Abstract
Two types of rubidium bismuth niobate, RbBi2Nb5O16 and RbBiNb2O7, were prepared by a conventional solid state reaction method and characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, UV–vis spectroscopy and SEM. These oxides can absorb up to approximately 420–440 nm wavelength of visible light. The photocatalytic activity of the two niobates in decomposing gaseous acetaldehyde, an indoor pollutant, was evaluated under visible light irradiation. The results indicated that RbBi2Nb5O16 showed a higher photocatalytic activity than RbBiNb2O7, in accordance with their different absorption properties. Moreover, RbBi2Nb5O16 deposited with 1 mass%–Pd on the surface exhibited approximately three times better photocatalytic activity than the bare material.
