Fast-Response Colorimetric UVC Sensor Made of a Ga2O3 Photocatalyst with a Hole Scavenger

A fast-response colorimetric ultraviolet-C (UVC) sensor was demonstrated using a gallium oxide (Ga2O3) photocatalyst with small amounts of triethanolamine (TEOA) in methylene blue (MB) solutions and a conventional RGB photodetector. The color of the MB solution changed upon UVC exposure, which was observed using an in situ RGB photodetector. Thereby, the UVC exposure was numerically quantified as an MB reduction rate with the R value of the photodetector, which was linearly correlated with the measured spectral absorbance using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Small amount of TEOA in the MB solution served as a hole scavenger, which resulted in fast MB color changes due to the enhanced charge separation. However, excessive TEOA over 5 wt.% started to block the catalytical active site on the surface of Ga2O3, prohibiting the chemical reaction between the MB molecules and catalytic sites. The proposed colorimetric UVC sensor could monitor the detrimental UVC radiation with high responsivity at a low cost

Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Electrospun β-Ga2O3 Nanofibers via In-Situ Si Doping Using Tetraethyl Orthosilicate

β-Ga2O3 has attracted considerable attention as an alternative photocatalyst to replace conventional TiO2 under ultraviolet-C irradiation due to its high reduction and oxidation potential. In this study, to enhance the photocatalytic activity of β-Ga2O3, nanofibers are formed via the electrospinning method, and Si atoms are subsequently doped. As the Si concentration in the β-Ga2O3 nanofiber increases, the optical bandgap of the β-Ga2O3 nanofibers continuously decreases from 4.5 eV (intrinsic) to 4.0 eV for the Si-doped (2.4 at. %) β-Ga2O3 nanofibers, and accordingly, the photocatalytic activity of the β-Ga2O3 nanofibers is enhanced. This higher photocatalytic performance with Si doping is attributed to the increased doping-induced carriers in the conduction band edges. This differs from the traditional mechanism in which the doping-induced defect sites in the bandgap enhance separation and inhibit the recombination of photon-generated carriers