Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2013, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (11): 2089-2097.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(12)60692-5

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S-doped HTiNbO5 nanosheets:A novel efficient visible-light photocatalyst

Lihong Zhanga, Chenhui Hua, Liyuan Chenga, Weiping Dinga, Wenhua Houa, Jing Chenb   

  1. a Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, Jiangsu, China;
    b School of Science, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing 211816, Jiangsu, China
  • Received:2013-06-22 Revised:2013-08-26 Online:2013-10-18 Published:2013-10-18
  • Contact: Wenhua Hou,Jing Chen
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2009CB623504), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21073084, 20773065), and the National Science Fund for Talent Training in Basic Science (J1103310).

Abstract:

S-doped HTiNbO5 nanosheets were prepared via an exfoliation-flocculation-calcination process using layered HTiNbO5 as the starting material and thiourea as the S source. The resulting catalyst had higher surface area and visible-light absorption than did unexfoliated HTiNbO5 or HTiNbO5 nanosheets. The adsorption and photodegradation of rhodamine B were evaluated under visible-light irradiation on the obtained catalysts. Both HTiNbO5 nanosheets and S-doped HTiNbO5 nanosheets showed enhanced adsorption capacity and a high visible-light photodegradation rate. However, a much higher degree of mineralization (41%) was achieved using the S-doped HTiNbO5 nanosheets, compared with almost no mineralization for the HTiNbO5 nanosheets, indicating that S doping can effectively improve the photocatalytic activity of nanosheets. The possible photodegradation mechanisms are also discussed.

Key words: Titanoniobate nanosheet, Sulfur doping, Photodegradation, Rhodamine B, Visible light