Preparation and visible light photocatalytic performance of methylene blue intercalated K4Nb6O17

K4Nb6O17 was prepared by hydrothermal treatment of Nb2O5 in KOH solution at 180 °C, and then Methylene blue (MB) intercalated K4Nb6O17 (K4Nb6O17-MB) was prepared by one-pot reaction in which n-propylamine (PA) was used as an intercalation compound. The MB intercalated structure of K4Nb6O17-MB was characterized by HRTEM and XRD measurements. K4Nb6O17-MB shows good absorption in the visible region and is thermally stable up to 328 °C. By extending the hydrothermal time and selecting the K4Nb6O17 with high crystallinity, the K4Nb6O17-MB prepared by one-pot reaction showed higher visible light (λ>550 nm) photocatalytic activity than that prepared by traditional two-step electrostatic self-assembly deposition (ESD) method for the degradation of methyl orange (MO).