| Abstract: | Efficient oxidation of gaseous small molecular hydrocarbons under mild conditions remains a significant but challenging task to date.Here we report that WO_3 decoration can obviously improve the performance of Ti O_2(P25)toward the photocatalytic oxidation of several small molecular hydrocarbons(C_2H_6,C_3H_8 and C_2H_4)under simulated solar light irradiation.Among the WO_3/Ti O_2 heterostructures,the 10wt%WO_3/Ti O_2 nanocomposite shows the best photoactivities,which can efficiently oxidize C_2H_6,C_3H_8 and C_2H_4 within 15,9 and 8 minutes,respectively under simulated sunlight with a light intensity of 200 m W/cm~2.By strong contrast,a decreased photoactivity of Ti O_2 by coupling with WO_3 is observed when investigating the performance of photocatalysts toward the degradation of methylene blue(MB)in liquid phase.The opposing effect of WO_3 decoration on the performance of Ti O_2 is thoroughly investigated,and it is found that the improved photoactivities for gaseous hydrocarbon degradation is ascribed to the enhanced oxygen adsorption,resulting from WO_3 decoration rather than efficient charge separation within the WO_3/Ti O_2 heterostructures. |
