Synthesis of ternary hybrid TiO2-SiO2-POM catalysts and its application in degrading rhodamine B under visible light illumination

Abstract

Ternary hybrid TiO2-SiO2-polyoxometalates (POMs) synthesized by stepped sol-gel method exhibit remarkable efficiency in photodegrading the industrial dye Rhodamine B. Time resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) and diffuse reflection spectrophotometry (DRS) were used to investigate excess charge-carrier lifetimes and the band gap of the ternary hybrid TiO2-SiO2-POM catalysts. The binding of TiO2 and SiO2 reinforces absorbance across the visible spectra and the combination of TiO2 and POMs improves the stability of h+-e- pairs, which are the active sites of the reaction. In the ternary hybrid system, the synergistic effect amongst the three components contributes to better photocatalytic ability under visible light illumination when compared with either monomer TiO2 or POMs. © Editorial office of Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica.