Preparation, characterisation and enhanced photocatalytic activities of Fe,F co-doped TiO 2 nanotubes

Abstract

Fe,F co-doped TiO 2 nanotubes (Fe,F/TiO 2 NTs) were synthesised by the combination of hydrothermal process and impregnation method. The structure and composition of prepared catalysts were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XRD results confirmed only the presence of the anatase phase in Fe,F/TiO 2 NTs. Well-defined TiO 2 NTs with nearly uniform diameters could be seen from the TEM images. Also, the high-resolution XPS spectra of Fe 2P and F 1s showed that Fe 3+ and F - existed in TiO 2 lattice and on the surface of TiO 2 , respectively. The photocatalytic performances of Fe/TiO 2 NTs and Fe,F/TiO 2 NTs with different Fe concentrations were evaluated by photo-degrading aqueous methyl orange under visible light irradiation, and the results showed that the photoactivity of Fe and F co-doped TiO 2 NTs was enhanced obviously compared with Fe mono-doped TiO 2 NTs and the 0.5% Fe,F/TiO 2 NTs presented the best photocatalytic performance.