Stannates, titanates and tantalates modified with carbon and graphene quantum dots for enhancement of visible-light photocatalytic activity

Most efforts in heterogeneous photocatalysis are focused on development of new and stable photoactive materials efficient in degradation of various pollutants under visible-light irradiation. In this regard, the wide-bandgap perovskite semiconductors, i.e., SrTiO3 (titanate), SrSnO3 (stannate) and AgTaO3 (tantalate), were prepared by a solvothermal method, and then modified with carbon quantum dots (CQDs) or graphene quantum dots (GQDs) co-modified with erbium. The photocactivity was investigated for: (i) toluene degradation (gas phase), (ii) phenol decomposition (aqueous phase), and (iii) inactivation of Escherichia coli K12 bacteria. It has been found that the morphology of semiconductors depends on the synthesis conditions, resulting in the formation of spherical particles, rods and faceted particles for SrTiO3, SnSrO3 and AgTaO3, respectively. Additionally, deposition of CQDs and GQDs/erbium has resulted in an enhancement of light harvesting, thus improved photoactivity under visible-light irradiation. Samples modified with both erbium and GQDs revealed much higher photoactivity than corresponding pristine and CQDs-modified samples. Moreover, all photocatalyst modified with GQDs and Er exhibited a significant antibacterial properties under visible light irradiation (lambda > 420 nm). Accordingly, it has been proposed that obtained semiconductors modified with QDs and Er are promising candidates as sustainable, clean and cheap materials for environmental purification under solar radiation.