Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous benzene over TiO2/Sr2CeO4: Preparation and photocatalytic behavior of TiO2/Sr2CeO4

The paper demonstrates that the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 towards the decomposition of gaseous benzene in a batch reactor can be greatly improved by loading TiO2 on the surface of Sr2CeO4. The research investigates the optimum loading amount of TiO2 on Sr2CeO4 in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. The prepared photocatalyst was characterized by XRD, UV-vis diffuse reflectance and XPS analyses. TiO2 is loaded on Sr2CeO4 at 773 K. TiO2/Sr2CeO4 absorbs much more visible light than TiO2. The XPS spectrum shows that there are Ti, O, C, Sr elements on the surface of the TiO2/Sr2CeO4, and that the binding energy value of Ti2p transfers to a lower value. TiO2/Sr2CeO4 demonstrates 2.0 times the photocatalytic activity of pure TiO2. Based upon these observations, the mechanistic role of Sr2CeO4 in the photocatalytic oxidation reaction has been suggested.