Indium-Sensitized UV Photocatalysts Made from Alkali Titanate Microfibers
Indium-alkali microfibers doped ceramic were prepared by the sol-gel process. The gels preparation samples, were heat treated at 700°C for different length of time. The products were characterized by means of XRD, SEM-EDS and UV–Vis-DRS. The XRD showed the formation of the Na2Ti6O13 phase whose crystallinity depends on the annealing time. The band gap calculated from the UV–Vis Kubelka-Munk function shows very similar values (3.53-3.55 eV). The SEM images of the indium-alkali titanates show microfiber clumps morphologies of about 5 µm, and the EDS spectra show that In2O3 is on the Na2Ti6O13 surface. The results of the evaluation of the In-Na2Ti6O13 semiconductors in the 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) photodecomposition under UV light irradiation, show that the photoactivity depends on the time of heat treatment of the samples.