Towards environment friendly hydrothermally synthesized Li+, Rb+, In3+ intercalated phosphotungstate (PW12O40) thin films

In the present investigation, a one-step hydrothermal approach is proposed to synthesize Li+, Rb+, and In3+intercalated PW12O40 (PTA) thin films. The photoelectrochemical performance of the deposited Li3PW12O40 (Li−PTA), Rb3PW12O40 (Rb−PTA), and In3PW12O40 (In−PTA) photocathodes were investigated using a two-electrode cell configuration of FTO/Li3PW12O40/(0.1 M I−/I3−)aq./Graphite. The energy band gaps of 2.24, 2.11, and 2.13 eV were observed for the Li−PTA, Rb−PTA, and In−PTA films, respectively, as a function of Li+, Rb+, and In3+. The evolution of the spinal cubic crystal structure with increased crystallite size was observed for Rb+ intercalation within the PTA Keggin structure, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a modification in the surface morphology from a rod-like structure to a densely packed, uniform, and interconnected microsphere to small and large-sized microspheres for Li−PTA, Rb−PTA, and In−PTA, respectively. Compositional studies confirmed that the composing elements of Li, Rb, In, P, W, and O ions are well in accordance with their arrangement for Li+, Rb+, In3+, P5+, W6+, and O2− valence states. Furthermore, the J-V performance of the deposited photocathode shows power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 1.25%, 3.03%, and 1.62%, as a function of the incorporation of Li+, Rb+, and In3+ ions. This work offers a one-step hydrothermal approach that is a prominent way to develop Li+, Rb+, and In3+ ions intercalated PTA, i.e., Li3PW12O40, Rb3PW12O40, and In3PW12O40 photocathodes for competent solar energy harvesting

Towards Environment Friendly Hydrothermally Synthesized Li+, Rb+, In3+ Intercalated Phosphotungstate (PW12O40) Thin Films

In the present investigation, a one-step hydrothermal approach is proposed to synthesize Li+, Rb+, and In3+intercalated PW12O40 (PTA) thin films. The photoelectrochemical performance of the deposited Li3PW12O40 (Li−PTA), Rb3PW12O40 (Rb−PTA), and In3PW12O40 (In−PTA) photocathodes were investigated using a two-electrode cell configuration of FTO/Li3PW12O40/(0.1 M I−/I3−)aq./Graphite. The energy band gaps of 2.24, 2.11, and 2.13 eV were observed for the Li−PTA, Rb−PTA, and In−PTA films, respectively, as a function of Li+, Rb+, and In3+. The evolution of the spinal cubic crystal structure with increased crystallite size was observed for Rb+ intercalation within the PTA Keggin structure, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a modification in the surface morphology from a rod-like structure to a densely packed, uniform, and interconnected microsphere to small and large-sized microspheres for Li−PTA, Rb−PTA, and In−PTA, respectively. Compositional studies confirmed that the composing elements of Li, Rb, In, P, W, and O ions are well in accordance with their arrangement for Li+, Rb+, In3+, P5+, W6+, and O2− valence states. Furthermore, the J-V performance of the deposited photocathode shows power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 1.25%, 3.03%, and 1.62%, as a function of the incorporation of Li+, Rb+, and In3+ ions. This work offers a one-step hydrothermal approach that is a prominent way to develop Li+, Rb+, and In3+ ions intercalated PTA, i.e., Li3PW12O40, Rb3PW12O40, and In3PW12O40 photocathodes for competent solar energy harvesting

Photoelectrocatalysis of Cefotaxime Using Nanostructured TiO₂ Photoanode: Identification of the Degradation Products and Determination of the Toxicity Level

Nanostructured TiO₂ thin films were fabricated via a facile, economical, and energy-efficient microwave-assisted dip-coating (MWDC) technique. Further, the resulting TiO₂ films were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected-area electron diffraction, Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy techniques for their phase structure, morphology, and optical and surface properties. TiO₂-mediated photoelectrocatalytic degradation of the antibiotic cefotaxime (CFX) in an aqueous solution was studied by varying the pH under UV illumination. The degradation intermediates and possible reaction degradation path of CFX were analyzed by electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS). The MS spectra revealed that degradation of CFX occurs through β-lactum corresponding to the cleavage of the cephem nucleus. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of CFX prior to and after photoelectrocatalytic degradation was carried out to analyze the toxicity against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and salmonella typhi bacteria. Interestingly, it was observed that the antibiotic activity was drastically inhibited after photoelectrocatalytic degradation of the CFX solution. The photoelectrocatalytic stability of a nanostructured TiO₂ electrode was evaluated by recycling the degradation experiments. It was observed that there was no significant decrease in the catalytic activity, indicating potential applications of the TiO₂ electrode prepared by the MWDC method