14916
J. Phys. Chem. C 2009, 113, 14916–14921
Photocatalyst Cd2Sb2O6.8 with High Photocatalytic Activity toward Benzene and Dyes Meng Sun, Danzhen Li,* Wenjuan Zhang, Zhixin Chen, Hanjie Huang, Wenjuan Li, Yunhui He, and Xianzhi Fu* Research Institute of Photocatalysis, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Photocatalysis, Fuzhou UniVersity, Fuzhou, 350002 P. R. China ReceiVed: April 23, 2009; ReVised Manuscript ReceiVed: June 30, 2009
A nanocrystalline Cd2Sb2O6.8 photocatalyst was synthesized from Cd(Ac)2 and K2H2Sb2O7 via a facile hydrothermal method for the first time. The obtained sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 sorption-desorption, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron spin resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the sample was evaluated by the degradation of benzene in an O2 gas stream and dyes in aqueous solution under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination. The results demonstrated that Cd2Sb2O6.8 had exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity than that of P25 (Degussa Co.) in the degradation of benzene. For a longtime (40 h) reaction test, Cd2Sb2O6.8 maintained a high activity, and no obvious deactivation was observed. In the liquid phase, degradation of methyl orange; salicylic acid; and Rhodamine B, Cd2Sb2O6.8, also exhibited high photoactivity. A possible mechanism of the photocatalysis over Cd2Sb2O6.8 is proposed. Introduction In recent years, for serious air and water pollution, people have had to pay great attention to the environment in which they live. Benzene is a notorious aromatic hydrocarbon found in polluted urban atmospheres. Workers exposed to benzene fumes, for example, run an increased risk of leukemia and bonemarrow toxicity. Even if the level of benzene is very low (
