Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2016, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (8): 2069-2076.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB201604224

• ARTICLE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Photogenerated Charge-Transfer Properties of Au-Loaded ZnO Hollow Sphere Composite Materials with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Fei ZHAO,Lin-Qi SHI,Jia-Bao CUI,Yan-Hong LIN*()   

  • Received:2016-01-20 Published:2016-07-29
  • Contact: Yan-Hong LIN E-mail:linyh@jlu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51572106);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21173103);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51172090)

Abstract:

Au/ZnO hollow spheres with different mass ratios were synthesized by a simple two-step method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS) were used to characterize the as-prepared Au/ZnO hollow spheres. The photocatalytic activity of the Au/ZnO composites was evaluated by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) dye under white light. Compared with pure ZnO hollow spheres, the degradation rate of RhB was enhanced by 73%with the appropriate amount of Au in the modified ZnO photocatalysts. The influence of Au decoration on the surface photo-induced charge-transfer behaviour of ZnO was investigated by surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS) and transient photovoltage (TPV). The results showed that the improved photodegradation by Au/ZnO hollow spheres was mostly caused by the strong electronic interactions between ZnO and the Au nanoparticles. The appropriate load of Au nanoparticles in ZnO promoted the separation of photogenerated charges, thus extending the transmission time of the charge carrier and increasing the lifetime of the photogenerated charges, resulting in highly efficient photocatalysis.

Key words: ZnO hollow sphere, Noble metal load, Photogenerated charge behavior, Photocatalysis