Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity of V2O5 Cluster Modified N-Doped TiO2 for Degradation of Toluene in Air

• Main Authors: Fan Dong, Yanjuan Sun, Min Fu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2012-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Photoenergy
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/569716

V2O5 cluster-modified N-doped TiO2 (N-TiO2/V2O5) nanocomposites photocatalyst was prepared by a facile impregnation-calcination method. The effects of V2O5 cluster loading content on visible light photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared samples were investigated for degradation of toluene in air. The results showed that the visible light activity of N-doped TiO2 was significantly enhanced by loading V2O5 clusters. The optimal V2O5 loading content was found to be 0.5 wt.%, reaching a removal ratio of 52.4% and a rate constant of 0.027 min−1, far exceeding that of unmodified N-doped TiO2. The enhanced activity is due to the deposition of V2O5 clusters on the surface of N-doped TiO2. The conduction band (CB) potential of V2O5 (0.48 eV) is lower than the CB level of N-doped TiO2 (−0.19 V), which favors the photogenerated electron transfer from CB of N-doped TiO2 to V2O5 clusters. This function of V2O5 clusters helps promote the transfer and separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. The present work not only displays a feasible route for the utilization of low cost V2O5 clusters as a substitute for noble metals in enhancing the photocatalysis but also demonstrates a facile method for preparation of highly active composite photocatalyst for large-scale applications.