Preparation, Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity of Fe, La Co-doped Nanometer Titanium Dioxide Photocatalysts

A series of photocatalysts of un-doped, single-doped and co-doped nanometer titanium diox-ide (TiO₂) have been successfully prepared by template method using Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O, La(NO₃)₃·6H₂O, and tetrabutyl titanate as precursors and glucan as template. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N₂ adsorption-desorption measurement were em-ployed to characterize the morphology, crystal structure and surface structure of the samples. The photo-absorbance of the obtained catalysts was measured by UV-Vis absorption spec-troscopy, and the photocatalytic activities of the prepared samples under UV and visible light were estimated by measuring the degradation rate of methyl orange in an aqueous solu-tion. The characterizations indicated that the prepared photocatalysts consisted of anatase phase and possessed high surface area of ca. 163-176 m²/g. It was shown that the Fe and La co-doped nano-TiO₂ could be activated by visible light and could thus be used as an effective catalyst in photo-oxidation reactions. The synergistic effect of Fe and La co-doping played an important role in improving the photocatalytic activity. In addition, the possibil-ity of cyclic usage of co-doped nano-TiO₂ was also confirmed, the photocatalytic activity of codoped nano-TiO₂ remained above 89.6% of the fresh sample after being used four times.