Issue 6, 2015

Ternary mesoporous WO3/Mn3O4/N-doped graphene nanocomposite for enhanced photocatalysis under visible light irradiation

Abstract

A novel ternary nanocomposite comprising mesoporous WO3, Mn3O4 nanoparticles and N-doped graphene was prepared by a one-pot deposition method. The nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the Mn3O4 nanoparticles had been successfully hybridized with the mesoporous WO3 and the WO3/Mn3O4 hybrid was well dispersed on the surface of N-doped graphene with superior interactions. The nanocomposite exhibits higher photocatalytic activity for water oxidation than the individual mesoporous WO3 and WO3/Mn3O4 catalysts. The amount of oxygen evolution from the optimized heterostructural photocatalyst (1.5 wt% Mn3O4 and 2 wt% N-doped graphene) was 294 μmol g−1, which was about 3.6 times as high as that from m-WO3. The heterostructure formed between Mn3O4 and m-WO3 enhances photogenerated electron/hole transfer and restrains the recombination of charges greatly. N-doped graphene in the nanocomposite acting as an excellent electron acceptor and mediator also contributes to the increase in photocatalytic performance by promoting the separation and transfer of photogenerated charges. This study suggests a promising method to enhance photocatalytic activity by combining the heterostructural WO3/Mn3O4 hybrid with graphene in a ternary system.

Graphical abstract: Ternary mesoporous WO3/Mn3O4/N-doped graphene nanocomposite for enhanced photocatalysis under visible light irradiation

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Mar 2015
Accepted
23 Apr 2015
First published
24 Apr 2015

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2015,5, 3375-3382

Ternary mesoporous WO3/Mn3O4/N-doped graphene nanocomposite for enhanced photocatalysis under visible light irradiation

Y. Wu, D. Chu, P. Yang, Y. Du and C. Lu, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2015, 5, 3375 DOI: 10.1039/C5CY00439J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements