Preparation and Photocatalytic Activity of Fe-Ce-N Tri-Doped TiO2 Catalysts

Fe-Ce-N tri-doped TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by sol-gel method using tetrabutyl titanate as precursor. The optimal doping amount and calcinations temperature were determined. The prepared catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and the photocatalytic activity was evaluated by means of the degradation for methyl orange (MO) under UV light and daylight irradiation. The results indicated that the optimal doping amount was 1.0% N, 0.25% Fe and 0.05% Ce, and the appropriate calcination temperature was 400°C. XRD analysis showed that TiO2 existed in anatase phase completely. UV-Vis adsorption spectrum showed that Fe-Ce-N tri-doping resulted in a intense adsorption in the near UV and visible-light region and a red shift in the adsorption edge from UV range to visible range of 400-500nm. The photocatalytic activity of Fe-Ce-N tri-doped TiO2 under UV and daylight irradiation was very higher than that of bi-doped Fe-Ce-TiO2, Fe-N-TiO2, Ce-N-TiO2 and undoped TiO2. The significantly higher activity of Fe-Ce-N tri-doped TiO2 may be due to the synergetic effect of Fe, Ce and N in the tri-coped TiO2.