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The effects of nanostructure on the artificial photosynthesis activities of undoped and Nd doped titania (TiO2) powders prepared by three different chemical co-precipitation methods were investigated. Substitutional/interstitial N and S doping was observed in powders due to the presence of high concentrations of HNO3 (NP) and H2SO4 (SP) in the powder preparation media, respectively. Nd, N and S doping caused anatase/rutile phase transformation inhibition and crystallite size reduction in the nanostructure. Light absorption was significantly enhanced by Nd doping and the residual SO42−/NOx species in the nanostructure. Photocatalytic hydrogen production activity of Nd doped NP powder was 4 times greater than undoped NP powder at 700 °C and had a high purity (CO:H2 ratio∼0.00). CO was determined to be the main product in photocatalytic CO2 reduction. NP powders had the highest CO yields and Nd doping enhanced CO production. The powders with high crystallite sizes and rutile weight fractions had the highest artificial photosynthesis activities.

The effects of crystallization time and amount of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8) on the photocatalytic activity of ZIF-8 decorated copper (Cu) doped titania (TiO2) (ZIF-8/Cu-TiO2) powders were investigated in this study. The formation of nanocomposite structure of ZIF-8 crystals grown over the surface of core Cu-TiO2 particles containing heterojunction sites was observed at low ZIF-8 level. Powders containing ZIF-8 in the 5–46% range (weight basis) were synthesized and their activities in the photocatalytic degradation of an organic dye molecule were evaluated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analyses indicated that ZIF-8/Cu-TiO2 nanocomposite can be prepared at low levels of ZIF-8. HR-TEM images of 46% ZIF-8/Cu-TiO2 showed that Cu-TiO2 particles act as a core and ZIF-8 crystals grow over the surface of Cu-TiO2 particles during crystal growth and Cu-TiO2 particles were almost completely covered with ZIF-8 crystals. Photocatalytic activity increased with decreasing ZIF-8 level which was attributed to the formation of heterojunctions due to partial coverage of TiO2 surface. The 1st order reaction rate constant of ZIF-8/Cu-TiO2 nanocomposite containing 5% ZIF-8 was found to be 4 and 1.4 times that of bare ZIF-8 and Cu-TiO2, respectively. Partial coverage of TiO2 surface with ZIF-8 crystals lead to the formation of light exposed ZIF-8/Cu-TiO2 heterojunction sites for the enhanced degradation of the dye molecule. The presence of ZIF-8 in the nanocomposite also increased the adsorption of the organic dye by the interaction with open Zn2+ metal sites of ZIF-8 on the nanocomposite surface. This study revealed that ZIF-8/Cu-TiO2 nanocomposites could be prepared at low ZIF-8 levels and short growth times with higher photocatalytic activities than their constituents and nanocomposites prepared at higher ZIF-8 levels and longer growth times.

The development of a better understanding of the low temperature nanophase evolution of high surface area titania (TiO2) based powders is essential for their use in photocatalytic applications. A series of rare earth (RE) element doped TiO2 powders were prepared by sol-gel processing. The effects of RE doping level, ionic size and heat treatment temperature on the nanophase structure evolution and the dopant ion location in TiO2 main matrix were investigated. Anatase was determined to be the main phase up to 900 °C at all doping levels for all REs. Anatase to rutile phase transformation was inhibited by RE doping. The inhibitory effect of REs increased with increasing ionic radius. Oxide phases of La, Nd, Pr, Sm were not present up to 5% and Nd4Ti9O24 phase was formed at 10% doping level at 800 °C. The formation of RE2Ti2O7 phases were determined for the REs with relatively lower ionic radii at 800 °C., Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK 10M739)

Bu calismada farkli sentez kosullarinda ve iki farkli cinko tuzu ile ZIF-L bazli kristaller ve membranlar sentezlenmistir. Sentezlenen membranlarin He, N2 ve CO2 gazi gecirgenligi ve ideal secicilik olcumleri gerceklestirilmistir. 0,3-2x10-6 mol/m2.s.P araliginda elde edilen gaz gecirgenligi degerleri artan sentez sicakligi ve cinko nitrat yerine cinko klorur kullanimi ile artmistir. Difuzyon hucresi ile sentezlenen membran ise vakum filtrasyon-ikincil buyume ile sentezlenen membrana gore daha dusuk gaz gecirgenligi degerleri gostermistir. Calisma kapsaminda kullanilan sentez kosullarinda difuzyon hucre sisteminde cinko klorurur ile sentezlenen membranin gaz gecirgenligi ve seciciliginde optimum performansa sahip oldugu tespit edilmistir