Unique Zinc Germanium Oxynitride Hyperbranched Nanostructures with Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity for CO2 Reduction

作者：Liu, Qi^*; Xu, Miao; Zhou, Beibei; Liu, Rongmei; Tao, Feng; Mao, Guobing^*

来源：European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2017, 2017(15): 2195-2200.

DOI：10.1002/ejic.201700044

• Zinc
• Germanium
• Oxynitrides
• Nanostructures
• Nitridation
• Photocatalysis

Unique (Zn1+xGe)(N2Ox) hyperbranched nanostructures with rough surfaces were prepared by nitriding Zn2GeO4 bundles at 700 degrees C. In this process, the constituent smooth nanobelts of the Zn2GeO4 bundles are transformed into chains composed of nanoparticles; therefore, the (Zn1+xGe)(N2Ox) hyperbranched nanostructures have a lager specific surface area, which is twice that of the Zn2GeO4 precursor. Compared to reference (Zn1+xGe)(N2Ox) particles synthesized by a solid-state reaction approach as well as (Zn1+xGe)(N2Ox) prepared by nitriding Zn2GeO4 nanorods at 700 degrees C for 6 h, the optimal hyperbranched (Zn1+xGe)(N2Ox) particles exhibit enhanced activity for the photoreduction of CO2 to CH4 under visible light due to their unique 3D hyperbranched nanostructure. A GaN-ZnO solid solution with a 3D microsphere structure can be obtained by a similar process. This work provides valuable information for the preparation of oxynitrides with high specific surface areas.

• 出版日期2017-4-18
• 单位安徽工程大学