Study on the Effect of Pt Intercalation into Layered Niobate Perovskite for Photocatalytic Behavior

A novel photocatalyst consisting of an intercalated perovskite H1–2x Pt x LaNb2O7 was fabricated by ion exchange. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirmed that Pt2+ exists within the interlayer space of the layered perovskite. H1–2x Pt x LaNb2O7 composed of layered niobate perovskite and intercalated Pt2+ completely degraded a 20 ppm phenol solution in 3 h under irradiation by Xe light, which exhibits photocatalytic activity superior to those of RbLaNb2O7, Pt-deposited RbLaNb2O7, and HLaNb2O7. From first-principles density functional theory simulation, high photocatalytic activity of H1–2x Pt x LaNb2O7 is attributed to the emergence of a new O 2p–Pt 5d hybridized band on top of the valence band.