Preparation and Visible Light Activity of Co-Doped Mesoporous TiO₂ Photocatalyst

Abstract

Co-doped mesoporous TiO 2 photocatalyst was successfully prepared by an ionic liquid modified sol-gel method from TBOT and Co(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O. The Co-doped mesoporous TiO 2 samples were characterized by TG-DSC, XRD, XPS, BET, UV-Vis and TEM, respectively. TG-DSC and XRD results showed that the mesoporous TiO 2 samples exhibited high thermal stability, and the samples calcined at 650 oC indicated well-crystallized anatase structure. XPS spectra proved the Co 3 O 4 structure of Co in Co-doped mesoporous samples. Large specific surface area was shown from the BET analysis, and the largest specific surface area was obtained when the Co-doping amount was 0.3%. UV-Vis DRS spectra showed that all of the samples exhibited obvious absorption in the visible light range. Photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by photodegradation of MB under visible light (λ>420 nm). Co-doped mesoporous TiO 2 exhibited high photocatalytic activity for MB oxidation, and the 0.3% Co/TiO 2 sample showed the highest visible light activity.