Enhanced photocatalytic performance of nitrogen-modified titanium dioxide

Abstract

TiO2 precursor has been synthesized by sol-solvothermal method with tetrabutyl titanate as raw material. Nitrogen-modified TiO2 with different reaction temperatures (150, 180, 200 °C) was successfully fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method using hydrazine hydrate as nitrogen source. The as-prepared catalyst were conducted a series of tests and the analysis results indicated that nitrogen is successfully doped in the TiO2 lattice and exists in the form of interstitial doping and substitution doping. Furthermore, nitrogen-modified TiO2 enhanced the photocatalytic performance for methylene orange degradation and the degradation percentage of nitrogen modified TiO2 about reached 98%, which is higher than pure TiO2 and P25. The enhanced photocatalytic performance is ascribed to the larger specific surface area, smaller band gap and the existence of Ti3+. A possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed. Furthermore, the results also indicated that the nitrogen-modified TiO2 prepared at a reaction temperature of 180 °C has excellent photocatalytic performance.