Synthesis of carbon modified TiO2 photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity by a facile calcinations assisted solvothermal method

We demonstrate a simple and green synthetic pathway to prepare well crystalline carbon modified titanium dioxide (C-TiO2). For the first step, the TiO2 products were synthesized using the non-aqueous solvothermal route, and for the second step, the as-prepared TiO2 was calcined to dope carbon. Such a method can avoid the incorporation of extra carbon sources but utilize the organic group in the alcohols instead. The structures, morphologies, and surface chemical states of the samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis, photoluminescence spectra, thermal analyses, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The experimental results show that the obtained C-TiO2 products composed of well crystalline TiO2 coated with carbon species on their surfaces. The existence of the carbon can improve the adsorption of light and retard the recombination of photo-generated electron-hole pairs. Measurements of the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B show that the photocatalytic activity of the C-TiO2 photocatalysts, especially TB15-300, is higher than that of other samples.