size). Through a systematic synthesis of various structural analogues to the spinel ferrite family and optical absorption and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses, we demonstrate that the electronic band structure fits the electronic requirements for both Cr(VI) reduction and water oxidation under UV–vis light irradiation. Among spinel ferrites, ZnFe2O4 presents the highest activity, readily operating without additional sacrificial reagents in photocatalytic detoxification of aqueous Cr(VI), which together with transient gas analysis and fluorescence spectroscopy results suggest a competitive formation of oxygen and hydroxyl radicals at the catalyst surface. These findings provide an essential tool for the delineation of the electronic structure-catalytic property relationship in spinel ferrite nanostructures offering intriguing possibilities for designing new photocatalytic systems for efficient environmental pollution purification and energy conversion.
author2 School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
author_facet School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Skliri, Euaggelia
Miao, Jianwei
Xie, Jian
Liu, Guangfeng
Salim, Teddy
Liu, Bin
Zhang, Qichun
Armatas, Gerasimos S.
format Article
author Skliri, Euaggelia
Miao, Jianwei
Xie, Jian
Liu, Guangfeng
Salim, Teddy
Liu, Bin
Zhang, Qichun
Armatas, Gerasimos S.
author_sort Skliri, Euaggelia
title Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation
title_short Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation
title_full Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation
title_fullStr Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation
title_full_unstemmed Assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation
title_sort assembly and photochemical properties of mesoporous networks of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for environmental photocatalytic remediation
publishDate 2020
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138366
_version_ 1681059062578413568