Photocatalytic Removal of Dye and Reaction Mechanism Analysis over Y2O3 Composite Nanomaterials

Abstract

Y2O3 supported photocatalysts MOx (M = Fe, Ti and Bi)/Y2O3 were synthesized by hydrothermal and deposition-precipitation method and used in photocatalytic degradation of xylenol orange and rhodamine B under UV light irradiation. The crystalline structure and optical properties were well characterized by XRD and UV-vis DRS. The results of XRD revealed that the MOx/Y2O3 were composed of Fe2O3, TiO2, Bi0.8Y1.2O3 and Y2O3. The UV-vis DRS showed that MOx/Y2O3 photocatalysts exhibited stronger absorption in ultraviolet, and the absorption edge shifted to visible light region significantly. The photocatalytic experiments indicated that MOx/Y2O3 photocatalysts showed better activity for photodegradation of xylenol orange than rhodamine B. Moreover, the role of Y2O3 and the mechanism of photocatalysis is proposed.