Synthesis and Photocatalytic Property of In2TiO5/In2O3 Heterostructures

In2TiO5/In2O3 heterostructures were synthesized by self-propagating combustion synthesis from raw materials Ti(OC4H9)(4), In(NO3)(3), glycine and absorbent fiber. The obtained sample. was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) X-ray analysis, termogravimetric-differential thermal analysis(TG-DTA), UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy(UV-Vis DRS) and N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. With Rhodamine B(RhB) as a model degradation compound, the photocatalytic activity of In2TiO5/In2O3 was investigated. The results showed that the mesoporous In2TiO5/In2O3 heterostructures were synthesized when the n(In)/n(Ti) ratio was 2 1, the calcination temperature was 800 degrees C and the calcination time was 2 h. The In2TiO5/In2O3 heterostructures exhibited high photocatalytic activity under the irradiation of high pressure mercury lamp (125 W). The decolorization rate of 10 mg/L RhB can be up to 92.1% after 120 min of irradiation and the degrading reaction of RhB fits the first-order kinetic model. The photocatalytic performance of In2TiO5/In2O3 heterostructures was better than that of In2TiO5 under the same conditions. The In2TiO5/In2O3 heterostructure also has visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity.