UV, visible and near-infrared lights induced NO(x) destruction activity of (Yb,Er)-NaYF(4)/C-TiO(2) composite

Titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) is a well-known photocatalyst for environmental cleaning and energy conversion. However, it can only be excited by ultraviolet light for photocatalysis due to its wide band gap (3.2 eV). In this paper, we present a novel (Yb,Er)-NaYF(4)/C-TiO(2) composite which can be perfectly induced not only by ultraviolet light but also weak visible and near infrared lights, owing to the increased carbon doping contents and optimal energy transfer between up-conversion phosphor and C doped TiO(2) compared with that of solely C-TiO(2). Consequently, the (Yb,Er)-NaYF(4)/C-TiO(2) composite can present the outstanding continuous NO(x) gas destruction ability under the irradiation of ultraviolet, weak visible and infrared lights much superior to pure C-TiO(2), P25 titania and even that of (Yb,Er)-NaYF(4)/N-TiO(2) composite, due to the nice synergetic effect of (Yb,Er)-NaYF(4) and C-TiO(2), indicating a promising potential in the photocatalyst application with high efficiency of ultraviolet, visible and infrared lights induced photocatalysis simultaneously.