Synthesis and Characterization of N-doped TiO2 Nanowires with Visible Light Response

Unique N-doped TiO2 nanowires with one-dimensional nanostructure were synthesized in presence of NH3 gas at different temperature with titanate nanowires as precursor. Structure and morphology of the obtained samples were investigated by TEM, HRTEM, SEM, XRD, XPS, and UV–Vis. The results revealed that a clear visible-light response could be induced by N-doping. Nanowire structure was maintained after N-hybridization of TiO2 framework even at 600 °C, while distance between two contiguous layers shrinked a little. The incorporated nitrogen atoms are located in position of oxygen in TiO2 lattice to form O–Ti–N structure according to XPS result. An excellent photocatalytic activity of nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanowires for degradation of methyl orange was achieved.