N-doped Na2Ti6O13@TiO2 (denoted as N-NTO@TiO2) composites are successfully synthesized using a simple two-step process: 1) ball-milling of TiO2 with Na2CO3 followed by heat treatment at 900oC; 2) mixing of the prepared Na2Ti6O13 with titanium isopropoxide and calcining with urea at 500oC. The prepared composites are characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, and BET. The N-NTO@TiO2 composites exhibit well-defined crystalline and anatase TiO2 with exposed {101} facets on the external surface. Moreover, dopant N atoms are uniformly distributed over a relatively large area in the lattice of the composites. Under visible light irradiation, ~51% of the aqueous methylene blue is photodegraded by N-NTO@TiO2 composites, which is higher than the values shown by other samples because of the coupling effects of the hybridization of NTO and TiO2, N-doping, and presence of anatase TiO2 with exposed {101} facets.

Variability is one of the major characteristics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and it is used for understanding the energy generation mechanism in the center of AGN and/or related physical phenomena. It it known that there exists a time lag between AGN light curves simultaneously observed at different wavelengths, which can be used as a tool to estimate the size of the area that produce the radiation. In this paper, We present long term near-infrared variability of optically bright type 1 AGN using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer data. From the Milliquas catalogue v6.4, 73 type 1 QSOs/AGN and 140 quasar candidates are selected that are brighter than 18 mag in optical and located within 5 degree around the ecliptic poles. Light curves in the W1 band (3.4 ㎛) and W2 band (4.6 ㎛) during the period of 2010-2019 were constructed for these objects by extracting multi-epoch photometry data from WISE and NEOWISE all sky survey database. Variability was analyzed based on the excess variance and the probability Pvar . Applying both criteria, the numbers of variable objects are 19 (i.e., 26%) for confirmed AGN and 12 (i.e., 9%) for AGN candidates. The characteristic time scale of the variability (τ) and the variability amplitude (σ) were derived by fitting the DRW model to W1 and W2 light curves. No significant correlation is found between the W1/W2 magnitude and the derived variability parameters. Based on the subsample that are identified in the X-ray source catalog, there exists little correlation between the X-ray luminosity and the variability parameters. We also found four AGN with changing W1-W2 color.

Nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (N-doped TiO2) is attracting continuously increasing attention as a material for environmental photocatalysis. The N-atoms can occupy both interstitial and substitutional positions in the solid, with some evidence of a preference for interstitial sites. In this study, N-doped TiO2 is prepared by the sol–gel method using NH4OH and NH4Cl as N ion doping agents, and the physical and photocatalytic properties with changes in the synthesis temperature and amount of agent are analyzed. The photocatalytic activities of the N-doped TiO2 samples are evaluated based on the decomposition of methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation. The addition of 5 wt% NH4Cl produces the best physical properties. As per the UV-vis analysis results, the N-doped TiO2 exhibits a higher visible-light activity than the undoped TiO2. The wavelength of the N-doped TiO2 shifts to the visible-light region up to 412 nm. In addition, this sample shows MB removal of approximately 81%, with the whiteness increasing to +97 when the synthesis temperature is 600℃. The coloration and phase structure of the N-doped TiO2 are characterized in detail using UV-vis, CIE Lab color parameter measurements, and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD).

The most general photocatalyst, TiO2 and WO3, are acknowledged to be ineffective in range of visible light. Therefore, many efforts have been directed at improving their activity such as: band-gap narrowing with non-metal element doping and making composites with high specific surface area to effectively separate electrons and holes. In this paper, the method was introduced to prepare a photo-active catalyst to visible irradiation by making a mixture with TiO2 and WO3. In the TiO2-WO3 composite, WO3 absorbs visible light creating excited electrons and holes while some of the excited electrons move to TiO2 and the holes remain in WO3. This charge separation reduces electron-hole recombination resulting in an enhancement of photocatalytic activity. Added Ag plays the role of electron acceptor, retarding the recombination rate of excited electrons and holes. In making a mixture of TiO2-WO3 composite, the mixing route affects the photocatalytic activity. The planetary ball-mill method is more effective than magnetic stirring route, owing to a more effective dispersion of aggregated powders. The volume ratio of TiO2(4) and WO3(6) shows the most effective photocatalytic activity in the range of visible light in the view point of effective separation of electrons and holes.

Excellent electron transport properties with enhanced light scattering ability for light harvesting have made well-ordered one dimensional TiO2 nanotube(TNT) arrays an alternative candidate over TiO2 nanoparticles in the area of solar energy conversion applications. The principal drawback of TNT arrays being activated only by UV light has been addressed by coupling the TNT with secondary materials which are visible light-triggered. As well as extending the absorption region of sunlight, the introduction of these foreign components is also found to influence the charge separation and electron lifetime of TNT. In this study, a novel method to fabricate the TNT-based composite photoelectrodes employing visible responsive CuInS2 (CIS) nanoparticles is presented. The developed method is a square wave pulse-assisted electrochemical deposition approach to wrap the inner and outer walls of a TNT array with CIS nanoparticles. Instead of coating as a dense compact layer of CIS by a conventional non-pulsed-electrochemical deposition method, the nanoparticles pack relatively loosely to form a rough surface which increases the surface area of the composite and results in a higher degree of light scattering within the tubular channels and hence a greater chance of absorption. The excellence coverage of CIS on the tubular TiO2 allows the construction of an effective heterojunction that exhibits enhanced photoelectrochemical performance.

A carbon doped (C-) photocatalyst, which shows good photocatalytic activity to Ultraviolet irradiation and visible irradiation, was successfully prepared by co-grinding of with ethanol or Activated Carbon(C), followed by heat treatment at in air for 60 min. Ethanol and C were used as a representative agent of liquid and solid for carbon doping. Their influence on improving photocatalytic ability and carbon doping degree was studied with degradation of methyl orange and XPS analysis. The product prepared by co-grinding of with Ethanol had Ti-C and C-O chemical bonds and showed higher photocatalytic activity than the product prepared by co-grinding of with C, where just C-O chemical bond existed. As a result, mechanochemical route is useful to prepare a carbon doped photocatalyst activating to visible irradiation, where the solid-liquid operation is more effective than solid-solid operation to obtain a carbon doped .

A visible-light photoactive photocatalyst was synthesized successfully by means of cogrinding of anatase- in ambient, followed by heat-treatment at in air environment. In general, it is well known that the grinding-operation induces phase transformation of a- to rutile . This study investigates the influence of the amount of gas on the phase transformation rate of a- and enhancement of visible-light photocatalytic activity, and also examines the relation between the photocatalytic activity and the period of grinding time. The phase transformation rate of a- to rutile is retarded with the amount of NH3 injected. And the visible-light photocatalytic activity of samples, was more closely related to the period of grinding time than amount injected, which means that the doping amount of nitrogen into more effective to mechanical energy than amount injected. XRD, XPS, FT-IR, UV-vis, Specific surface area (SSA), NOx decomposition techniques are employed to verify above results more clearly.

It prepared the TiO2 powder which has photo-catalytic activity in the visible-light by the wet process with titanium oxysulfate. The titanium dioxide(TiO2) by the wet process creates a new absorption band in the visible light region, and is expected to create photocatalytic activity in this region. Anatase TiO2 powder which has photocatalytic activity in the visible light region, is treated using microwave and radio-frequency(RF) plasma. But, the TiO2 powder for the visible light region, which also can be easily produced by wet process. The wet process TiO2 absorbed visible light between 400nm and 600nm, and showed a high activity in this region, as measured by the oxidation removal of aceton from the gas phase. The AH-380 sample appears the yellow color to be strong, the catalytic activity in the visible ray was excellent in comparison with the plasma-treated TiO2. The AH-380 TiO2 powder, which can be easily produced on a large scale, is expected to have higher efficiency in utilizing solar energy than the plasma-treated TiO2 powder.

This study evaluated the photocatalytic oxidation efficiency of volatile organic compounds by Cu2O -TiO2 under visible-light irradiation. Cu2O-TiO2 was synthesized by an ultrasonic-assisted method. The XRD result indicated successful p-n type photocatalysts. However, no diffraction peaks belonging to TiO2 were observed for the Cu2O-TiO2. The Uv-vis spectra result revealed that the synthesized Cu2O-TiO2 can be activated under visible-light irradiation. The FE-TEM/EDS result showed the formation of synthesized nanocomposites in the commercial P25 TiO2, the undoped TiO2, and Cu2O-TiO2 and componential analysis in the undoped TiO2 and Cu2O-TiO2. The photocatalytic oxidation efficiencies of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene with Cu2O-TiO2 were higher than those of P25 TiO2 and undoped TiO2. These results indicate that the prepared Cu2O-TiO2 photocatalyst can be applied effectively to control gaseous BTEX.

In this study, we evaluated the photocatalytic oxidation efficiency of aromatic volatile hydrocarbons by using WO3–doped TiO2 nanotubes (WTNTs) under visible-light irradiation. One-dimensional WTNTs were synthesized by ultrasonic-assisted hydrothermal method and impregnation. XRD analysis revealed successful incorporation of WO3 into TiO2 nanotube (TNT) structures. UV-Vis spectra exhibited that the synthesized WTNT samples can be activated under visible light irradiation. FE-SEM and TEM images showed the one-dimensional structure of the prepared TNTs and WTNTs. The photocatalytic oxidation efficiencies of toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene were higher using WTNT samples than undoped TNT. These results were explained based on the charge separation ability, adsorption capability, and light absorption of the sample photocatalysts. Among the different light sources, light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) are more highly energy-efficient than 8-W daylight used for the photocatalytic oxidation of toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene, though the photocatalytic oxidation efficiency is higher for 8-W daylight.

In this paper, we propose a new method for improving the accuracy of localizing a robot to find the position of a robot in indoor environment. The proposed method uses visible light for indoor localization with a reference receiver to estimate optical power of individual LED in order to reduce localization errors which are caused by aging of LED components and different optical power for each individual LED, etc. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method by comparing it with the performance of traditional model. In several simulations, probability density functions and cumulative distribution functions of localization errors are also obtained. Results indicate that the proposed method is able to reduce localization errors from 7.3 cm to 1.6 cm with a precision of 95%.

In order to grow InGaAsP epitaxial layer on GaAs by LPE, an accurate phase diagram for In-Ga-As-P quarternary compounds is required. But the short wavelength InGaAsP/GaAs phase diagram for full wavelength range was not yet reported. In this study, therefore, a theoretical calculation has been carried out by using thermodynamic's equation for InGaAsP/GaAs in order to get the relation between the mole fraction of the sloute and solid phase compounds. And the calculation being compared with the dta of Kawanishi et. al, the result has been shown that his phase diagram obtained by the calculation can apply to growing InGaAsP/GaAs by LPE.