Issue 1, 2021, Issue in Progress

Facile fabrication of Fe-doped Nb2O5 nanofibers by an electrospinning process and their application in photocatalysis

Abstract

It is of top priority to develop highly efficient visible-light photocatalysts to realize the practical applications of photocatalysis in industry. Niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) is considered as a potentially attractive candidate for the visible-light-driven photodegradation of organic pollutants. In an effort to enhance its photocatalytic activity, Fe-doped Nb2O5 nanofibers with various Fe contents (the molar ratios of Fe to Nb were 0.005/1, 0.01/1, 0.03/1 or 0.05/1) were successfully prepared by an electrospinning method. The structural features, morphologies, and optical properties of the as-prepared samples were investigated. Photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated through degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. All the prepared Fe-doped Nb2O5 nanofibers exhibited much higher activities for degrading RhB solution than the pristine Nb2O5 nanofibers, and the maximum degradation yield of 98.4% was achieved with the nanofibers (Fe to Nb: 0.03/1) under visible light irradiation for 150 min. The photocatalytic degradation rate fitted a pseudo-first-order equation, and the rate constants of reactions with Fe-doped Nb2O5 nanofiber (the molar ratios of Fe to Nb were 0.03/1) or pure Nb2O5 nanofiber were 0.0282 min−1 and 0.0019 min−1, respectively. Doping Fe ions into the nanofibers enhanced the absorption within the visible-light range and reduced the photo-generated electron–hole pair recombination, and thus improved the photocatalytic activity. These attractive properties suggest that the Fe-doped Nb2O5 nanofibers have great potential for applications in the future to solve pollution issues.

Graphical abstract: Facile fabrication of Fe-doped Nb2O5 nanofibers by an electrospinning process and their application in photocatalysis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Nov 2020
Accepted
08 Dec 2020
First published
23 Dec 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2021,11, 462-469

Facile fabrication of Fe-doped Nb2O5 nanofibers by an electrospinning process and their application in photocatalysis

L. Wang, Y. Li, P. Han and Y. Jiang, RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 462 DOI: 10.1039/D0RA10042K

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