Xiaoyi Wang’s paper “Stepwise irradiative engineering based on Einstein quantum theory for promoting PVA/TiO2 photocatalytic activity at minimized irradiance consumption” was published in Applied Surface Science.
Hampered by insufficient in band quantum yield, the polymer/semiconductor hybrid photocatalyst is considered to be far from industrial applications. In recent progress, material modification and new material development are the major concepts for improving in-band quantum yield. However, Promoting photocatalytic performance by modulating external irradiation field has been ignored so far in both photocatalytic theory and applications. Here, based on the Einstein quantum theory, we have successfully developed a stepwise irradiative technique, where the photocatalytic performance of PVA/TiO2 hybrid system can be improved by 15% with nearly halved irradiance consumption (55%). It is believed that these findings might push photocatalytic efficiency into higher steps with the assistance of a deep understanding of irradiative theory and engineering, which expect to be useful for future industrial application. The work has been published in a reputed Journal: Applied surface science, Dr Xiaoyi Wang and Mr Wenyu Hu has conducted the work under the supervision of Prof Chaoyuan Jin.