Yuanting Wu

Hypothesis: A nonconductive inverse-opal silica scaffold can regulate photocatalytic interfacial behavior by forming a pore-confined dielectric microenvironment, rather than by acting as an electron-transport pathway.Experiments: A graphitic carbon nitride/bismuth-based oxide and oxyhalide heterostructure was assembled within a three-dimensional inverse-opal silica framework. Surface-potential mapping, irradiated X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time-resolved photoluminescence, impedance spectroscopy, spin-trapping electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and radical-scavenging tests were combined to examine charge redistribution and surface redox utilization.Findings: The optimized confined heterostructure showed an illumination-induced surface-potential increase from 520.2 ± 12.2 to 601.0 ± 17.1 millivolts and an apparent work-function decrease from 4.7812 to 4.7003 electronvolts. The average photoluminescence lifetime shortened from 1.7097 nanoseconds for the unconfined oxide and oxyhalide heterostructure to 1.5086 nanoseconds for the inverse-opal-silica-confined heterostructure. After adsorption equilibrium, ciprofloxacin removal reached 88.15 percent, with 41.01 percent dark adsorption, whereas rhodamine B removal reached 99.54 percent, with 86.96 percent dark adsorption. These results demonstrate adsorption-assisted surface photoredox utilization and support a step-scheme-like interfacial charge-transfer tendency.

Engineering interfacial charge transfer is essential for improving the photocatalytic performance of semiconductor heterostructures. Herein, an inverse-opal g-C3N4 (SCN)-supported Bi-based heterostructure composed of Bi2WO6, Bi2SiO5 and BiOClxBr1-x was fabricated via a halogen-regulated interfacial assembly strategy. The three-dimensional SCN scaffold provides a porous architecture with enhanced light harvesting and abundant accessible sites for the growth of Bi-based phases, thereby facilitating intimate multi-interface coupling. Meanwhile, Cl/Br incorporation modulates the local electronic structure of the Bi-containing components and is expected to favor interfacial charge redistribution, thereby improving carrier separation and visible-light utilization. The optimized composite shows enhanced photocatalytic performance under simulated sunlight toward the removal of antibiotic contaminants, including norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline; Rh B degradation was also examined as a comparative probe of photocatalytic activity. Based on radical-scavenging tests, band-structure analysis, photoluminescence measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and transient photocurrent responses, an S-scheme-like charge-transfer pathway is tentatively proposed. This interfacial process is expected to preserve the redox capability of photogenerated carriers, thereby accelerating oxygen activation and pollutant oxidation. Overall, this study demonstrates that integrating an inverse-opal carbon nitride scaffold with halogen-regulated Bi-based heterostructures is an effective strategy for constructing photocatalysts with improved interfacial dynamics and practical potential for antibiotic remediation under simulated sunlight.

It is common that the as-sintered bulk ceramics or powders undergo mechanical and/or heat treatment for further investigating the structure or properties. However, if their structures change during these procedures, it would mislead their structure-properties relation and subsequently lead to the wrong design of the desired ceramic products. In this work, we reported the mechanical/heat treatment effect on the structures of AgNbO₃-based antiferroelectric/ferroelectric (AFE/FE) materials. The results revealed that the structure of AgNbO₃-based systems with chemical compositions close to/in the AFE/FE phase boundary strongly depends on the history of polishing/grinding and/or annealing processing. Manual polishing/grinding (or milling) ceramic bulk/powders can induce a phase transition from AFE(Pbcm) to FE(R3c), and the transition can be reversed via the heat treatment, which is intimately related to a temperature-driven phase transformation having a metastable AFE phase. Our finding thus provides new insight into phase transitions in AgNbO₃-based systems, suggesting that the proper parameters of processing need to be considered to enable the development of an understanding of structure-property relationships in ceramic materials.

Current stress visualization techniques face limitations due to the transient signal capture of traditional mechanoluminescent (ML) materials, restricting the retrieval of historical mechanical data and hindering long‐term damage diagnosis for high‐end equipment. This study overcomes these constraints by precisely regulating trap energy levels in β ‐Ca ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ : Dy through gradient Li ⁺ doping, resulting in significantly enhanced thermally delayed luminescence performance under mechanical or X‐ray excitation. Lattice distortion and charge compensation from Li ⁺ aggregation increase trap density, extending spatiotemporal imaging signal traceability beyond 45 days. Notably, the triboelectric effect at the organic–inorganic interface triggered by mechanical stimulation not only induces transient ML but also facilitates the capture of charge carriers at intrinsic defect states of phosphors. Inspired by static high‐energy X‐ray imaging based on trap filling, by employing passive mechanical responses for trap filling and thermal activation for delayed carrier release, dynamic stress distribution is visually monitored, overcoming conventional ML's rapid signal decay. Experimental and theoretical results confirm that high‐energy stimulation ionizes oxygen vacancies into paramagnetic states, enabling electron capture and thermally activated release. The proposed self‐capture and thermal‐delay response technology offers an innovative strategy for precise damage localization in high‐speed collisions, creating a new pathway for static/dynamic defect tracking in advanced equipment.

Bismuth-based photocatalysts synthesized via a solid-state method frequently exhibited challenges, including particle agglomeration, insufficient active sites, and sluggish charge carrier mobility. Element doping and heterostructure construction were regarded as effective methods to address these issues. In this study, La- and Ti-doped Bi₂SiO₅-BiOBr-Bi₂WO₆ (La-BSBW and Ti-BSBW) double type-Z heterojunction photocatalysts were successfully synthesized by solid-state methods and ion-exchange strategies. The doping of La and Ti induced the generation of abundant oxygen vacancies (V_O) and promoted the transformation of part of Bi³⁺ to Bi⁴⁺ to form Bi³⁺/Bi⁴⁺ redox centers. Their synergistic effect formed a "V_O-Bi³⁺/Bi⁴⁺" dynamic catalytic cycle, which not only shortened the photogenerated carrier migration path and reduced the electron transition energy barrier and interfacial resistance but also promoted the formation of double type-Z heterojunction to achieve efficient photogenerated carrier transport. In addition, on the basis of doping, the introduction of ultrasonic effects could provide a continuous driving force for the "V_O-Bi³⁺/Bi⁴⁺" dynamic catalytic cycle, significantly improving the migration efficiency of electrons (e^-)-holes (h⁺) and suppressing carrier recombination. Ultimately, under simulated sunlight and ultrasound, the degradation rates of La-BSBW and Ti-BSBW for rhodamine B (Rh B) reached 0.07465 and 0.08266 min^-1 respectively, which were 2.1 and 2.3 times that of undoped BSBW, demonstrating superior photocatalytic performance. Further, La-BSBW and Ti-BSBW both showed degradation efficiency exceeding 88% for TCH, CIP, and BPA, demonstrating significant broad-spectrum degradation capabilities. This study provided a simple and efficient modification strategy for developing highly efficient bismuth-based photocatalysts via the solid-phase method.

Large interfacial charge transfer driving force and the incorporation of highly active specific crystalline surfaces have the potential to address the issue of inadequate adsorption-photocatalytic degradation efficiency of photocatalytic materials for organic pollutants. In this study, we synthesized Bi₂WO₆-BiOCl-Bi₂SiO₅ (BSWC) photocatalysts with excellent adsorption and photocatalytic properties by introducing BiOCl via a double anionic layer in situ induction strategy. The photocatalytic activities of the optimized BSWC-3 were 27.4 and 4 times those of Bi₂SiO₅ and Bi₂WO₆ (BWO), respectively. The analysis demonstrated that a close-contact heterogeneous interface with large interfacial charge transfer driving force was established within BSWC-3, which effectively enhanced the interfacial charge transfer efficiency. Furthermore, the (110) crystal plane of BiOCl produced a robust activation effect of adsorbed oxygen on the surface, which facilitated the generation of reactive oxygen species, propelling the photocatalytic process. This study provides a viable strategy for the development of nonhomogeneous bismuth-based photocatalysts with synergistic enhancement of adsorption-photocatalytic activity.