Development of efficient IR/Visible light-driven photocatalysts for photocatalytic applications under solar light radiation

• Grant number: 15/22875-4
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Sidney José Lima Ribeiro
• Grantee: Sajjad Ullah
• Home Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Heterogeneous photocatalysis based on semiconductor materials, especially TiO2, is an efficient method for environmental clean-up. However, practical applications of semiconductor photocatalysts, beside other factors such as recombination of charge carriers (e--h+ recombination), are limited by the requirement of continuous supply of UV light, which is only around 6% of the solar spectrum. The development of TiO2 based composite photocatalysts responsive towards visible and near infrared (NIR) radiation is thus of immense importance. In this project, attempts will be made to extend the application of TiO2 to visible and IR region of the spectrum by preparing two types of composite photocatalysts with a core@shell configuration: (1) Visible light-driven photocatalysts (VLPC), with an architecture represented as SiO2@WO3@TiO2/Ag and (2) NIR light-driven photocatalysts (IRLPC) represented as UC@TiO2 or UC@WO3 where UC is an upconversion (UC) material like NaYF4:Nd3+:Yb3+, Tm3+. In case of VLPC, the active components (WO3, TiO2 and Ag) will be supported on SiO2 sub-micron particles in a core@shell configuration based on our previously developed methods (Ullah et al. 2015). The composite core@shell photocatalyst is expected to be active under both UV (direct activation) and visible light (indirect activation) illumination and show improved photocatalytic and antibacterial activity due to increased specific surface area, better dispersion and higher thermal stability of the supported TiO2 and efficient absorption/harvesting of light. The IRLPC will be prepared by coupling TiO2 (and/or WO3) with UC materials such a rare earth metal-based crystals (NaYF4:Nd3+:Yb3+, Tm3+). The UV light emitted by the UC component upon absorption of NIR radiation can be used to excite TiO2 coated as thin film on the surface UC particles. The photoactivity of the photocatalysts as function of composition and architecture as well as illumination mode (pulsed illumination/steady illumination) will be evaluated both in presence of UV-visible light (for VLPC) and NIR light (for IRLPC only) as illumination sources. Finally, the composite photocatalyst will be tested for disinfection of water in a homemade photo-reactor under optimized illumination conditions.

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

NOVELETTO, JULIA CRISTINA; FERREIRA-NETO, ELIAS PAIVA; GONCALVES, LIDIANE PATRICIA; ULLAH, SAJJAD; DONATTI, DARIO ANTONIO; LIMA RIBEIRO, SIDNEY JOSE; RODRIGUES-FILHO, UBIRAJARA PEREIRA. Plasmonic silver-based reversible photochromism in Ag+-doped organomodified silicates-phosphotungstate hybrid films. Optical Materials, v. 92, p. 233-242, JUN 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CORREALES, YORK E. SERGE; HAZRA, CHANCHAL; ULLAH, SAJJAD; LIMA, LAIS R.; RIBEIRO, SIDNEY J. L. Precisely tailored shell thickness and Ln(3+) content to produce multicolor emission from Nd3+-sensitized Gd3+-based core/shell/shell UCNPs through bi-directional energy transfer. NANOSCALE ADVANCES, v. 1, n. 5, p. 1936-1947, MAY 1 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

ULLAH, S.; FERREIRA-NETO, E. P.; HAZRA, C.; PARVEEN, R.; ROJAS-MANTILLA, H. D.; CALEGARO, M. L.; SERGE-CORREALES, Y. E.; RODRIGUES-FILHO, U. P.; RIBEIRO, S. J. L. Broad spectrum photocatalytic system based on BiVO4 and NaYbF4:Tm3+ upconversion particles for environmental remediation under UV-vis-NIR illumination. APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL, v. 243, p. 121-135, APR 2019. Web of Science Citations: 12.

SIMOES, MATEUS BATISTA; ULLAH, SAJJAD; HAZRA, CHANCHAL; MAN, MICHEL WONG CHI; LIMA RIBEIRO, SIDNEY JOSE; RODRIGUES-FILHO, UBIRAJARA PEREIRA. Eco-friendly polydimethylsiloxane-based self-supporting film containing europium-polyoxometalate: A flexible luminescent material for white light generation. Journal of Luminescence, v. 201, p. 384-389, SEP 2018. Web of Science Citations: 1.

HAZRA, CHANCHAL; ULLAH, SAJJAD; SERGE CORREALES, YORK E.; CAETANO, LAIS G.; RIBEIRO, SIDNEY J. L. Enhanced NIR-I emission from water-dispersible NIR-II dye-sensitized core/active shell upconverting nanoparticles. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, v. 6, n. 17, p. 4777-4785, MAY 7 2018. Web of Science Citations: 7.

STAYKOV, ALEKSANDAR; FERREIRA-NETO, ELIAS PAIVA; YBARRENA SANTA CRUZ, JEAN MINA; ULLAH, SAJJAD; RODRIGUES-FILHO, UBIRAJARA PEREIRA. The stability of titania-silica interface. International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, v. 118, n. 4 FEB 15 2018. Web of Science Citations: 2.

HAZRA, CHANCHAL; ULLAH, SAJJAD; CAETANO, LAIS G.; RIBEIRO, SIDNEY J. L. Eu(III)-coordination polymer sub-micron fibers: material for selective and sensitive detection of Cu2+ ions via competition between photoinduced electron transfer and energy transfer. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, v. 6, n. 1, p. 153-161, JAN 7 2018. Web of Science Citations: 3.

ULLAH, SAJJAD; HAZRA, CHANCHAL; FERREIRA-NETO, ELIAS P.; SILVA, TARCIO C.; RODRIGUES-FILHO, UBIRAJARA P.; RIBEIRO, SIDNEY J. L. Microwave-assisted synthesis of NaYF4: Yb3+/Tm3+ upconversion particles with tailored morphology and phase for the design of UV/NIR- active NaYF4: Yb3+/Tm3+@TiO2 core@shell photocatalysts. CrystEngComm, v. 19, n. 25, p. 3465-3475, JUL 7 2017. Web of Science Citations: 11.