Synthesis and Visible-light Photocatalytic Performance of C-doped Nb2O5 with High Surface Area

Abstract

C-doped Nb2O5 with abundant mesopores has been successfully synthesized through a facile solvothermal synthetic strategy followed by calcination treatment. The resulting C-doped Nb2O5 displayed the highest BET surface area(345 m2/g) and large mesopore size(ca. 4.2 nm), capable of offering more accessible active sites as well as faster mass transfer for catalysis. Besides, the doping of C(2.21%, molar fraction) at the O sites in Nb2O5 lattice greatly enhanced visible-light response by lowering the band gap, thereby making the material a photocatalyst under visible-light irradiation. Typically, the C-doped Nb2O5 exhibited a high H2 evolution rate of ca. 39.10 μmol·g–1·h–1 and also degraded RhB dye completely after 30 min of visible light exposure, which turned out to be much better than Degussa P25 and pure Nb2O5 catalysts.