Visible-light photocatalytic activity of mesoporous nanohybrid assembled by tantalotungstate nanosheets and manganese ions

Manganese-intercalated layered tantalotungstates have been assembled by tantalotungstate nanosheets with manganese ions via an exfoliation-restacking route. The as-prepared nanohybrids are mesoporous with specific surface areas more than 36 m(2)/g and the mesopores are originated from the house-of-cards-type stacking of the intercalated crystallites. Introducing manganese ions into the intersheeted regions allows the nanohybrids to exhibit distinct spectral responses in visible-light region with band gaps less than 2.54 eV. The porous nanohybrids exhibit high photocatalytic activities in the degradation of methylene blue under visible-light irradiation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.