Visible Light Activity and Photoelectrochemical Properties of Nitrogen-Doped TiO₂

Abstract

Nitrogen-doped titania photocatalysts were prepared from titanium tetraisopropoxide or titanium tetrachloride\nand thiourea. The yellow powders obtained after calcination at 400−600 °C photocatalyze the mineralization\nof 4-chlorophenol by visible light (λ ≥ 455 nm). Different from previously published data these materials do\nnot contain sulfur but instead nitrogen as the doping component inducing visible light photocatalysis. The\nmeasured band gap narrowing of 40−80 meV and the anodic shift of the quasi Fermi potential of 40−90 mV\nare in agreement with recent results on nitrogen-doped titania.