Synthesis of hollow V2O5 microspheres and application to photocatalysis

Hollow V2O5 microspheres consisting of closely packed particles, radially aligned rods and randomly packed platelets were fabricated via calcining the as-synthesized precursors prepared by a solvo-thermal route using NH4VO3 and oxalic acid as reagent and THF as solvent. SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS and UV-vis diffuse reflectance were used to characterize the fabricated materials. The results showed that THF and oxalic acid had a great influence on the morphologies and crystalline phases of the as-synthesized precursors. The photocatalysis measurements showed that hollow V2O5 microspheres consisting of randomly packed platelets exhibited the highest activity for degrading rhodamine B under UV light, and this might be ascribed to enhanced UV light absorbance. (C) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.