New architecture of a petal-shaped Nb₂O₅ nanosheet film on FTO glass for high photocatalytic activity

A petal-shaped Nb₂O₅ nanosheet thin film was grown directly on a transparent conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate via a facile hydrothermal method. Structural and morphological characterization showed that the Nb₂O₅ nanosheets with a thickness of about 30 nm stood almost vertically on the FTO glass substrate. The vertical thickness of the petal-shaped Nb₂O₅ nanosheet array film, which grows along (020) and (003) crystal planes, was 2-3 μm. The petal-shaped Nb₂O₅ nanosheet array film on FTO glass without annealing showed excellent photocatalytic activity for degrading aqueous rhodamine B. The activity was better than that of the porous P25 film with a thickness of 50 μm. The new architecture is suitable for reuse in photocatalytic applications.