One-step Flame-assisted Pyrolysis Synthesis of Fe Doped Carbon Incorporated TiO2 and Its Photocatalytic Activity

Fe doped carbon incorporated TiO2 was synthesized with a simple and facile one-step flame-assisted pyrolysis method and its photocatalytic properties were characterized by degradation of methylene blue(MB). The morphology, components, crystalline structure and absorbance of as-prepared samples were characterized by SEM, EDX, XPS, XRD and UV-Vis DRS, respectively. EDX and XPS results show that Fe3+ was introduced into TiO2 lattice by substituting Ti4+. XRD patterns reflect that mainly anatase TiO2 was obtained directly without any annealing. The absorbance edges show red shifts, and absorbance of visible light enlarge with increasing Fe amount, indicating the narrowed optical band gap with the introduce of impurity energy levels. SEM results show that the uniform micro spherical shapes of carbon incorporated TiO2 were damaged with the introduction of Fe. The promoted photocatalytic activity of samples for the degradation of MB was observed under both visible light and UV-Vis light irradiation with Fe doping not more than 0. 2%. The highest photocatalytic degradation rate for MB was observed for the sample with 0. 1% (molar fraction) Fe. The photocatalytic activity decreased when the Fe doping amount reached to 0. 3%.