A facile approach to synthesis carbon quantum dots-doped P25 visible-light driven photocatalyst with improved NO removal performance

• Published in: Atmospheric pollution research 2020-02, Vol.11 (2), p.303-309
• Main Authors: Qin, Junqi, Zhao, Ran, Xia, Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Composite catalyst; CQDs; NO pollutant; P25; Photocatalytic
• ISSN: 1309-1042; 1309-1042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apr.2019.11.003

The water-soluble carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and a novel composite photocatalyst CQDs/P25 have been prepared by a one-step electrochemical-microwave method. The experimental result shows that the photocatalytic degradation of NO by this new kind of CQDs/P25 composite reaches 71%, which is approximately 1.65 times than that of the pure P25 at room temperature. The initial concentration of NO pollutants is 10 ppm. The photocatalytic efficiency of the composite catalyst achieves the highest when the content of CQDs is 1%. It can be concluded that the CQDs extend the light absorption range and adjust the band gap of pure P25. The high photocatalytic performance of this new kind of photocatalyst can be mainly attributed to the unique up-conversion fluorescence property, nanometer size effect and surface activity effect. •CQDs-P25 composites were facile synthesized by an electrochemical-microwave assisted method.•The conversion rate of NO reached 71%, which is approximately 1.65 times higher than pure P25.•As a novel cocatalyst, CQDs extend the light absorption to the visible range and adjust the band gap of P25.