Co-doped mesoporous titania photocatalysts prepared from a peroxo-titanium complex solution

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Peroxotitanium complex for the synthesis of doped photocatalysts. • Fabrication of N doped and N/Ag co-doped photocatalysts. • Characterization of photocatalysts by SEM, XRD, BET, DRS and XPS. • Bench scale photocatalysis under simulated solar light using crystal violet pollutant. - Abstract: In this study, nitrogen doped and nitrogen/silver co-doped TiO₂ photocatalsysts were fabricated using a sol–gel method at room temperature. The obtained gels were neutralized, washed with pure water, and calcined at 400 °C for 4 h. The photocatalysts were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and BET specific surface area. The results showed that spherical particles with anatase structure were produced after annealing at 400 °C. N 1s (400 eV) and Ag 3d (367.3 eV) states indicated that nitrogen doping and silver co-doping were in the form of NO bonds and AgO, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of photocatalysts was investigated using a batch reactor system exposed to artificial solar irradiation. Both nitrogen and silver/nitrogen co-doped materials were effective in the photocatalytic degradation of hexamethyl pararosaniline chloride