20.500.12556/RUL-182858 Optimising the structure of mesoporous niobium oxide using evaporation-induced self-assembly synthesis method To increase the photocatalytic performance of Niobium(V) oxide (Nb$_2$O$_5$) it is necessary to increase its accessible surface area. The evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) synthesis method is well suited for the synthesis of mesoporous structures, but the optimisation of synthesis parameters for Nb$_2$O$_5$ is still limited. In this study, we demonstrate that the synthesis parameters — duration of evaporation, airflow rate, relative humidity and water content in the reaction mixture — significantly affect the specific surface area, mesoporous structure and photocatalytic performance of isopropanol oxidation into acetone of Nb$_2$O$_5$. Our results show that a combination of long evaporation duration, low airflow rate, low relative humidity and moderate water content are needed to obtain material with the highest specific surface area (145 m$^2$ g$^{−1}$) and a narrow hysteresis loop in the N$_2$ sorption isotherm. This material exhibits four times higher photocatalytic activity compared to materials synthesised under less favourable conditions (14.3–17.7 μmol h$^{−1}$ compared to 3.7 μmol h$^{−1}$). We also show that the ordered mesoporous structure plays an important role in improving the photocatalytic performance: the materials with a higher degree of order exhibit about two times higher activity than the materials with a lower degree of order with the same specific surface area (10.4–12.1 μmol h$^{−1}$ compared to 4.9–7.9 μmol h$^{−1}$). These results provide valuable insights for optimising the synthesis of mesoporous niobium oxide to increase both the specific surface area and photocatalytic performance. Nb$_2$O$_5$ mesoporous material evaporation-induced self-assembly photocatalysis Nb$_2$O$_5$ mezoporozni material samourejanje z odparevanjem topila fotokataliza true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-05-26 09:21:06 2026-05-26 09:21:12 2026-05-27 04:39:58 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 9 str. art. 113994 Vol. 402 Feb. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 54 1873-3093 10.1016/j.micromeso.2025.113994 263282691 1-s2.0-S1387181125005098-main.pdf 1-s2.0-S1387181125005098-main.pdf 1 721363E90A0137591A9BFC3FE14F3A63 7a850281c102fd632809d528586ef9944ca0ec6434c8ff2203d91f1d2b820a39 a5f66865-58d3-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=234474 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1387181125005098 1 2814d912-58d3-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=234464 Fakulteta za kemijo in kemijsko tehnologijo 0 0 0