Abstract
In this work, the bi-harvesting of light and vibration energy is realized in hydrothermally-synthesized ZnO nanorods which is designed to achieve photo-/piezo-bi-catalysis for dye decomposition. In the presence of both UV irradiation and vibration, the decomposition ratio of ZnO nanorods for acid orange 7 is ∼80.8% within 100 min, which is higher than the value of ∼56.7% for photo-catalysis or the value of ∼31.8% for piezocatalysis. The enhanced photo-/piezo-bi-catalysis of ZnO nanorods in dye decomposition can be attributed to that the piezoelectric potential which formed in piezocatalysis process can help separate the photogenerated electron-hole pairs, therefore achieving a synergy effect between photocatalysis and piezocatalysis. The excellent photo-/piezo-bi-catalysis of ZnO can potentially find application in enhancing catalytic efficiency of dye decomposition through harvesting the light and vibration energy present in natural environments.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 376-383 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Nano Energy |
Volume | 62 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2019 |
Keywords
- Energy harvesting
- Photocatalysis
- Piezocatalysis
- Piezoelectric effect
- ZnO nanorod
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- General Materials Science
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering