A simple route for the preparation of Eu, N-codoped TiO2 nanoparticles with enhanced visible light-induced photocatalytic activity.

A simple route has been developed for the synthesis of europium, nitrogen-codoped titania photocatalysts under mild conditions (i.e., low temperature, < or = 348 K, and ambient pressure). The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) analyses. The results showed that the codoped photocatalyst with a spheroidal shape exhibited a smaller size than the undoped titania. The transformation from anatase to rutile was suppressed by doping with Eu and N atoms. Furthermore, the absorbance spectra of Eu, N-codoped TiO(2) exhibited a significant red shift to the visible region. The photocatalytic activity of Eu, N-codoped TiO(2) was evaluated by photodegradation of the dye reactive brilliant red X-3B under visible light. This codoped sample exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to N-doped TiO(2), pure TiO(2), and P25.