The Influence of Carbon Doping on TiO2 Nanoparticle Size, Surface Area, Anatase to Rutile Phase Transformation and Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

Visible light-sensitive carbon doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (C-TiO2) were prepared by a sol-gel method. The carbon dopant was obtained from glucose. The dopant level incorporated into the TiO2lattice structure was varied by using different concentrations of the carbon source solution. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET Surface area, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SXPS) and Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The presence of carbon in the TiO2lattice was determined by SXPS. The DRS results revealed that carbon doping reduced the band gap of TiO2. Doping was also found to cause a reduction in the particle size of the TiO2nanoparticles and enhance anatase to rutile phase transformation. The photocatalytic activities of the prepared samples were evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. The carbon doped TiO2showed a higher photocatalytic activity than degussa P25 and undoped TiO2.