title: Design of porous silica supported tantalum oxide hollow spheres showing enhanced photocatalytic activity.
abstract: Silica-supported tantalum oxide (ST) hollow spheres were designed for photocatalytic applications in the UV range of 4.1 to 4.8 eV. These nanostructures with a variable diameter of 100-250 nm and shell thickness of 24-58 nm were obtained by the hydrothermal treatment of tantalum isopropoxide and tetraethylorthosilicate at 120 °C for 48 h in the presence of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, which was used as a capping agent. The maximum observed surface area was found to be 610 m(2)/g and pore size distribution of ST hollow spheres varied from 13.4 to 19.0 nm. Lewis acidity of silica and the contact area between SiO2 and Ta2O5 plays a crucial role in controlling the photocatalytic properties of the ST hollow spheres. We observe a remarkable 6× enhancement in the photoactivity of silica-supported tantalum oxide hollow spheres compared to pure Ta2O5.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi , Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016, India.
authors.forename: Manu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Debashree
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Arabinda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baruah
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Ashok K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ganguli
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000641:Ammonia / Q000737:chemistry; D000077286:Cetrimonium; D002593:Cetrimonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013635:Tantalum / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002593:Cetrimonium Compounds; D010087:Oxides; D013635:Tantalum; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D000641:Ammonia; C078151:tantalum oxide; D000077286:Cetrimonium