Use of visible light. Second-generation titanium oxide photocatalysts prepared by the application of an advanced metal ion-implantation method*

Titanium oxide catalysts were implanted with various transition-metal ions by a high-voltage acceleration technique, then calcined in O2 at around 723 K to produce photocatalysts capable of absorbing visible light, the extent of the red shift depending on the amount and kind of metal ions implanted. Such metal ion-implanted titanium oxide photocatalysts, specifically using Cr or V ions, were successful in carrying out various photocatalytic reactions such as the decomposition of NO into N2, O2, and N2O at 293 K, significantly under irradiation with visible light longer than 450 nm. In outdoor field tests, these Cr and V ion-implanted titanium oxide photocatalysts showed three to four times higher photocatalytic reactivity for the decomposition of NO under solar beam irradiation, as compared with the original unimplanted titanium oxide photocatalyst.