Preparation and characterization of macroporous TiO2–SrTiO3 heterostructured monolithic photocatalyst

Abstract

Macroporous TiO2 monolith was first prepared by the sol–gel method and then macroporous TiO2–SrTiO3 heterostructured monolith was obtained by the impregnation of the as-prepared macroporous TiO2 monolith in the strontium-containing aqueous solution followed by calcination at different temperatures. The formation of SrTiO3 crystals in the TiO2 network was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy analyses. Macroporous structure of the heterostructured monolith was analyzed by mercury porosimetry. The photocatalytic activity of macroporous TiO2–SrTiO3 heterostructured monolithic photocatalyst was evaluated for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B over the samples under visible light irradiation. The obtained results reveal that the samples show an enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic dye molecules.