Preparation of N-TiO2 nanomaterial and evaluation of its photocatalytic activity under visible light

Abstract

In this study, nitrogen was used as a dopant to defect into the TiO₂ lattice making contributions to the visible light absorption of nitrogen-doped TiO₂. N-TiO₂ material was prepared from K₂TiF₆ and NH₃ as precursors. The N-TiO₂ photocatalyst was  prepared under the condition of 1 M NH₃ solution, 14 % N/TiO₂ mass ratio and the calcination temperature of TiO(OH)₂ was 600 ^oC for 5 hours. The obtained results indicated that the simultaneous existence of both anatase and rutile phase of pattern of N-TiO₂ and the average particle size was approximately 30 nm. Modification of titania with nitrogen significantly changed the light absorption ability of the catalyst. The UV-vis spectrum of N-TiO₂ showed the absorption maximum at 400 nm with band gap 2.7 eV. The results of photocatalytic experiment proved that, the N-TiO₂ exhibited the photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue even under visible light better than that of TiO₂.