Lihan Deng

BiOBr nanosheets were loaded onto SnO ₂ quantum dots, ZnO nanosheets, and SnO ₂ /ZnO‐2 (SZ‐2) to form different heterojunction photocatalysts by sonochemistry, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared photocatalysts was evaluated by degrading the target dye Rhodamine B (RhB). The results showed that the degradation efficiency of BiOBr/SnO ₂ /ZnO (BSZ) for RhB reached 97.5% at 80 min. The significant increase in catalytic activity of BSZ was attributed to the synergistic and interfacial effects among the three materials. Combined with the radical trapping experiments, it can be concluded that the catalytic mechanism of BSZ as a dual Z‐type heterojunction.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) has demonstrated significant potential as a photocatalyst for the wastewater treatment. However, its wide bandgap leads to inefficient light utilization and rapid carrier recombination, which inhibits its photocatalytic activity. To overcome these limitations, we employed a hydrothermal method to synthesize Ag/ZnO composite microspheres with different concentrations of Ag nanoparticles. By utilizing Ag complexed with ZnO, the Ag/ZnO composite photocatalysts were made to have a narrower bandgap and a broadened light response range, as well as the red-shift phenomenon at the absorption edge. In addition, Ag nanoparticles can act as electron traps to efficiently capture electrons and minimize the recombination of photoexcited carriers for improved photocatalytic performance. Compared with other concentrations of ZnO microspheres and pure ZnO microspheres, the 5% Ag/ZnO composite microspheres exhibited excellent degradation performance when exposed to a xenon lamp, with 90.1% degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) solution in 100[ ]min. Incorporating trapping agents in experimental studies has indicated that the RhB degradation process is significantly influenced by •O[ ], while the impact of •OH and h[ ] were relatively weak. Thus, Ag/ZnO nanocomposites hold great promise as materials for use in wastewater treatment.

A new borate chloride, Li₂B₅O₈Cl, has been obtained. It exhibits complicated interpenetrating 3D B–O frameworks composed of the functional building block (FBB) [B₅O₁₀], enriching the structural diversity of B–O configurations. The theoretical study indicates that the birefringence is estimated to be 0.026 at 1064 nm. Meanwhile, the structure-property relationships were analyzed through the first-principles calculation with a bandgap of 5.737 eV for GGA and 6.880 eV for HSE06, and the electronic properties of each group are analyzed by the density of states (DOS).

Organic dyes in natural waters jeopardize human health. Whether semiconductor materials can effectively degrade dyes has become a challenge for scientific research. Based on this, this study rationally prepared different nanocomposites to remove organic dyes effectively. Pure SnO₂ quantum dots, ZnO nanosheets, and SnO₂/ZnO (ZS) binary nanocomposites are prepared using the hydrothermal method. Subsequently, SnO₂/ZnO@GO (ZSG) ternary composites containing different amounts of GO, i.e., ZSG-5, ZSG-15, and ZSG-25, are synthesized by an ultrasonic water bath method, in which ZS was coupled with GO to form Z-type heterojunctions. The ZSG-15 ternary composites exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B by simulating sunlight. The test results show that the degradation rate of ZSG-15 is about 7.6 times higher than ZnO. The increase in photocatalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effect of SnO₂ and GO to improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers in ZnO. Notably, the large specific surface area of GO increases the reactive sites. Compared with binary nanocomposites, ZSG-15 broadens the response range to light while further accelerating the electron transport rate and improving the photoelectric stability.