Preparation and Characterization of Carbon and Nitrogen Co-doped TiO2 with Enhanced Visible Light Activity

To make full use of solar light in photocatalysis reactions, carbon and nitrogen co-doped Titanium dioxide nanoparticles were prepared through a facile process. Subsequently the structure and properties of the doped nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectra (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. In addition, the photo-catalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Results revealed that the calcined temperatures affected the structure and photo-catalytic activity of the nanoparticles and the N, C-co-doped TiO2 (400 degrees C) nanoparticles exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, which could be attributed to the synergistic effect of co-doped carbon and nitrogen atoms.