Synthesis of 3D hierarchical porous TiO2/InVO4 nanocomposites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic properties

•3D hierarchical porous TiO2/InVO4 nanocomposites are synthesized by a facile method.•TiO2 nanoparticles can be uniformly loaded on the surface of InVO4 microspheres.•The formed TiO2/InVO4 nanojunction can promote the separation of charge carriers.•Such composites have high photocatalytic activity and easy recycling characteristics.

Three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous TiO2/InVO4 nanocomposites were fabricated by loading TiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of porous InVO4 microspheres. X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) were adopted to analyze the structure–property relationship of samples. The results show that the surface of as-prepared TiO2/InVO4 nanocomposites are composed of uniformly interconnected bi-phase nanocrystals, forming a close interface between these two components, which is favorable for the highly efficient interparticle electron transfer to achieve enhanced photocatalytic properties. However, the adsorption ability is decreased due to the loading of TiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of InVO4. Therefore, under the joint action of these factors, the TiO2/InVO4 nanocomposites achieve the best photocatalytic activity when the mole ratio of In:Ti reaches 4:1, and the visible-light photocatalytic activity is about as 3.3 times high as that of pure InVO4 without modification.

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