Nitrogen and europium doped TiO 2 anodized films with applications in photocatalysis

Abstract

Micro-arc oxidation method is a useful process for mesoporous titanium dioxide films. In order to improve the photocatalytic activity of the TiO 2 film, N–Eu co-doped titania catalyst was synthesized by micro-arc oxidation in the H 2SO 4/Eu(NO 3) 3 mixture solution. The specific surface area and the roughness of the anodic titania film fabricated in the H 2SO 4/Eu(NO 3) 3 electrolyte, were increased compared to that of the anodic TiO 2 film prepared in H 2SO 4 solution. The absorbance response of N–Eu titania film shows a higher adsorption onset toward visible light region, and the incorporated N and Eu ions during anodization as a dopant in the anodic TiO 2 film significantly enhanced the photocatalytic activity for dye degradation. After dye decomposition test for 3 h, dye removal rates for the anodic TiO 2 film were 60.7% and 90.1% for the N–Eu doped titania film. The improvement of the photocatalytic activity was ascribed to the synergistic effects of the surface enlargement and the new electronic state of the TiO 2 band gap by N and Eu co-doping.