Preparation and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles co-doped with Fe and La

The catalysts of un-doped, single-doped and co-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were prepared by a sol-gel method with Ti(OC4H9)(4) as a Ti source material. The photo-absorbance of the obtained nanoparticles was measured by UV-vis diffusive reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), and the photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples under UV and visible light was estimated by measuring the degradation rate of phenol (50 mg/L) in an aqueous solution. The effect of Fe and La co-dopants on the material properties was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherm measurement. It was shown that the co-doped TiO2 could be activated by visible light and could thus be used as an effective catalyst in photo-oxidation reactions. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 co-doped with Fe and La is markedly improved due to the synergistic actions of the two dopants. (C) 2011 Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.