Synthesis and characterization of P-doped TiO2 thin-films for photocatalytic degradation of butyl benzyl phthalate under visible-light irradiation

P-doped TiO2 (PTIO) thin-films with different P contents were prepared using a sol-gel method. The thin-film samples were characterized using various techniques. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by decomposing butyl benzyl phthalate under visible-light irradiation. The results showed that the transformation of anatase to the rutile phase was inhibited and grain growth of TiO2 was prevented by P doping. The results confirm that the doped P atoms existed in two chemical forms, and those incorporated in the TiO2 lattice may play a positive role in photocatalysis. The high photocatalytic activities of the PTIO thin-films may be the result of extrinsic absorption through the creation of oxygen vacancies, rather than excitation of the intrinsic absorption band of bulk TiO2. The PTIO can be recycled with little depression of the photocatalytic activity. After six cycles, the photocatalytic activity of the PTIO film was still higher than 98%. (c) 2013, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.