Synthesis of LaVO4/TiO2 heterojunction nanotubes by sol–gel coupled with hydrothermal method for photocatalytic air purification

Abstract

With the aim of improving the effective utilization of visible light, the LaVO4/TiO2 heterojunction nanotubes were fabricated by sol–gel coupled with hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic ability was demonstrated through catalytic removal of gaseous toluene species. The nanotube samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface photovoltage (SPV), Raman spectra and N2 adsorption–desorption measurements. The characterization results showed that the samples with high specific surface areas were of typical nanotubular morphology, which would lead to the high separation and transfer efficiency of photo induced electron–hole pairs. The as-prepared nanotubes exhibited high photocatalytic activity in decomposing toluene species under visible light irradiation with fine photochemical stability. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of LaVO4/TiO2 nanotubes might be attributed to the matching band potentials, the interconnected heterojunction of LaVO4 versus TiO2, and the large specific surface areas of nanotubes.