Photo-Catalytic Activity of Carbon/Nitrogen Doped TiO₂-SiO₂ under UV and Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

The sol gel synthesis method was used to prepare carbon and nitrogen doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) photo-catalyst using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) as the precursor. Doping was carried out to modify the absorption band edge of titanium dioxide. To avert the problem associated with use of powder TiO2, the photo-catalyst was immobilized on glass support using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), which served as a binder and precursor for silicon dioxide (SiO2). The prepared photo-catalytic materials were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, TEM, BET and DRS. The photo-catalytic efficiency of titanium dioxide immobilized on glass support was evaluated using the degradation of methyl orange (MeO) and phenol red (PRed) under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. Doping with carbon and nitrogen, and incorporation of silicon dioxide into the titanium dioxide matrix allowed utilization of visible light by the prepared TiO2-SiO2nanocomposites. Photo-degradation tests were carried out for doped and undoped photo-catalyst. An increased rate of photo-oxidation of methyl orange and phenol red was observed under visible light irradiation as compared to UV light irradiation.

Energy-efficient carbon-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, and catalytic properties under visible LED irradiation for degradation of gemifloxacin

“…Differences between TiO 2 NP and C-TiO 2 NP in TEM images confirmed the successful synthesis of the latter in the nano-range. On the other hand, images obtained at higher magnifications suggested that the C-TiO 2 NP seems to be somehow different in morphology as previously reported [19]. Having Fig.…”

“…Such results indicated transformation from rutile to anatase phase due to doping. It has been reported that the anatase phase of titanium dioxide has higher photocatalytic activity [19,48,49]. Thus, it could be concluded that the prepared catalysts exhibits the desired phase for the purpose of the photocatalytic activity.…”

“…Various attempts have been directed towards extending the applicability of TiO 2 NP to the higher wavelength range by lowering its bandgap [8,17,18]. Doping with other metals, nonmetals or both resulted in a significant improvement [19][20][21]. In literature, hematoporphyrin/N-doped TiO 2 nanohybrids have been successfully used under solar irradiation with a high degradation efficiency [22].…”

Preparation of photo-catalytic copolymer grafted asymmetric membranes (N-TiO2-PMAA-g-PVDF/PAN) and their application on the degradation of bentazon in water

“…Nitrogen modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles were prepared using a reported method [8], except that ammonia was used as nitrogen source. The resulting amorphous powders were calcined at 500 °C under nitrogen atmosphere for 2 h to allow the transformation from amorphous phase to predominantly anatase titanium dioxide.…”

“…Since titanium dioxide is strictly ultraviolet responsive (UV only accounts for about 3-5 % of the solar spectrum), several researchers have devised means for its photosynthesis using visible light (a much wider spectrum) utilization. There are various ways of photosensitizing titanium dioxide, and the most commonly used are transition metal doping, and non-metal doping [8]. However, the main technical challenge hindering commercialization is photocatalyst post-recovery.…”