Degradation of benzene over a zinc germanate photocatalyst under ambient conditions

A rod-shaped Zn2GeO4 photocatalyst has been successfully prepared by a surfactant-assisted hydrothermal method. The photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, UV/vis, N-2 adsorption-desorption, and FTIR techniques. The photocatalytic activity of the sample was evaluated by the decomposition of benzene in the gas phase under UV light illumination and was compared with that of bulk Zn2GeO4, commercial titania (Degussa P25), and Pt/P25. The results revealed that the Zn2GeO4 nanorods had the best photocatalytic activity for mineralizing benzene to CO2 among the catalysts examined. No obvious deactivation of Zn2GeO4 nanorods was observed during the prolonged operation of 140 h. It was found that the Zn2GeO4 was also more active and stable than TiO2-based catalysts toward photocatalytic decomposition of other volatile aromatic pollutants (e.g., toluene and ethylbenzene).