The Ag2MoO4/Ag/AgBr/GO heterostructure photocatalyst is efficaciously designed and equipped, and it exhibits an excellent photocatalytic property. Tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) is degraded completely within 75 min by Ag2MoO4/Ag/AgBr/GO heterostructure under a 350 W Xe lamp cutting-off the UV light, in which the photocatalytic rate is 1.36 times higher than Ag2MoO4/Ag/AgBr composite. The photocatalytic activity is highly heightened, owing to the enhanced charge separation and topical SPR of Ag0. In addition, GO in Ag2MoO4/Ag/AgBr/GO heterostructure further enlarges the delocalization of the charge transfer compared with Ag2MoO4/Ag/AgBr. After recycling eight times, the photocatalytic rate of Ag2MoO4/Ag/AgBr/GO only debases by 4.5%. Experimental results indicate the Ag2MoO4/Ag/AgBr/GO heterostructure has great potential application for dealing with TC-HCl residues in water.

Nonmetal (C, N, P) doped zinc oxide solid solutions (ZnO SSs) prepared through one-step calcination method exhibited novel anticorrosion capability. The anticorrosion property was identified by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization curve technique. The maximal impedance belonged to C-ZnO SS, which was 12 times higher than pure ZnO materials. Then, a synergistic anticorrosion mechanism was proposed: the photoelectron flow suppression effect and the self-cohering process formed by doping. The tiny particle size as well as the minor zeta-potential of X-ZnO SSs eminently promoted the intermolecular cohesion and the formation of the compact surface automatically. Moreover, the photocatalytic experiments successfully verified the product and the corrosion inhibition effectiveness of the photoelectrons. Additionally, a positive correlation conclusion between the anticorrosion performance and the photocatalytic performance of the X-ZnO SSs was obtained. Consequently, developing the self-cohering anticorrosion materials is of crucial industrial application prospect and value.

The metallic Au-incorporated Au@Ag3PO4 heterostructure described in this study exhibited a highly productive photocatalytic activity in the generation process from hydroxyapatite to Ag3PO4 caused by the rapid release of hydroxyl groups which were converted into hydroxyl radicals by the combined effect of the LSPR by metallic Au nanoparticles and photoexcitation of Ag3PO4 crystals. A conceptually different approach was first demonstrated which we called “instantaneous catalysis” (IC) to degrade rhodamine B, amido black 10b, and bromophenol blue dyes with an extra high degradation rate in about 5 s. It was estimated that the creative photocatalytic activity was due to the effective utilization of the hydroxyl radicals during the synthesis of Au@Ag3PO4 heterostructure. The IC process is suitable for the emergency treatment of unexpected serious environmental pollution.

Dual technique design in this research has successfully enriched the complementation between doping and surface modification. Here, Co2+ doped Ag–ZnO nanocomposites (CAZ NCs) are mass produced by the combustion method. The HRTEM image shows that the doped Co2+ and the surface modified Ag nanoparticles on the ZnO NCs are influential on the preferential orientation. Based on the conductivity formula σ = nqμ and the actual verification, the improved photoelectric properties of CAZ NCs under visible light irradiation are attributed to the enhanced light absorption and the weakened recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. It would be instructive for the sound design concept of subsequent material development.

A technology suitable for mass production of zinc oxide solid solutions doped with various elements has been explored. The results of experiments on degradation of rhodamine B (Rh. B) solution in the same environment showed that modification with both nonmetal and metal elements resulted in different photocatalytic mechanisms. The results when metal elements were used to modify the ZnO nanocatalyst (NC) depended on the oxidation state and radius of the ions. When nonmetal elements were used to modify the ZnO NC, transformation to p-type occurred, resulting in improved photocatalytic activity.

Silver molybdate (Ag2MoO4) nanoclusters were first prepared by a dynamic template route under 20 °C. The heat released from the polymerization of the acrylamide (AM) assisted templates induced high active sites to be generated on the surface of the crystal where more attracted nuclei were adsorbed on. The continuously formed nuclei assembled together and the nanoclusters were formed. The paper provided an explanation for the formation of the Ag2MoO4 nanoclusters through the research on reaction conditions; on the other hand, the comparison of photocatalytic performance and antibacterial properties between the Ag2MoO4 nanoclusters and the Ag2MoO4 crystals of other morphologies showed that the Ag2MoO4 nanoclusters had better photocatalytic and antibacterial activities, which was a preliminary perspective for the application of the nanocluster materials.

Silver tungstate (Ag2WO4) multilevel sphere clusters were synthesized for the first time by a dynamic-template route through controlling the energy distribution on the crystal surface. The polymerization reaction of acrylamide monomers as the dynamic-template on the surface of the Ag2WO4 crystals occurred, with more polymerization causing more high energy spots to appear on the surface of the Ag2WO4 crystals, and the change of energy caused by this affected the formation and growth of the multilevel sphere clusters. The Ag2WO4 multilevel sphere clusters were 2.5–2.8 μm in diameter and constituted several second level spheres which were about 0.8 μm in diameter. The XRD patterns indicated that the Ag2WO4 products were perfectly matched with the hexagonal-phase Ag2WO4 crystal system and the symmetric space type belonged to the P63 symmetric system. In addition, the Ag2WO4 products had good visible light photocatalytic performance and antimicrobial ability.

A combustion method was developed to synthesize the C and Ag co-modified ZnO NCs to enhance its photocatalytic efficiency and practicability. The results showed that the doped Ag was significant to promote the photocatalytic activity, and the optimum content was 2% molar ratio of Ag to Zn atom. The degradation rate under visible light increased by 150% compared with C–ZnO NCs, while by more 1233.3% than pure ZnO photocatalyst. There were some new little particles with grain size about 10 nm on the C–ZnO NCs surface, which may state for the existence of Ag atoms. The synergy effect of Ag and carbon elements was proposed to explain the mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation.A combustion method was developed to mass synthesize the C and Ag co-modified ZnO NCs. The degradation rate of product under visible light increased by 1233.3% compared with pure ZnO NCs. The synergistic effect of C and Ag elements was proposed to explain the mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic performance.

•We presented a method to mass synthesize co-doped P and Al in ZnO nanocrystals.•The PAZO NCs have novel photoelectric performances.•The cooling post-process influence on the photoelectric properties was studied.•The excessive defects decline the photocatalytic and conductive activities.The phosphorus and aluminum co-doped in zinc oxide (ZnO) called PAZO nano-crystals (NCs) have been mass synthesized by a combustion method, which shows a preferable photocatalytic capability and conductive ability. This article focuses on the properties of PAZO NCs experienced by three cooling-down aftertreatments, which were the normalizing, quenching and annealing process, respectively. The influences of different cooling processes on the photocatalytic and conductive performances are discussed in details. From the research, we found the quenched-PAZO NCs showed the most unappealing photocatalysis and conductivity, because excessive defects as the recombination center of electron–hole pairs were generated in the quenching process.This research focuses on the PAZO NCs experienced by different cooling-down aftertreatments, which were the normalizing, quenching and annealing process, respectively. The quenched-PAZO NCs had the most unappealing photocatalysis and conductivity, because of generating excessive defects as the recombination center of electron–hole pairs in the quenching process.

The carbon dot (C-ZnO NCs) modified zinc oxide with novel visible-light catalytic abilities was mass produced by combustion method. During the formation process, the generated gas of reagents under high temperature can effectively break the product into small particles. Meanwhile, a certain amount of carbon dots have been formed and loaded on the surface of ZnO NCs. The results suggest that the carbon dots have a huge impact on the photocatalytic performance. Specifically, when the molar ratio of glycine to zinc nitrate was 2:1, the product was a monodisperse particle with an average diameter of about 70–80 nm and BET specific surface area of 11.88 m2·g–1, which exhibited the best catalytic efficiency. The degradation process of Rh. B can be completed within 15 min, with an increase of 433.3% compared with pure ZnO materials (80 min). The present study is not only significant for improving large-scale production of modified ZnO NCs but also for suggesting practical application fields such as environmental catalysts.

The precursor of aluminum-doped zinc oxide nanocrystals modified by nitrogen atoms (N-AZO) can be quantity-produced by ultrasonic–hydrothermal equipment. Then the N-AZO photocatalysts with good visible-light response were synthesized via solid-phase method with urea as a nitrogen source. The ultraviolet visible (UV–vis) patterns of N-AZO nanocrystals obviously showed a red shift toward the visible-light region compared to pure aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanocrystals and an absorbance in the wavelength range of 450–600 nm which was attributed to the change of lattice structure after nitrogen doping. The photocatalytic activity of N-AZO photocatalysts were investigated by the degradation of RhB solution in sunlight irradiation. The ratio of nitrogen atoms to Zn atoms had significant impact on the photocatalytic efficiency of N-AZO nanocrystals. The experimental results showed that the optimal doping mole ratio of urea molecules to zinc atoms was 6:5, and the RhB dyes were degradated completely within 2 h, exhibiting that improved photocatalytic activity increased by 400% compared with that of pure AZO nanocrystals. What is more, a feasible water purification reactor with continuous photodegradation was manufactured which was also suitable to degrade other kinds of organic pollutants by changing the effective photocatalyst. The result showed that when the flow velocity of RhB solution (2 × 10–5 g/L) was 60 mL/min, the degradation rates of the four reactors were about 38%, 48%, 62.5%, and 100%, respectively.

Ag-loaded ZnO mesocrystals with Fe3+ doped (FAZ) can be quantity-produced through an atmospheric self-induction synthesis method. This synthesis method avoids the use of a high-pressure instrument for the synthesis of mesocrystal catalysts. Compared with traditional Ag-ZnO catalysts, the threshold wavelength of 1FAZ mesocrystals was shifted to the full visible light region and the absorbance of catalyst in the visible region increased to more than 300%. The content of iron ion was found to be significant to the photocatalytic efficiency of FAZ mesocrystals. The experimental results demonstrated that the most optimal molar ratio of Fe3+ to Zn atoms was 1%, and the photocatalytic activity of 1FAZ mesocrystals was increased by 145% compared with Ag-ZnO obtained under visible light. A feasible water purification system with a continuous photodegradation reactor using FAZ mesocrystals was manufactured to utilize solar light as the energy to drive the running of the water purification system.

An interesting route was developed for symmetrical structures of the silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) crystal with gyro shape. The Ag3PO4 crystal belongs to the cubic crystal system and revealed a screw dislocation in the {100} facets with helical growth along the epitaxial spin axis. In this reaction system, the acrylamide (AM) polymer monomer was used as a cooperation reagent. The Ag3PO4 crystal exhibits photooxidative capabilities for the polymerization to form polyacrylamide (PAM) under visible-light irradiation, and the energy released during this polymerization overcomes the surface energy required for creating screw dislocation forming hexagonal spin axes in three dimensions spontaneously. The investigated mechanism confirmed the driven role of dynamic-template, and the explored Ag3PO4 crystal control method could be used to synthesize other inorganic crystals.

Symmetrical silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) crystals with porous structure were grown by a facile controllable route in aqueous solution. The Ag3PO4 crystals have a cubic-type structure and the morphologies are distinctive under different conditions. The crystals had high purity, were well-crystallized and were free of secondary phases by powder X-ray diffraction, IR, Raman spectra, scan electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). It is interesting that the different crystal faces of the crystals have high physical–chemical–biological activity and large surface areas, so as to act as high activity micro-reactors (HAMs). The HAMs can effectively improve the photocatalytic activity and bacteriostatic activity of the Ag3PO4 crystals. Furthermore, we proposed a possible growth mechanism and detailed morphology transformation process of Ag3PO4 crystals with different properties.

The zinc aluminium oxide (ZAO) NPs with homogeneous dispersion and crystal stability were prepared through synergistic reaction with ultrasonic-microwave and different dispersants. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy and UV–vis absorption spectra. The ZAO NPs of 45, 30, 25 and 20 nm in diameter could be controllably obtained under the same reaction conditions. These ZAO NPs were high crystalline and with wurtzite crystal structure. Specially, the sterilization activity of ZAO NPs was investigated firstly. Our bacteriological study showed the enhanced sterilization activity of ZAO NPs compared with ZnO NPs. This demonstrated that the bactericidal efficacy of ZAO NPs increases with decreasing particle size.Highlights► Synergistic reaction between ultrasonic-microwave and different dispersants. ► Influence of polarity of dispersants on particle size of ZAO. ► Special sterilization of ZAO described firstly. ► Relationship between optical property, sterilization and particle size.

A new nanocomposite fluorescence probe with thioglycolic acid (TA) functional layers embedded inside the hydroxyapatite nanoribbon spherulites has been synthesized. The fluorescence intensity of the novel probe is about 1.5–3.3-fold increase compared with the probe containing no TA. When used to detect cadmium ion, the most of original assembly nanoribbon spherulites structure in the novel probe is found to have been damaged to new flake structures. The mechanism of determining cadmium ion in alcohol solution has been studied. The present systematic study provides significant information on the effect of assembly nanostructure on the metal-enhanced fluorescence phenomenon.

A facile and efficient ultrasonic-template method has been developed for the fabrication of CdS hollow nanoparticle chains. The structures and morphologies of products were characterized by XRD and TEM. UV–Vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectra recorded the optical properties of CdS hollow nanoparticle chains, which showed obvious blue shift relative to the CdS bulk materials. Systematic studies found that the ultrasonic irradiation, concentration of template (polyacrylicamide) and injection method of reaction solution in the system were important factors on the controlled synthesis of hollow nanoparticle chains. The possible mechanism for the formation of CdS hollow nanoparticle chains was also discussed.

The silver nanoparticles of 7 nm in diameter were controlled to be synthesized under the cooperation of the ethylenediamine and the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). Then, under the electrostatic effect of the silver nanoparticles and with the strong adsorbability of the hydroxyapatite nanoribbon spherites, the two substances were combined to form special nanocomposite spheres.Silver nanoparticles of 7 nm in diameter were controlled to be synthesized under the cooperation of the ethylenediamine and the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide. Then, under the electrostatic effect of the silver nanoparticles and with the strong adsorbability of the hydroxyapatite nanoribbon spherites, the two substances were combined to form special nanocomposite spheres.

The hydroxylapatite nanoparticle chains were firstly synthesized by self-assembly with sodium polymethacrylic acid as the template. These high-quality HAP nanoparticle chains showed well-defined nanoscaled structures and regular morphology. The nanoparticle chains were 1.4–2 μm in length and the nanoparticles were about 45 nm in diameter. The structure of products has been studied with XRD and FT-IR spectrum. The forming conditions and mechanism of the products have been investigated. This synthesis method is facile and effective. The products will have potential applications in many fields such as biosensor, and biomimetic bone materials etc. The experimental outcomes present here will have potential values in crystal engineering research and practical applications.

The silver chromate self-assembly necklace structures were synthesized using high-active acrylicamide template. The whole length of the necklace structure was between 1.2 and 1.5 μm. The product was composed of single crystalline nanorods with diameters of about 40 nm and lengths of 300 nm. The synthetic mechanism and product’s optical properties were also studied.

•One step self-heating method was designed for synthesizing Zn(NO3)2/benzotriazole (ZPB).•The synergistic effect of organic-inorganic pigments was achieved by this method.•The chemistry reaction heat realized an excellent structure stability of ZPB pigment.•ZPB pigments showed superior anticorrosion property enhancing by 1275.5%.•This pigment had the potential application in steel anticorrosion.Zinc phosphate/benzotriazole (ZPB) corrosion pigments were synthesized by one step self-heating method. The ZPB pigments showed visible anticorrosion performance by enhancing the corrosion resistance of the epoxy coating effectively through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test. The impedance activity of ZPB pigments was increased by 1275.5% and 196.5% compared to pure zinc phosphate (ZP) and benzotriazole (BTA) pigments, respectively. The super effect of anticorrosion mostly contributed to the one step self-heating method, which improved the stability of the pigments and reinforced the combination of pigments and epoxy coating by the plank martensite structure of ZPB pigment. This method could transfer the heat released during the synthesis of ZP to the dissolving of BTA by directly co-precipitation, realizing the heat of self-sufficient in one step. Moreover, ZPB pigments achieved complementary anticorrosion effect, for making up the loopholes of the single anticorrosion and achieving superior property in the initial of anticorrosion process. It is instructive for the synthesis and development of the anticorrosive pigment in the future.A Zn (NO3)2/benzotriazole (ZPB) anticorrosion pigment was designed and synthesized by one step self-heating method. The stable composite of organic and inorganic was realized by using the chemistry reaction heat. Observably, the impedance activity of ZPB pigments was increased by 1275.5% and 196.5% compared to pure zinc phosphate and benzotriazole pigments, respectively.

Dual technique design in this research has successfully enriched the complementation between doping and surface modification. Here, Co2+ doped Ag–ZnO nanocomposites (CAZ NCs) are mass produced by the combustion method. The HRTEM image shows that the doped Co2+ and the surface modified Ag nanoparticles on the ZnO NCs are influential on the preferential orientation. Based on the conductivity formula σ = nqμ and the actual verification, the improved photoelectric properties of CAZ NCs under visible light irradiation are attributed to the enhanced light absorption and the weakened recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. It would be instructive for the sound design concept of subsequent material development.