TY - JOUR
T1 - Silk fibroin-derived nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots anchored on TiO2 nanotube arrays for heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation and water splitting
AU - Wang, Qun
AU - Cai, Jingsheng
AU - Biesold-McGee, Gill V.
AU - Huang, Jianying
AU - Ng, Yun Hau
AU - Sun, Hongtao
AU - Wang, Jiping
AU - Lai, Yuekun
AU - Lin, Zhiqun
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 51972063 and 51502185 ), 111 Project (No. D17005 ) and Fuzhou University Testing Fund of precious apparatus ( 2019T022 ). We also acknowledge the funds from the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Bombyx mori silk, a natural nitrogen-rich biopolymer protein, is earth-abundant and sustainable. In this study, nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) derived from Bombyx mori silk fibroin are immobilized onto TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2 NTAs) by a facile hydrothermal process. The resulting N-CQDs decorated TiO2 NTA heterostructures (N-CQDs@TiO2 NTAs) display a maximum incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 32.5% under 450 nm monochromatic light in neutral solution. Compared with pristine TiO2 NTAs, the N-CQDs-decorated TiO2 NTAs demonstrate significantly improved photocatalytic efficiency during the degradation of organic contaminants. Furthermore, the constructed heterostructures are used to split water to investigate their photocatalytic promise, yielding the maximum H2 and O2 production rates of 30.12 and 14.96 μmol cm−2 h−1, respectively. Optimizing the N-CQD coating is found to effectively tune the bandgap and up-conversion capability of the heterostructures, enabling unique photon harvest and boosting photocatalytic activity. This study provides a proof of concept that nonmetal, abundant, and sustainable materials can be exploited to enhance the photocatalytic capability of TiO2, imparting a variety of unique applications such as water purification and chemical fuel production.
AB - Bombyx mori silk, a natural nitrogen-rich biopolymer protein, is earth-abundant and sustainable. In this study, nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) derived from Bombyx mori silk fibroin are immobilized onto TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2 NTAs) by a facile hydrothermal process. The resulting N-CQDs decorated TiO2 NTA heterostructures (N-CQDs@TiO2 NTAs) display a maximum incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 32.5% under 450 nm monochromatic light in neutral solution. Compared with pristine TiO2 NTAs, the N-CQDs-decorated TiO2 NTAs demonstrate significantly improved photocatalytic efficiency during the degradation of organic contaminants. Furthermore, the constructed heterostructures are used to split water to investigate their photocatalytic promise, yielding the maximum H2 and O2 production rates of 30.12 and 14.96 μmol cm−2 h−1, respectively. Optimizing the N-CQD coating is found to effectively tune the bandgap and up-conversion capability of the heterostructures, enabling unique photon harvest and boosting photocatalytic activity. This study provides a proof of concept that nonmetal, abundant, and sustainable materials can be exploited to enhance the photocatalytic capability of TiO2, imparting a variety of unique applications such as water purification and chemical fuel production.
KW - Hydrogen generation
KW - Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots
KW - Photocatalytic activity
KW - Pollutants degradation
KW - TiO nanotube arrays
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090426216&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105313
DO - 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105313
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85090426216
SN - 2211-2855
VL - 78
JO - Nano Energy
JF - Nano Energy
M1 - 105313
ER -
