Effect of incorporating vanadium oxide to TiO2, Zeolite-ZM5, SBA and P25 supports on the photocatalytic activity under visible light

SBA, zeolite-ZM5, TiO2 and P25, used as dispersant agents of vanadium oxide, were synthesized. The supports (SBA, Zeolite-ZM5, TiO2 and P25) were loaded with 3 wt.% of V2O5. V2O5/ZM5, V2O5/P25 and V2O5/TiO(2 )showed high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Eosin Y employing a visible light source (450 nm). The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, XPS, UV-vis, S-BET, SEM, TEM, and FTIR (surface acidity). Under visible light, the photocatalytic degradation rate displayed the following order V2O5/TiO2 (93%) > V2O5/P25 (81%) > V2O5/ZM5 (70%) > V2O5/SBA (55%). This behavior is in conjunction attributable to the oxidation state of the vanadium species V(4+ )and the presence of Bronsted acid sites. The structure and properties of the TiO2 play an important role during the photodegradation of the Eosin Y. Results here obtained give new insights for the water treatment processes using visible light over vanadium photocatalysts.