Preparation and characterization of Cu-doped TiO2 nanomaterials with anatase/rutile/brookite triphasic structure and their photocatalytic activity

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 32; no. 16; pp. 21511 - 21524
• Main Authors: Zhu, Xiaodong, Zhou, Qin, Xia, Yangwen, Wang, Juan, Chen, Hongjin, Xu, Qiao, Liu, Jiawei, Feng, Wei, Chen, Shanhua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anatase; Brookite; Catalytic activity; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Copper; Electron microscopes; Materials Science; Nanomaterials; Optical and Electronic Materials; Photocatalysis; Photodegradation; Photoelectrons; Photoluminescence; Raman spectroscopy; Rhodamine; Rutile; Spectrum analysis; Surface area; Titanium dioxide; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-021-06660-5

Pure TiO 2 and Cu–doped TiO 2 containing different amounts of copper ions with anatase/rutile/brookite triphasic structure were successfully synthesized through a simple hydrothermal method. The obtained samples were characterized by X–ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X–ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV−vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analyze (BET). Both pure and Cu–doped TiO 2 show relatively high photocatalytic activity owing to their considerable surface areas. Moreover, the three–phase coexisting structure and the conversion between Cu 2+ and Cu + ions facilitate the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, which is favorable for photocatalytic performance. 1%Cu–TiO 2 exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity and the degradation degree of rhodamine B (RhB) reaches 93.5% after 30 min, which is higher than that of monophasic/biphasic 1%Cu–TiO 2 . ·O 2 − radical is the main active species, and h + and ·OH species are subsidiary in the degradation process.