Interstitial N-Doped TiO2 for Photocatalytic Methylene Blue Degradation under Visible Light Irradiation

Photocatalysis is a promising method for methylene blue (MB) degradation due to its effectiveness and environmental compatibility. Among the photocatalysts, titanium dioxide (TiO) has been widely used for MB degradation due to its exceptional photocatalytic activity. However, the wide bandgap limits...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Li, Dezheng, Calebe, Vilanculo Clesio, Li, Yuqiao, Liu, Huimin|||0000-0001-8258-8263, Lei, Yiming|||0000-0002-3435-6924
Format: article
Publication Date:2024
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:304173
Online Access:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/304173
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3390/catal14100681
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:TiO2
Nitrogen doping
Photocatalytic activity
Methylene bule degradation
Visible light
Description
Summary:Photocatalysis is a promising method for methylene blue (MB) degradation due to its effectiveness and environmental compatibility. Among the photocatalysts, titanium dioxide (TiO) has been widely used for MB degradation due to its exceptional photocatalytic activity. However, the wide bandgap limits the degradation efficiency of TiO under visible light. Here, an interstitial nitrogen-doped TiO (5%N/TiO) used thiourea as the N source was fabricated for visible light-derived MB degradation. The 5%N/TiO exhibited an extended absorption range of visible light. Moreover, photoelectrochemical measurements showed an improvement in the photocurrent response and charge transfer behavior on N/TiO. Thus, 5%N/TiO had enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with pristine TiO and substitutive N-doped TiO (5%N/TiO). The accelerated photocatalytic MB degradation process on N/TiO could be mainly attributed to the interstitial N doping, which caused the appearance of new energy states and extended optical properties. Through comparing the impact of interstitial and substitutive in TiO activity, our work proposes a suitable form of element doping to enhance the optical properties and photocatalytic activity of TiO and even other semiconductors, providing guidance for future work.