Synthesis of visible-light responsive C, N and Ce co-doped TiO2 mesoporous membranes via weak alkaline sol–gel process

Abstract

A visible-light responsive C, N and Ce co-doped TiO 2 mesoporous membrane has been synthesized via a weakly alkaline sol-gel route using P123 template. The co-doping of C, N and Ce resulted in a lowered band gap of 2.14 eV which improved the photocatalytic activity in visible light. The Ce-dopant was found to strengthen the Ti-O bond that stabilized the anatase phase as well as the assembled interconnected mesoporous structure during high temperature calcination. The stabilization of the crystal phase and pore structure resulted in a higher surface area, smaller and more uniform pore size in the membrane. The membrane exhibited a low cut-off molecular weight of 3300 Da and a water flux of 4.05 L m À2 h À1 per bar.

Synthesis and Catalytic Applications of Non-Metal Doped Mesoporous Titania

“…Inorganics 2017, 5, 15 24 of 42 coefficient of rhodamine B for P/N-mp-TiO2 is 4.9 × 10 −3 min −1 , which is much higher than that of Pmp-TiO2, N-mp-TiO2, or mp-TiO2. Tri-element co-doping of mp-TiO2 provides even more opportunities to enhance visible light driven photocatalytic activity but has been studied less frequently due to the complexities of such systems [46,178].…”

“…Inorganics 2017, 5, 15 11 of 42 a low-temperature one-pot process in the presence of triethylamine [154]. The N-doped titanate/titania showed efficacy in visible-light phenol degradation.…”

“…UV light corresponds to only 4%-5% of the whole solar spectrum, while visible light constitutes 40% [24]. To reduce the intrinsic band gap of TiO 2 , several strategies have been tested including the incorporation of either metallic (e.g., Fe and Ni) or non-metallic (e.g., C, F, N, S, P, and B) atoms into the lattice of TiO 2 host materials [9,15,[25][26][27]. Metal doping has shown controversial photocatalytic activity results at both UV and visible wavelengths [28][29][30][31].…”

“…TiO 2 is also attractive for this application because of its opto-electronic properties, which can be tuned by changing lattice defects or oxygen stoichiometry, its superior chemical stability and photocorrosion resistance, and its low cost [4][5][6][7][8]. These unique properties have enabled TiO 2 to be utilized in a wide range of applications including solar energy conversion, antimicrobial and self-cleaning surfaces, paint whiteners, ceramics, textiles, personal care products, and environmental catalysis [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

Sol‐Gel Synthesis and Photocatalytic Study of Visible Light Active N‐Doped KSbWO6

“…[16] Among various visible-light-active photocatalysts, the nitrogen-doped oxide materials are important for modifying the properties of oxides, due to its similar size to oxygen and small ionization energy. Further, recent studies reveal that the hole generated on the N 2p by visible excitation is active for decomposition of organic pollutants, although the efficiency of charge separation under visible excitation is lower than that under UV excitation.…”