Photocatalytic activities of LaFeO3 and La2FeTiO6 in p-chlorophenol degradation under visible light

Rare-earth perovskite-type oxides LaFeO3 and La2FeTiO6 were prepared by glucose sol-gel method and investigated as photocatalysts for p-chlorophenol degradation under visible light. The as-prepared powders were characterized by XRD, BET, FT-IR, SEM, UV-vis DRS, magnetization measurement and Mossbauer spectroscopy. XRD indicated that both LaFeO3 and La2FeTiO6 had formed single-phase perovskite-type oxides. Experimental results demonstrated that the photocatalytic activity of La2FeTiO6 was much higher than that of LaFeO3. It is considered that the excellent activity of La2FeTiO6 results from the difference in structure and surface properties between La2FeTiO6 and LaFeO3. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.