Vacuum activation-induced Ti3+ and carbon co-doped TiO2 with enhanced solar light photo-catalytic activity

Abstract

Ti3+ and carbon co-doped TiO2 photocatalysts were prepared hydrothermally to introduce the carbon, and followed by simple vacuum activation to achieve the Ti3+ self-doping. The prepared co-doped photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM, UV–Vis absorption spectra, EPR, and XPS. It was found that the co-doped TiO2 has dispersed nanoparticles and a narrower band-gap compared with the un-doped TiO2 and single-doped TiO2. The experimental results displayed that the coke carbon generated on the surface of co-doped TiO2 acts as a photosensitizer and has the photosensitization effect under solar light irradiation. Except for the carbon sensitization effect, the Ti3+ self-doping modification has a synergistic effect which is the reason for the effective photo-degradation of methyl orange under simulated solar light irradiation.