Amorphous TiO2 doped with carbon for visible light photocatalytic oxidation of elemental mercury

Abstract

A novel simple sol–gel method, flame assisted fabrication of amorphous TiO2 doped with carbon, was demonstrated. The as-prepared samples were identified by TGA, XRD, SEM and BET. And the optical property of the as-prepared samples was measured by the UV–vis and FTIR. The obtained amorphous C-TiO2 (carbon-doped TiO2) photocatalysts were used to remove gaseous elemental mercury under visible light (LED) and the optimum doping levels of C-TiO2 were determined. The results show that all the samples had a good mercury removal efficiency (>50 %). When the volume ratio of TBOT/ethanol reached 1:13, the sample has the best mercury removal efficiency 76 %. The incorporation of carbon and the microspherical structure enhanced the ability of light absorption, which led to the improvement of photocatalytic activity. This work has proposed the probable mechanism of removing gaseous elemental mercury by amorphous C-TiO2.