Preparation and characterization of a novel activated carbon‐supported N‐doped visible light response photocatalyst (TiO 2− x N y /AC)

A photocatalyst, TiO 2−x N y /AC (activated carbon (AC) supported N‐doped TiO 2 ), highly active in both the Vis and UV range, was prepared by calcination of the TiO 2 precursor prepared by acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis in an ammonia atmosphere. The powders were characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, N 2 adsorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and phenol degradation. The doped N in the TiO 2 crystal lattice creates an electron‐occupied intra‐band gap allowing electron‐hole pair generation under Vis irradiation (500–560 nm). The TiO 2− x N y /AC exhibited high levels of activity and the same activity trends for phenol degradation under both Vis and UV irradiation: TiO 2−x N y /AC calcined at 500 °C for 4 h exhibited the highest activity. The band‐gap level newly formed by doped N can act as a center for the photo‐generated holes and is beneficial for the UV activity enhancement. The performance of the prepared TiO 2− x N y /AC photocatalyst revealed its practical potential in the field of solar photocatalytic degradation of aqueous contaminants. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry