Efficient photocatalytic degradation of gaseous acetaldehyde over ground Rh-Sb co-doped SrTiO3 under visible light irradiation

Abstract

A visible-light-responsive Rh-Sb co-doped SrTiO3 photocatalyst (STO:Rh,Sb) via a solid-state reaction was successfully developed, following pulverization by using ball-milling. The prepared STO:Rh,Sb exhibited a large surface area and showed efficient photocatalytic degradation of acetaldehyde. The photocatalytic activity of STO:Rh,Sb ground for 60 min exceeded that of STO:Rh ground for 60 min (photocatalyst doped without antimony), indicating that doped antimony plays an important role in suppressing the Rh4+, which works as a recombination center, in STO:Rh,Sb. Furthermore, the photocatalytic performance of STO:Rh,Sb ground for 60 min was sustained over 3 cycles, confirming the chemical stability of the photocatalyst. Therefore, ground STO:Rh,Sb has the potential to be applied to environmental remediation under visible light irradiation.