Preparation of highly visible-light active N-doped TiO2 photocatalyst†

A series of N-doped anatase TiO2 samples have been prepared using a solvothermal method in an organic amine/ethanol–water reaction system. The effects of different starting N : Ti atomic ratios on the catalysts structure, surface property and catalytic activity have been investigated. The photocatalytic activity and stability of the N-doped TiO2 samples were evaluated through using the decomposition of Methylene blue (MB) and Methyl orange (MO) as model reaction under visible light irradiation. Characterization results show that the nitrogen dopant has a significant effect on the crystallite size and optical absorption of TiO2. It was found that the N-doped TiO2 catalysts have enhanced absorption in the visible light region, and exhibit higher activity for photocatalytic degradation of model dyes (e.g. MB and MO). The catalyst with the highest performance was the one prepared using N : Ti molar ratio of 1.0. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurement suggests the materials contain Ti ions, with both the degree of N doping and oxygen vacancies make contributions to the visible light absorption of TON. The presence of superoxide radicals (Ȯ ) and hydroxyl radicals (̇OH) on the surface of TON were found to be responsible for MB and MO solution decoloration under visible light. Based on the results of the present study, a visible light induced photocatalytic mechanism has been proposed for N-doped anatase TiO2.