Visible light photocatalytic behavior of manganese carbonate/titanium dioxide nanocomposites based on photoinduced interfacial charge transfer

• MnCO3/TiO2 heterostructures was prepared via a precipitation method.
• MnCO3/TiO2 shows high and stable visible light photocatalytic activity.
• The interaction by the aid of oxygen-bridge between MnCO3 and TiO2 is proposed.
• The interfacial charge transfer from MnCO3 to TiO2 is the key to the activity.

Here, a novel visible-light-driven photocatalyst MnCO3/TiO2 heterostructure nanocomposite has been prepared via a precipitation method. The synthesized MnCO3/TiO2 exhibited superior activity for the degradation of propylene under visible light compared to bare P25 TiO2 and pure MnCO3. This high visible light activity is due to the interfacial charge transfer (IFCT) from the MnCO3 to the conduction band of TiO2. After repeated cycles of photo-oxidation of propylene, the photocatalytic behavior of MnCO3/TiO2 exhibited no loss of activity. This work provides new perspective to fabricate visible-light-active photocatalyst by use of IFCT effect between carbonate and semiconductor.

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