Mesoporous tantalum oxide. 1. Characterization and photocatalytic activity for the overall water decomposition

Mesoporous Ta2O5 was synthesized by the ligand-assisted templating method, and its stability for use as a photocatalyst was studied by X-ray diffraction, Ne adsorption isotherm analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity for the overall water decomposition on the mesoporous Ta2O5; was improved by NiO loading and pretreatment. The mesoporous structure was found to be maintained to some extent after loading of NiO (H-2 evolution site) and pretreatment for activation at a temperature as high as 673 K. Although the wall of mesoporous Ta2O5 was amorphous, the photocatalytic activity was higher than that of the crystallized Ta2O5.