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Enhanced performance of alkali-modified Bi2WO6/Bi0.15Ti0.85O2 toward photocatalytic oxidation of HCHO under visible light

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Abstract

Photocatalytic oxidation of formaldehyde (HCHO) is considered as one of the promising ways to resolve indoor air HCHO pollution. TiO2 has been well known as the most extended application in photocatalysis due to its strong oxidizing ability and stability. Owing to high activity under visible light irradiation, TiO2 and Bi2O3 doping mixed with Bi2WO6 was analyzed in this study. The formation of two kinds of heterojunction caused efficient charge separation, leading to the effective reduction in the recombination of photo-generated electron and hole. The special structure and enhanced performance of these catalysts were analyzed. For the first time, the loading of alkali salts was researched for photocatalytic oxidation. In order to understand the reaction mechanism of alkali salts enhanced effects, the catalysts were investigated by using BET, XRD, UV–Vis, FT-IR, SEM, and XPS. The results found more than 2 wt% of Na2SO4 loading and the mixed methods with different solutions were key factors affecting the performance of catalysts. Nearly 92% HCHO conversion could be completed over Bi2WO6/Bi0.15Ti0.85O2 (Na2SO4), and the concentration of HCHO was only 0.07 mg/m3 for 24 h, which was below the limit of specification in China. The results also indicated that the solution mixing method was more favorable to increase the HCHO conversion due to decrease the size of Bi0.15Ti0.85O2 particles. The catalysts with Na2SO4 loading provided more surface-adsorbed oxygen that facilitated the desorption of CO2 and markedly increased the photocatalytic oxidation of HCHO.

Plausible mechanism over W-Bi2WO6/ Bi0.15Ti0.85O2-Na2SO4 (1:4) catalysts

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Nos. BK20170954 and BK20150890), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21501097), the Qing Lan Project of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China, the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), the Top-notch Academic Programs Project of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PPZY2015C222), the Jiangsu Joint Laboratory of Atmospheric Pollution Control, and the Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Centre of Environmental Cleaning Materials.

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  1. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technologies, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environmental Monitoring and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, No. 219 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Qiong Huang, Juan Ye, Han Si, Jiaxin Ruan, Mengxin Xu, Bo Yang, Tao Tao, Yunxia Zhao & Mindong Chen

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  1. Qiong Huang
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  2. Juan Ye
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  3. Han Si
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  4. Jiaxin Ruan
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  7. Tao Tao
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Correspondence to Qiong Huang.

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Research highlights

1. The structure and performance of different Bi2WO6/Bi0.15Ti0.85O2 catalysts were discussed in details and understand the strong interaction.

2. The reason for the liquid combining method instead of by the mechanism mixing that showed more favorable for HCHO conversion could be interpreted.

3. A possible photocatalytic mechanism for HCHO oxidation over these catalysts is proposed to interpret the increased activity.

4. The effect of alkali salts, especially for Na2SO4 for the increased activity for HCHO oxidation, can be discussed and explained by XPS and FT-IR.

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Huang, Q., Ye, J., Si, H. et al. Enhanced performance of alkali-modified Bi2WO6/Bi0.15Ti0.85O2 toward photocatalytic oxidation of HCHO under visible light. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 9672–9685 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04277-0

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