Relation of the Structure and Properties of TiO2–N-Supported BiVO4 with Its Benzene Oxidation Photoactivity Under Blue Light

Abstract

The influence of the composition of photocatalysts represented by the combination of nitrogen-doped anatase-type titanium dioxide and monoclinic bismuth vanadate is studied. Structural features, composition, surface morphology, optical and electrochemical characteristics of the samples are studied by high-resolution electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nitrogen porosimetry, UV-Vis spectroscopy diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and by using electrochemical techniques of photocurrent characterization. Catalytic tests of synthesized photocatalysts in reactions of benzene and acetone vapor oxidation in a flow reactor at 40 °C under LED blue light are conducted. The photoactivity of the samples was estimated by the steady-state rate of accumulation of CO₂ as the final oxidation product. As a result, we determine the phase composition of the prepared catalysts and the limiting amount of supported bismuth vanadate beyond which the resulting structure shows features affecting the structure of the resulting obtained composite and its photocatalytic activity. The reported data are practically important, since they expand the area of effective application of photocatalysts inducing chemical transformations under visible light irradiation.