Nanoparticles of titanium dioxide co-doped with nitrogen and iron (III) were first prepared using the homogeneous precipitation-hydrothermal method. The structure and properties of the co-doped were studied by XRD, XPS, Raman, FL, and UV-diffuse reflectance spectra. By analyzing the structures and photocatalytic activities of the undoped and nitrogen and/or Fe 3+ -doped TiO 2 under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation, the probable mechanism of co-doped particles was investigated. It is presumed that the nitrogen and Fe 3+ ion doping induced the formation of new states closed to the valence band and conduction band, respectively. The co-operation of the nitrogen and Fe 3+ ion leads to the much narrowing of the band gap and greatly improves the photocatalytic activity in the visible light region. Meanwhile, the co-doping can also promote the separation of the photogenerated electrons and holes to accelerate the transmission of photocurrent carrier. The photocatalyst co-doped with nitrogen and 0.5% Fe 3+ shows the best photocatalytic activity, the degradation efficiencies of which were improved by 75% and 5% under visible and ultraviolet irradiation, respectively, compared with the pure titania.

This study reports a simple and economic method to modify Degussa P25 with a vacuum activated procedure, resulting in its high photo-activity and photosensitivity, which suggests this method to be a starting point for the extension of its application to photocatalysis.

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