Quick and facile preparation of visible light-driven TiO2 photocatalyst with high absorption and photocatalytic activity

Sci Rep. 2014 Nov 13:4:7045. doi: 10.1038/srep07045.

Abstract

Self-doping TiO2 has recently attracted considerable attention for its high photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. However, the literature reported synthetic methods until now were very time-consuming. In this study, we establish a quick and facile method for obtaining self-doping TiO2 with the use of directly treated commercial P25 at a desired temperature for only 5 min through spark plasma sintering technology. With the using of this method, the modified P25 samples exhibit significantly high photoelectric and photocatalytic performance. Furthermore, the sample prepared at 600 °C exhibits the optimum catalytic activity. The photodegradation and H2 evolution rates of this samples are significantly higher than those of unmodified P25 sample under visible-light irradiation. The physical origin of the visible-light absorption for the modified P25 samples is investigated in detail according to their structural, optical, and electronic properties. This work will provide a quick and facile method for the large-scale synthesis of visible-light driven photocatalyst for practical applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't