Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of single-crystalline hollow rh-In2O3 nanocrystals.
We report here for the first time the hollow, metastable, single-crystal, rhombohedral In(2)O(3) (rh-In(2)O(3)) nanocrystals synthesized by annealing solvothermally prepared InOOH solid nanocrystals under ambient pressure at 400 °C, through a mechanism of the Kirkendall effect, in which pore formation is attributed to the difference in diffusion rates of anions (OH(-) and O(2-)) in a diffusion couple. The InOOH solid nanocrystals were prepared via a controlled hydrolysis solvothermal route by using In(NO(3))(3)·4.5H(2)O as a starting material and glycerol-ethanol as a mixed solvent. The glycerol-ethanol mixed solvent plays a key role on the formation of the intermediate InOOH, thus the final product of rh-In(2)O(3). The as-synthesized In(2)O(3) nanocrystals present excellent photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) dyes, which present ∼92% degradation of RhB or MB after 4 or 3 h reaction in the presence of the as-synthesized In(2)O(3) nanocrystals, respectively.
Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China.
Jiefu
J
Yin
Huaqiang
H
Cao
D002384:Catalysis; D003460:Crystallization; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D007204:Indium / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D013499:Surface Properties
D007204:Indium; C047711:indium oxide