Ag-intercalated and Bi-intercalated layered perovskite were fabricated by ion-exchanged process. The XRD and XPS confirm the phase transformation of the Ag-ion exchanged layered perovskite from DionJacobson to RuddlesdenPopper phase by heating at higher than 200°C. In the case of Bi ion-exchange perovskite, the product remained DionJacobson phase during the heat treatment. For the Ag-intercalated sample, RuddlesdenPopper type photocatalyst by heating at 500°C can degrade 20 ppm phenol solution to 6 ppm in 3 h under Xe light, which has superior photocatalytic activity to DionJacobson phase Ag 0.67 H 0.33 LaNb 2 O 7 . For the Bi-intercalated sample, DionJacobson type photocatalyst can degrade phenol from 20 to 12 ppm in 3 h. From first principle DFT simulation, high photocatalytic activity may be due to the new Ag 4d, O 2p and Nb 4d hybridized band at the highest of the valence band for Ag-included, and to the new Bi 6p band at the lowest of the conduction band for Biincluded samples.©2015 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.Key-words : Photocatalyst, Layered perovskite, Ion-exchange, Phenol degradation, Phase transformation, DOS calculation [Received May 12, 2015; Accepted June 22, 2015] Concerning the global environmental issues and energy crisis, photocatalysis technology using semiconductors has been attracting more and more consideration. 1)3) Over the past several decades, researchers have been searched for effective methods for chemical waste removal. Several contaminants are of particular threatened to the health of human being, such as phenolic compounds, various dyes, etc. 4)7) However, removal of phenol presents serious challenges, because this molecule is not biodegradable and could hardly undergo direct photolysis by sunlight or removed by conventional water treatment processes. Layered perovskite as an ideal green chemistry photocatalyst is undoubtedly advantageous over the other conventional catalyst.
8)11)Layered perovskites are intergrowths of perovskite and other structures, and they consist of two-dimensional perovskite slabs interleaved with cations or cationic structural units.12) The Dion Jacobson series of layered perovskites has one interlayer cation per formula unit. 18) On the basis of Li and Lin's results, the present work reports a study on the photocatalytic performance of interlayered perovskite from a layered perovskite structural oxides HLaNb 2 O 7 as host, Ag or Bi as guest by control of top in the valence band. Therefore, we study the hybridization of layered niobate perovskite with Ag or Bi in detail. Such structure is expected to not only change the valence band but also inhibit the recombination of charge carriers effectively, and the photocatalytic activity of semiconductor can be enhanced.All reagents were purchased from Kanto kagaku Ltd. Japan. Layered compound RbLaNb 2 O 7 was synthesized by a solidstate reaction at 1000°C in air for 6 h, using an intimate mixture of reagent-grade Rb 2 CO 3 , La 2 O 3 , Nb 2 O 5 with a mole ratio of Rb:La:Nb = 1.25:1:2 as s...