Photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue over yttrium ion doped Ti-SBA-15 catalysts

Ti-SBA-15 catalysts doped with yttrium ion were synthesized using conventional hydrothermal method and they were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, NH3-TPD and PL. We also examined the activity of these materials on the photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue. With increasing the doping amount of yttrium ion, the surface area and pore volume of Y/Ti-SBA-15 materials were increased. 1 mole% Y/Ti-SBA-15 catalysts showed the highest photocatalytic activity on the decomposition of methylene blue but the catalysts doped with more than 2 mole% Y/Ti-SBA-15 showed lower activity compared to pure Ti-SBA-15 catalyst.