Photocatalytic degradation of phenol with mesoporous TiO2−xBx

We report a facile approach for preparing mesoporous boron-doped TiO2 materials by combining the sol–gel process with the dehydration of glucose. Specifically a high surface carbon material was formed by dehydration of glucose, then used as template. This material and the TiO2 dry gel were calcinated to produce porous TiO2. The as-synthesized boron-doped TiO2 was in pure anatase crystallite phase with high surface area. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results showed that boron was incorporated into the anatase TiO2 lattice to form TiO2−xBx. The absorption spectra of TiO2−xBx extended into the visible region to 460 nm. The TiO2−xBx exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity on phenol degradation than pure TiO2. It showed that the phenol degradation by-products of TiO2−xBx were different from that of pure TiO2. Mechanism of the photocatalytic degradation of phenol at TiO2−xBx was also proposed.