Synthesis and photocatalytic activities of Nd-doped TiO2 mesoporous microspheres

Nd-doped TiO2 mesoporous microspheres with possessing regular micro/nanostructure were synthesized by a simple and facile method. The structure and optical properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms and UV-Visible absorbance spectroscopy. It was revealed that Nd-doped TiO2 mesoporous microspheres are composed of primary nanoparticles with a particle size of similar to 25 nm. The photocatalytic activities of all the samples were evaluated by degradation methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution as a model reaction under xenon lamp light irradiation. The results showed that the doped samples demonstrated a higher photocatalytic activity than TiO2 mesoporous microspheres, and the MO of 10 mg/mL almost could be completely degraded by the Nd-doped TiO2 mesoporous sample (the dosage of Nd salt to TiO2 is 6%) under xenon lamp light irradiation within 1 h.