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Gold-Semiconductor Photocatalysts For Water Treatment Under Visible And Ultraviolet Light, Daniel Willis
Gold-Semiconductor Photocatalysts For Water Treatment Under Visible And Ultraviolet Light, Daniel Willis
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Water scarcity threatens the lives of millions of people worldwide. It is imperative to improve the energy efficiency and affordability of water treatment methods to avoid a looming water-energy crisis. To meet this challenge, I have pursued research on the use of sunlight—our most reliable and abundant source of energy—to drive water treatment through photocatalysis. I explored the literature and found gold-semiconductor materials to hold promise for harvesting sunlight and catalyzing the breakdown of waterborne contaminants. Initially, I designed a novel optical cavity with gold (Au) nanoparticles on a zinc oxide / titania (TiO2) / aluminum film stack …