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Synthesis and Characterization of Co-Doped Brookite Titania Photocatalysts with High Photocatalytic Activity

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Abstract

Transition metal-doping could effectively extend the light response range of TiO2 photocatalysts from the ultraviolet (UV) to the visible region. Co-doped brookite titanium dioxide (Co–TiO2) photocatalysts were synthesized via the hydrothermal method with titanium tetrachloride as the raw material and cobalt chloride hexahydrate as the dopant. The prepared Co–TiO2 photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–Vis DRS). The photocatalytic activities of Co–TiO2 photocatalysts were evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of isopropanol alcohol (IPA), a typical volatile organic compound (VOC), under visible light. The influences of different Co doping rates, initial concentrations of IPA gas and the amounts of photocatalyst addition were also studied. At the same time, the enhancement mechanism of cobalt ions as a trap for photogenerated holes was discussed. Thus, we found the optimum doping rate, initial concentration of IPA gas and amount of photocatalyst to add. The results show that the mesoporous Co–TiO2 photocatalysts possess smaller size particles, larger specific surface area, lower forbidden bandgap energy (Eg) and better photocatalytic activity than pure brookite TiO2. When the doping of Co was 7% by mass, the initial concentration of IPA gas was 1.0 × 10−6 mol/L and the addition of Co–TiO2 photocatalysts was 50 mg, the best photocatalytic activity was achieved. Furthermore, the degradation rate of IPA was up to 91%, which shows great potential for waste water treatment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (“973” program, nos. 2012CB720100 and 2014CB239300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 21406164 and 21466035), the Science and Technology Innovation Guide Funds of Civil Aviation Administration of China (MHRD20140209), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (no. 3122016L016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Xin Tan & Xianshou Huang

  2. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Tao Yu & Yang Zhao

  3. College of Science, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, 300300, China

    Yunling Zou

  4. School of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa, 850000, China

    Xiang Huang

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  1. Xin Tan
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  2. Xianshou Huang
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  3. Yunling Zou
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  4. Tao Yu
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  5. Yang Zhao
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  6. Xiang Huang
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Correspondence to Yunling Zou.

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Tan, X., Huang, X., Zou, Y. et al. Synthesis and Characterization of Co-Doped Brookite Titania Photocatalysts with High Photocatalytic Activity. Trans. Tianjin Univ. 24, 111–122 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-017-0103-9

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