Photocatalytic Properties of La-TiO_2/ZnO Heterojunction Nanocomposites

In situ solid phase mixture and sol-gel method of La-doped ultra-fine TiO2 on the surface of ZnO was designed as a new strategy to synthesize La-TiO2/ZnO heterojunctions. The physicochemical properties of prepared photocatalyst were characterized by specific surface area and porosity(BET and BJH),X-ray diffraction(XRD),UV-vis spectroscopy(UV-vis),high resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). The photocatalytic performance of prepared photocatalyst was evaluated by the degradation of methylene bule(MB) in water under UV-light irradiation. When nTiO2∶ nLa∶ nZnO= 1 ∶ 0. 015 ∶ 0. 5,the heterojunction photocatalyst exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity due to the efficient inhibition of the recombination of photogengerated electron-hole pairs. Moreover,the enhancement mechanism of the prepared photocatalyst was also discussed.