Novel V₂O₅/BiVO₄/TiO₂ Nanocomposites with High Visible-Light-Induced Photocatalytic Activity for the Degradation of Toluene

Abstract

In an effort to develop nanostructured photocatalysts to achieve high performance in heterogeneous photocatalysis, a novel composite V2O5/BiVO4/TiO2 photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by using a sequentially hydrothermal and adhering method. The structural and optical properties of the as-prepared samples were comparatively characterized. The formed ternary nanojunctions were composed of TiO2 nanobelts and V2O5/BiVO4 nanorods which were self-assembled by smaller V2O5 and BiVO4 nanoparticles. Compared to pure TiO2 nanobelts and V2O5/BiVO4 nanorods, the V2O5/BiVO4/TiO2 composite exhibited higher photocatalytic activity in decomposition of gaseous toluene under visible light irradiation (λ > 400 nm). Electron spin resonance examination confirmed that the photoinduced active species (•OH and O2 •–) were involved in the photocatalytic degradation of toluene. A detailed mechanism accounting for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the V2O5/BiVO4/TiO2 nanocomposite was proposed in terms of the energy band structures of the components. The rationally designed ternary nanojunctions could effectively enhance the photocatalytic performance by increasing photoinduced charge carriers through the charges separation across their multiple interfaces.

Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene over bcc-In2O3 hollow microspheres

“…The intensity of these peaks decreased as the reaction time extended. Simultaneously, the peaks at 2355 cm −1 and 2320 cm −1 , which are corresponding to CO 2 , were found as the reaction progressed [35,36]. Additionally, the spectra display a increase of the broad absorption in the 3500-4000 cm −1 range, indicating the regeneration of interacting hydroxyl groups and adsorbed molecules on the sample surface.…”

“…Among them, the bands at 3072 cm −1 and 3042 cm −1 are assigned to the C H stretching mode in the benzene rings and the bands at 2937 cm −1 and 2881 cm −1 are due to the methyl stretching vibration. The bands at 1614 cm −1 , 1498 cm −1 are related to C C double bond stretching in the benzene rings [34,35]. The intensity of these peaks decreased as the reaction time extended.…”

“…Then the intermediates subsequently react with these radicals and generate the final products such as CO 2 and H 2 O [35,39].…”

Synergically Improving Light Harvesting and Charge Transportation of TiO2 Nanobelts by Deposition of MoS2 for Enhanced Photocatalytic Removal of Cr(VI)

“…When the TiO2 NBs was coupled with the MoS2, the heterojunctions among these semiconductors were formed, resulting in the realignment of their valence and conduction bands due to the thermal equilibrium of different Fermi levels and the formation of built-in electric field [44,45]. This allows the energy bands of TiO2 and MoS2 shift downward and upward, respectively, along the Fermi level, as shown in Figure 10.…”

Enhancement of the visible light photocatalytic activity of heterojunction In2O3/BiVO4 composites

“…As two of the most studied semiconductors, bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) and indium oxide (In 2 O 3 ) have been extensively investigated as gas sensors [9,10] and photocatalysts [11][12][13]. With a narrow band gap of 2.4 eV [8], BiVO 4 displays a wide light response ability reaching the visible light region, but the electron-hole pairs have low separation efficiency.…”