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Facile synthesis of Mn-doped TiO2 nanotubes with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

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Abstract

Titanium dioxide is a promising photocatalyst and has been widely used in many applications. However, it remains challenging to improve the photocatalytic performance of TiO2 under visible light illumination. Herein, a facile one step method was put forward to produce Mn-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTs) without the formation of manganese oxides. Intermediate band states were generated in Mn-doped TNTs, leading to enhanced visible light absorption and more efficient separation of photo-generated electron–hole pairs. The visible light photocatalysis of Mn-doped TNTs was significantly improved. The method reported here might be extended to the doping of other elements in TNTs and provides opportunities for the design of advanced photocatalysts.

Graphical Abstract

Mn-doped TiO2 nanotubes were developed by a facile method without the formation of separate manganese oxides, which demonstrated significantly improved photocatalytic performance under visible light illumination.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 61604058), and Guangdong Science and Technology Department (Grant No. 2015A020215011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenxing Xu, Chaonan Li, Nianqing Fu, Wenfang Li & Guoge Zhang

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  1. Zhenxing Xu
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  2. Chaonan Li
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  5. Guoge Zhang
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Correspondence to Guoge Zhang.

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Xu, Z., Li, C., Fu, N. et al. Facile synthesis of Mn-doped TiO2 nanotubes with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity. J Appl Electrochem 48, 1197–1203 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-018-1198-y

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