Design of H3PW12O40/TiO2 nano-photocatalyst for efficient photocatalysis under simulated sunlight irradiation

H3PW12O40/TiO2 (PW12/TiO2) nano-photocatalyst was successfully synthesized through a modified sol–gel-hydrothermal method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (UV–vis DRS), and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms were characterized respectively to investigate the physical and chemical properties of prepared catalysts. Under simulated sunlight (320 nm < λ < 780 nm) irradiation, the degradation of fuchsin acid, malachite green and p-nitrophenol (PNP) were carried out to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of PW12/TiO2. The results showed that the pollutants degradation followed first-order kinetics, and the kinetic constants of photocatalytic degradation of fuchsin acid, malachite green and PNP were 2.82, 4.66, and 3.48 times as great as that using pristine TiO2, respectively. The high pollutants degradation efficiency was ascribed to the synergistic effect between H3PW12O40 and TiO2, which resulted in enhanced quantum efficiency and high light harvesting efficiency. We believe this work could provide new insights into the fabrication of photocatalyst with high photocatalytic performance and facilitate their practical application in environmental issues.