Preparation, characterization and activity evaluation of V2O5–LaVO4 composites under visible light irradiation

This article presents a novel visible-light-driven catalyst, an LaVOx composite that was prepared from La(NO3)3 and NH4VO3 solutions. The visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity of this composite was evaluated by the degradation of acetone. Results indicate that the LaVOx composite exhibits high activity for acetone photodegradation. The highest acetone conversion (93.1%) was obtained with the La1V1.5Ox catalyst. Its photo-activity and ability for complete oxidation could be enhanced further by doping with a small amount of the metal platinum. Physical and photophysical properties of the LaVOx composite catalysts were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, Raman spectroscopy (Raman), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Based on the results of this investigation, the coupling effect of m-LaVO4 and V2O5 was identified as generating the high activity in catalysis.

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► V2O5–LaVO4 composite is a novel visible-light driven catalyst.
► The LaVOx composite shows high activity for acetone degradation under visible light irradiation.
► The coupling effect of m-LaVO4 and V2O5 is the origin of the high activity.