Facile Assembly of InVO/TiO Heterojunction for Enhanced Photo-Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol.

In this work, an InVO/TiO heterojunction composite catalyst was successfully synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method. The structural and optical characteristics of InVO/TiO heterojunction composites are investigated using a variety of techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and spectroscopy techniques. The addition of InVO to TiO considerably enhanced the photocatalytic performance in selective photo-oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BA). The 10 wt% InVOTiO composite photocatalyst provided a decent 100% BA conversion with over 99% selectivity for benzaldehyde, and exhibited a maximum conversion rate of 3.03 mmol g h, which is substantially higher than bare InVO and TiO. The excellent catalytic activity of the InVOTiO photocatalyst is associated with the successful assembly of heterostructures, which promotes the charge separation and transfer between InVO and TiO.