Nb2O5 Nanorod Bundles for Photocatalytic Ethylene Oxidation

Hierarchical metal oxide superstructures have been widely utilized in various applications, but complex template-assisted procedures and organic structure-directing agents are usually required during synthesis. Herein, a three dimensional (3D) bundle-like Nb2O5 superstructure was fabricated by a simple hydrothermal method using amorphous Nb2O5•nH2O particles as precursors without the use of organic species and template precursors. Controlled experiments under different synthetic conditions revealed a hierarchical assembly process occurred in which Nb2O5 nanorods were first formed due to the dissolution and recrystallization of Nb2O5•nH2O particles. The resultant nanorods were assembled into bundle-like nanostructures which finally organized into flower-like superstructures. When decorating ultrafine Pt nanoparticles (1.8 nm) on the surface of Nb2O5-S using a photodeposition method, the Pt-Nb2O5 superstructures showed promising photoactivities for ethylene oxidation.