Synthesis and Study of the Structural, Optical and Photocatalytic Characteristics of V2O5/TiO2 Nanocomposites

Mesoporous V2O5/TiO2 nanocomposites were obtained by citrate method. The prepared materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, BET and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The composites presented typical IUPAC IV isotherms with type H1 hysteresis loops, revealing the mesoporous structure. It was observed that increasing of V2O5 in composites leads to an increase of crystallite size, lattice parameters, the average pore radius and reduces the specific surface area and average pore volume. A red shift of the absorption edge and the reduced band gap were observed for V2O5/TiO2 nanocomposites. Composite samples showed enhancement of the photocatalytic activity in the destruction of rhodamine under UV irradiation as compared to pure TiO2.