High photoactivity rutile-type TiO₂ particles co-doped with multiple elements under visible light irradiation

In this study, wool fibers were used as the source of doping species to prepare the rutile-type TiO₂ photocatalyst for the treatment of dyeing wastewaters based on the hydrothermal method. The urchin-like rutile-type TiO₂ particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray, laser particle size analyzer, x-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller nitrogen adsorption-desorption, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectra techniques. The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B dye aqueous solution was measured under visible light irradiation. The experimental results show that the urchin-like rutile-type TiO₂ particles produced by using wools exhibit much higher photocatalytic activity than those urchin-like rutile-type TiO₂ particles without using wools under visible light irradiation. The high photoactivity of the urchin-like rutile-type TiO₂ particle is attributed to the co-doping of multiple elements including carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and chlorine, the larger specific surface area, and the positive zeta potential. This research provides a simple route to synthesize efficient TiO₂ photocatalyst with high photocatalytic activity. (paper)