Preparation of nitrogen doped K2Nb4O11 with high photocatalytic activity for degradation of organic pollutants Original Research Article

Nitrogen doped K2Nb4O11 (K2Nb4O11-N) has been prepared by solid state reaction between K2Nb4O11 and urea at 400 °C. K2Nb4O11-N has been characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS and UV/vis diffuse reflectance. The photodegradation of various organic pollutants in water by this material, including Orange G (OG), bisphenol A (BPA) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) have been studied at λ > 330 nm and >399 nm. The results show that the photocatalytic activity of K2Nb4O11-N at >399 nm is higher than those of K2Nb4O11 and Degussa TiO2 P25, indicating the activating effect of nitrogen doping. A mechanism for the photodegradation of organic substrates by K2Nb4O11-N is proposed.