Photoluminescence properties of the vanadium silicalite-1 catalyst and its photocatalytic reactivity for the reduction of NO with propane

The vanadium silicalite-1 catalyst (VS-1) has been found to include highly dispersed V-O moieties having a tetrahedral coordination in C-3v symmetry, which exhibits a photoluminescence spectrum attributed to the radiative decay from the charge transfer excited state. Also, the photocatalytic reduction of NO into N-2 was found to proceed much more efficiently in the presence of propane than with the direct photocatalytic decomposition of NO without propane. The dynamic quenching of the photoluminescence spectrum by the addition of NO and propane indicate that the excited state of the V-O moieties plays a significant role in this photocatalytic reaction.