BiOCl/TiO₂/diatomite composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B

• Minlin Ao,
• Kun Liu,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Zishun Li,
• Qian Peng and
• Jing Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1412–1422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.139

• a carrier to support a layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) nanosheets. The results show that TiO2 nanoparticles and BiOCl nanosheets uniformly cover the surface of diatomite and bring TiO2 and BiOCl into close proximity. Rhodamine B was used as the target

• photocatalyst prepared by dispersing TiO2 and BiOCl on the surface of diatomite for the first time. Rhodamine B (RhB) is one of the most commonly used dyes and is a highly toxic compound with potential carcinogenicity. It is often used in textile, painting, chemical and other industries. RhB released from these

• ), potassium chloride (KCl), mannitol and rhodamine B were purchased from the Chemical Reagents Co., Ltd. of the Sinopharm. All reagents were analytical grade and could be used directly without any purification. Deionized water was used throughout the experiment. In addition, diatomite was purchased from

A highly efficient porous rod-like Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst for the degradation of dye contaminants in water

• Binjing Hu,
• Qiang Sun,
• Chengyi Zuo,
• Yunxin Pei,
• Siwei Yang,
• Hui Zheng and
• Fangming Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1157–1165, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.115

• rods and optimal synthesis conditions were determined by testing samples with different Ce/ZnO molar ratios calcined at 500 °C for 3 hours via a one-step pyrolysis method. The photocatalytic activity was assessed by the degradation of a common dye pollutant found in wastewater, rhodamine B (RhB), using

• ) = 10 mg/L, concentration (catalyst) = 0.7 g/L, pH 9.0 and T = 50 °C. These optimum conditions supply a helpful reference for large-scale wastewater degradation containing the common water contaminant RhB. Keywords: Ce-doped ZnO; photocatalyst; rhodamine B; solar degradation; surface shape

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• reduction of the TiO2 bandgap leading to improved efficiency in the degradation of antipyrine, atrazine, rhodamine B and phenol using solar-light irradiation. Chen and co-workers [148] have also studied the doping of TiO2@montmorillonite introducing heteroelements such as C and V. A bandgap reduction to

Controlling surface morphology and sensitivity of granular and porous silver films for surface-enhanced Raman scattering, SERS

• Sherif Okeil and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2813–2831, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.263

• surfaces act as efficient SERS substrates showing greater enhancement factors compared to as prepared, sputtered, but untreated silver films when using rhodamine B as Raman probe molecule. The obtained roughened silver films were fully characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force

• conditions. These silver films show a broad range of tunable SERS enhancement factors ranging from 1.93 × 102 to 2.35 × 105 using rhodamine B as probe molecule. The main factors that control the enhancement are the plasma gas used and the plasma conditions, i.e., pressure, power and treatment time

• 20 sccm argon was used as carrier gas. The exposure time for both, trimethylaluminium and water, were 0.015 s and the flushing between the precursor pulses was done with argon for 5 s. For deposition of 1 nm Al2O3 ten cycles were carried out. SERS measurements on the prepared silver films Rhodamine B

Enhanced antineoplastic/therapeutic efficacy using 5-fluorouracil-loaded calcium phosphate nanoparticles

• Shanid Mohiyuddin,
• Saba Naqvi and
• Gopinath Packirisamy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2499–2515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.233

• -15) cancer cells at 48.5 μg/mL treatment. The apoptotic induction of CaP@5-FU NPs was confirmed with acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining and by examining the morphological changes with Hoechst and rhodamine B staining in a time-dependent manner. The apparent membrane bleb formation was

• this assay, drug-induced apoptosis was confirmed by CaP@5-FU NP treatment. Hoechst 33342 and rhodamine B Apoptotic cells show specific characteristic features such as morphological changes, nuclear fragmentation, and cytoplasmic constriction [41]. The nucleic acid specific dye Hoechst 33342 and the

• cytoplasmic dye rhodamine B were used to stain the cells treated with an IC50 concentration of CaP@5-FU NPs incubated for different time periods. The morphological changes can be effectively tracked by microscopic examination after the staining procedure. Hoechst 33342 is a fluorescent DNA intercalating dye

Hierarchical heterostructures of Bi₂MoO₆ microflowers decorated with Ag₂CO₃ nanoparticles for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic removal of toxic pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Wei Jiang,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yanping Liu,
• Kaibing Xu and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2297–2305, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.214

• heterostructures exhibited substantially improved performance in the removal of industrial dyes (rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO), and methyl blue (MB)), and the antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), compared with bare Bi2MoO6 and Ag2CO3 under visible-light irradiation. The enhancement of activity was

• the photocatalytic degradation of industrial dyes (rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO), and methyl blue (MB)), and the antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) under visible light. The improved performance of the photocatalytic degradation was prominent, and the reasons were rationally analyzed

• efficient VLD photocatalyst with promising applications in environmental remediation. Experimental Materials Bi(NO3)3·5H2O, NaHCO3, NH3·H2O, Na2MoO4·2H2O, rhodamine B (RhB), methyl blue (MB), tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), methyl orange (MO), isopropanol (IPA), AgNO3, p-benzoquinone (BQ), and ammonium

Nanoconjugates of a calixresorcinarene derivative with methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) fragments for drug encapsulation

• Alina M. Ermakova,
• Julia E. Morozova,
• Yana V. Shalaeva,
• Victor V. Syakaev,
• Aidar T. Gubaidullin,
• Alexandra D. Voloshina,
• Vladimir V. Zobov,
• Irek R. Nizameev,
• Olga B. Bazanova,
• Igor S. Antipin and
• Alexander I. Konovalov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2057–2070, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.195

• , Orange OT, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, naproxen were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, rhodamine B was purchased from Acros. Quercetin and doxorubicin hydrochloride were kindly supplied by Prof. E. Kh. Kazakova. Doxorubicin hydrochloride was hydrophobized by the method reported in [37]. Tosylated mPEG-550 2

Uniform cobalt nanoparticles embedded in hexagonal mesoporous nanoplates as a magnetically separable, recyclable adsorbent

• Can Zhao,
• Yuexiao Song,
• Tianyu Xiang,
• Wenxiu Qu,
• Shuo Lou,
• Xiaohong Yin and
• Feng Xin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1770–1781, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.168

• morphology and specific surface area of the as-prepared NPLs can be tailored by adjusting the initial dopamine concentration and carbonization temperature. The mesoporous NPLs exhibit excellent sorption of rhodamine B (RhB) dye and fast magnetic separation in aqueous solution. Over 95% of RhB can be adsorbed

• hexahydrate, urea, 3-hydroxytyramine hydrochloride, and 2-amino-2-hydroxymethylpropane-1,3-diol (tris) were purchased from Aladdin Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Ethanol, hydrochloric acid, and rhodamine B were obtained from Yuanli Reagent Co., Ltd. (Tianjin, China). All chemicals were of analytical grade purity and

Controllable one-pot synthesis of uniform colloidal TiO₂ particles in a mixed solvent solution for photocatalysis

• Jong Tae Moon,
• Seung Ki Lee and
• Ji Bong Joo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1715–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.163

• Abstract This study reports on the controllable synthesis of uniform colloidal titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles and their photocatalytic applications toward rhodamine B (RhB) degradation. The monodispersed TiO2 particles were synthesized under mixed solvent conditions by sol–gel chemistry in a one-pot

• well as the crystalline properties and performance enhancement of TiO2 photocatalysts calcined at different temperatures. Keywords: mixed solvent; one-pot synthesis; photocatalysts; rhodamine B degradation; sol–gel synthesis; spherical TiO2 particles; Introduction Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a widely

• study, the synthesis of uniform TiO2 colloidal particles with controllable properties and their photocatalytic application towards the degradation of rhodamine B is discussed. More specifically, uniform TiO2 colloidal particles were synthesized by a sol–gel process in a well-controlled mixed solvent of

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

Ag₂WO₄ nanorods decorated with AgI nanoparticles: Novel and efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for the degradation of water pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Wei Jiang,
• Yanping Liu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yingtang Zhou,
• Liuye Mo and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1308–1316, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.123

• , and UV–vis DRS were used to investigate the morphology and optical properties of the as-prepared AgI/Ag2WO4 catalyst. With AgI acting as the cocatalyst, the resulting AgI/Ag2WO4 heterostructure shows excellent performance in degrading toxic, stable pollutants such as rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange

• nanorods as the Ag source. The as-prepared AgI/Ag2WO4 heterojunctions exhibited remarkably higher photocatalytic activity than pure Ag2WO4 toward the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO) and para-chlorophenol (4-CP) under visible light. Based on a systematic characterization and study, a

Facile synthesis of a ZnO–BiOI p–n nano-heterojunction with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Mengyuan Zhang,
• Jiaqian Qin,
• Pengfei Yu,
• Bing Zhang,
• Mingzhen Ma,
• Xinyu Zhang and
• Riping Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 789–800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.72

• exhibit a significant improvement in the photodegradation of rhodamine B under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation as compared to single-phase ZnO and BiOI. A sample with a Zn/Bi ratio of 3:1 showed the highest photocatalytic activity (≈99.3% after 100 min irradiation). The photodegradation tests

• significant improvement in the degradation of rhodamine B under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation as compared to ZnO and BiOI. The obtained catalysts with a Zn/Bi ratio of 3:1 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. The band gap structure and charge transfer properties are investigated by XPS in

• properties and band gap structures by tuning the Bi/Zn molar ratio to 1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 to 0:1. The results of the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation demonstrate that the as-synthesized ZnO/BiOI heterostructured nanocomposites exhibit the superior photocatalytic

Surface-plasmon-enhanced ultraviolet emission of Au-decorated ZnO structures for gas sensing and photocatalytic devices

• T. Anh Thu Do,
• Truong Giang Ho,
• Thu Hoai Bui,
• Quang Ngan Pham,
• Hong Thai Giang,
• Thi Thu Do,
• Duc Van Nguyen and
• Dai Lam Tran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 771–779, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.70

• investigated for photocatalytic activity as reported previously [8][20]. The photocatalytic activity of the Pt/ZnO hybrid nanocomposite under photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) was higher compared to commercial TiO2 [21]. Here, it is quite reasonable to note that the plasmonic metal NP/metal-oxide

• activity wase evaluated by the photodegradation of an aqueous rhodamine B (RhB) solution at room temperature. Experiments were performed as follows: the prepared ZnO and Au NP/ZnO films (7.5 × 7.5 mm) were added into 2 mL of an aqueous RhB solution (1 × 10−6 M) in a quartz cuvette, and then the cell was

Perovskite-structured CaTiO₃ coupled with g-C₃N₄ as a heterojunction photocatalyst for organic pollutant degradation

• Ashish Kumar,
• Christian Schuerings,
• Suneel Kumar,
• Ajay Kumar and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 671–685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.62

• studying the degradation of an aqueous solution of rhodamine B (RhB) under UV, visible and natural sunlight irradiation. The CTCN heterojunction with 1:1 ratio of g-C3N4/CT showed the highest photocatalytic activity under sunlight irradiation and was also demonstrated to be effective for the degradation of

• rhodamine B (RhB) dye under UV, visible and natural sunlight irradiation. Also, the degradation of a non-photosensitizing colorless pollutant, BPA, was also studied under sunlight to eliminate the doubt of RhB photosensitization in the photocatalytic activity. The CTCN heterojunction offers enhanced light

• CTCN heterojunction and the corresponding control samples was investigated by studying the degradation of a model dye pollutant, rhodamine B (RhB) under UV, visible and natural sunlight irradiations. The prominent absorption peak of RhB at 554 nm was monitored by employing UV–vis spectroscopy to

Mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysts in utilizing visible light

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Azrina Abd Aziz,
• Lan Ching Sim,
• Pichiah Saravanan,
• Min Jang and
• Detlef Bahnemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 628–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.59

• broad LSPR absorption band at ≈630 nm [93]. The Ag@C nanocomposite exhibited excellent removal of aqueous rhodamine B and gaseous acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) under visible light irradiation. There have been some research reports on the combination of either Pd or Pt (considered to induce a reduced plasmonic

Facile synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ photocatalysts for decolourization of organic dyes under solar irradiation

• Arjun Behera,
• Debasmita Kandi,
• Sanjit Manohar Majhi,
• Satyabadi Martha and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 436–446, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.42

• , FESEM, UV–vis DRS, PL, FTIR and photocurrent measurements. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared material is studied with regard to the degradation of rhodamine B (Rh B) and Congo red under solar irradiation. The kinetic study showed that the material exhibits zeroth and first order reaction

• correlates well with the lowest PL intensity, highest photocurrent and lowest particle size. Keywords: Congo red; electrochemical study; phenol; photocatalyst; rhodamine B (Rh B); ZnFe2O4; Introduction Photocatalysis is a “green” technology for the treatment of environmental pollutants with solar energy [1

• . Decolourization of rhodamine B under solar light irradiation The photocatalytic activity of as prepared ZFO samples was also tested in the decolourization of Rh B. ZFO-500 has also proven to be a good photocatalyst in decolourization of 5 ppm Rh B in 1 h. The experimental procedure was similar to that in the

Photocatalytic and adsorption properties of TiO₂-pillared montmorillonite obtained by hydrothermally activated intercalation of titanium polyhydroxo complexes

• Mikhail F. Butman,
• Nikolay L. Ovchinnikov,
• Nikita S. Karasev,
• Nataliya E. Kochkina,
• Alexander V. Agafonov and
• Alexandr V. Vinogradov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 364–378, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.36

• , and liquefied nitrogen adsorption/desorption. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-pillared materials was studied using the degradation of anionic (methyl orange, MO) and cationic (rhodamine B, RhB) dyes in water under UV irradiation. The combined effect of adsorption and photocatalysis resulted in

• . Photocatalytic activity measurements The photocatalytic activity of the produced samples of TiO2-pillared MM was evaluated by studying degradation rates for dyes of anionic and cationic types, i.e., methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution. The source of UV irradiation was a high pressure

• curves of methyl orange dye adsorption at 20 °C by the TiO2-PMMx, and TiO2-PMMНx samples. Kinetic curves of rhodamine B dye adsorption at 20 °C by the TiO2-PMMx, and TiO2-PMMНx samples. Adsorption isotherms of (a) MO and (b) RhB dyes at T = 20 °C. Removal of methyl orange (MO) on the TiO2-PMMx, TiO2

CdSe nanorod/TiO₂ nanoparticle heterojunctions with enhanced solar- and visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Fakher Laatar,
• Hatem Moussa,
• Halima Alem,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Emilien Girot,
• Ghouti Medjahdi,
• Hatem Ezzaouia and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2741–2752, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.273

• the narrow bandgap of CdSe NRs serves to increase the photoresponse of CdSe/TiO2 composites until ≈725 nm. The CdSe (2 wt %)/TiO2 composite exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution under simulated sunlight or visible light irradiation. The

• of rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution. Our results demonstrate that the composite containing 2 wt % CdSe NRs exhibits the optimal photocatalytic activity under solar or visible light irradiation. Moreover, the photocatalytic response was maintained after ten cycles in simulated sunlight. A

• possible mechanism is also discussed. Experimental Chemicals Cadmium acetate (Cd(OAc), 99.995%, Sigma), sodium selenite (Na2SeO3, 99%, Sigma), diethylenetriamine (99%, Sigma), TiO2 nanoparticles (Sigma-Aldrich, Aeroxide® P25, CAS: 13463-67-7), rhodamine B (RhB, >95%, Sigma), tert-butanol (t-BuOH, >99.5

Hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO quantum dot/KNb₃O₈ nanosheet photocatalysts for reducing carbon dioxide to methanol

• Xiao Shao,
• Weiyue Xin and
• Xiaohong Yin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2264–2270, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.226

• particle diameter is about 25 nm) in the degradation of rhodamine B, but also a higher generating rate of H2 at 3.0 mmol/h under UV-light irradiation [11]. Song prepared nanocrystals of ferroelectric NaNbO3 phase by a hydrothermal method using Nb2O5 and NaOH as precursors in one step, where a lower

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

Enhanced catalytic activity without the use of an external light source using microwave-synthesized CuO nanopetals

• Govinda Lakhotiya,
• Sonal Bajaj,
• Arpan Kumar Nayak,
• Debabrata Pradhan,
• Pradip Tekade and
• Abhimanyu Rana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1167–1173, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.118

• also under dark conditions for the degradation of the hazardous dye methylene blue. The CuO nanopetals showed significant catalytic activity for the fast degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B (RhB) under dark conditions, without the application of an external light source. This increased

• application of an external light source and also under dark conditions for the degradation of hazardous dyes such as methylene blue and rhodamine B. We report enhanced catalytic activity of the synthesized CuO nanopetals, even without the use of an external light source (UV/visible light) for the degradation

• B The catalytic performance of synthesized CuO nanopetals was also extended for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) using 40 mL of a 50 µM solution of RhB with the same experimental conditions, i.e., 10 mg catalyst and 0.5 mL H2O2 and was found to be efficient (Supporting Information File 1, Figure

Phospholipid arrays on porous polymer coatings generated by micro-contact spotting

• Sylwia Sekula-Neuner,
• Monica de Freitas,
• Lea-Marie Tröster,
• Tobias Jochum,
• Pavel A. Levkin,
• Michael Hirtz and
• Harald Fuchs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 715–722, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.75

• , we used simple phospholipid ink composed of DOPC [1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine] doped with Rhodamine-PE [1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(lissamine rhodamine B sulfonyl) (ammonium salt)]. The ink was prepared by mixing DOPC and Rhodamine-PE to achieve 1 µM lipid content in

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• then the TiO2 NPs were wrapped by graphene. These hybrids have high potential for photocatalytic application [72]. Zhang et al. have reported graphene-encapsulated TiO2 nanospheres as efficient photocatalysts for the decomposition of rhodamine B with an efficiency up to 91% in 90 min, which is much

• cycling stability [166]. Geng et al. have prepared Fe3O4–rGO hybrids by one-pot solution chemistry which have good adsorption capability of various dyes (rhodamine B, rhodamine 6G, acid blue 92, orange (II), malachite green, and new coccine) [167]. These materials could be easily separated from the

Dispersion of single-wall carbon nanotubes with supramolecular Congo red – properties of the complexes and mechanism of the interaction

• Anna Jagusiak,
• Barbara Piekarska,
• Tomasz Pańczyk,
• Małgorzata Jemioła-Rzemińska,
• Elżbieta Bielańska,
• Barbara Stopa,
• Grzegorz Zemanek,
• Janina Rybarska,
• Irena Roterman and
• Leszek Konieczny

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 636–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.68

• , antigen-bound antibodies, cell-surface receptors) [29][34][35]. Congo red supramolecular assemblies can incorporate (through intercalation) other molecules – especially those containing planar, aromatic rings – e.g., doxorubicin, rhodamine B, other bis-azo dyes [36][37][38]. Thus CR could play a role of a

Investigation of the photocatalytic efficiency of tantalum alkoxy carboxylate-derived Ta₂O₅ nanoparticles in rhodamine B removal

• Subia Ambreen,
• Mohammad Danish,
• Narendra D. Pandey and
• Ashutosh Pandey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 604–613, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.65

• nanoparticles efficiently removed rhodamine B under UV light irradiation. Keywords: alkoxy carboxylates; band gap; dynamic light scattering (DLS); rhodamine B; scanning electron microscopy (SEM); tantalum(V) oxide (Ta2O5) nanoparticles; TEM; X-ray diffraction (XRD); Introduction Nowadays, the purification of

• photocatalytic activity of the nanoparticles was investigated regarding the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). Experimental All reactions before the sol–gel synthesis were carried out under strict anhydrous conditions by using Schlenk tubes and vacuum line techniques. Ta(OEt)5 and Ta(On-Bu)5 were purchased from

• gel was left at room temperature for 24 h for aging. It was then dried at 90 °C for 12 h to remove the solvent and other volatile residues to provide a white to off-white powder, which after calcination afforded Ta2O5 nanoparticles. Photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B over Ta2O5 nanoparticles