Synthesis of Fe3+ doped ordered mesoporous TiO2 with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity and highly crystallized anatase wall

Fe3+ doped mesoporous TiO2 with ordered mesoporous structure were successfully prepared by the solvent evaporation-induced self-assembly process using P123 as soft template. The properties and structure of Fe3+ doped mesoporous TiO2 were characterized by means of XRD, EPR, BET, TEM, and UV-vis absorption spectra. The characteristic results clearly show that the amount of Fe3+ dopant affects the mesoporous structure as well as the visible light absorption of the catalysts. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared mesoporous TiO2 was evaluated from an analysis of the photodegradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. The results indicate that the sample of 0.50%Fe-MTiO2 exhibits the highest visible light photocatalytic activity compared with other catalysts.