Sorption-photocatalytic performance of NbOx nanocrystals synthesized via heat-stimulated oxidation of niobium carbide

In this work, nano-sized niobium oxides with different crystal structures can be produced by thermal treatment of nonstoichiometric nanocrystalline niobium carbide (NbCy) and serve as effective sorbents and photocatalytic materials. Differential thermal analysis of initial NbCy powder was carried out, and temperatures of thermal treatment for the were chosen. The nanopowders were studied using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, low-temperature N2 adsorption–desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance electron spectroscopy methods. The specific surface area of samples annealed at 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 °C was about 224, 255, 273, 224 and 47 m2/g, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of the obtained nanopowders was analyzed during the oxidation of an aqueous solution of methyl orange on exposure to visible light. The photocatalytic activity of nanopowders grows with the annealing temperature increasing from 100 to 500 °C and reaches the maximum value for the higher niobium oxide Nb2O5. The time of complete decoloration of dye was 165 min. The tests performed to establish the sorption equilibrium between catalyst and dye in the dark revealed that the nanopowder produced during annealing at 300 °C possesses a high sorption capacity of 76.5%, which allows it to be considered as an effective sorbent.