Nitrogen doped TiO2 for efficient visible light photocatalytic dye degradation

In this study, Nitrogen doped TiO2 photocatalysts were prepared by the sol gel method and physicochemical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (DRS) techniques. The XRD data indicated that the nanoparticles had the same crystals structures as the pure TiO2. Photocatalytic properties of the nitrogen doped TiO2 nanocatalyst and pure TiO2 were compared for degradation of Blue 5 dye in visible light irradiation and the DRS results showed that the band gap of doped photocatalyst was smaller than that of the undoped TiO2 and there was a shift in the absorption band toward the visible light region. The Photocatalytic properties of the nitrogen doped TiO2 nanocatalyst were employed for degradation of crystal Blue 5 dye under visible light irradiation. The effects of pH, amount of photocatalysts, catalyst dosage, and dye concentration were also examined. The best results were reported for the concentration of 20 mg/L N-TiO2 nano-particles. Also results showed that the photodecomposition of N-TiO2 is complete at pH 11. Total organic carbon (TOC) analysis indicated 30 % mineralization of Blue 5 after 75 min irradiation.