Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous benzene over TiO2/Sr2CeO4: preparation and photocatalytic behavior of TiO2/Sr2CeO4

The paper demonstrates that the photocatalytic activity of TiO(2) towards the decomposition of gaseous benzene in a batch reactor can be greatly improved by loading TiO(2) on the surface of Sr(2)CeO(4). The research investigates the optimum loading amount of TiO(2) on Sr(2)CeO(4) in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of TiO(2). The prepared photocatalyst was characterized by XRD, UV-vis diffuse reflectance and XPS analyses. TiO(2) is loaded on Sr(2)CeO(4) at 773K. TiO(2)/Sr(2)CeO(4) absorbs much more visible light than TiO(2). The XPS spectrum shows that there are Ti, O, C, Sr elements on the surface of the TiO(2)/Sr(2)CeO(4), and that the binding energy value of Ti2p transfers to a lower value. TiO(2)/Sr(2)CeO(4) demonstrates 2.0 times the photocatalytic activity of pure TiO(2). Based upon these observations, the mechanistic role of Sr(2)CeO(4) in the photocatalytic oxidation reaction has been suggested.