Enhanced visible-light responsive photocatalytic activity of N-doped TiO_2 thoroughly mesoporous nanofibers

摘要

Improving the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO_2 semiconductor is crucially important and highly desired for its practical applications. In the present work, aiming to broaden the photoresponse window and limit the photocatalyst aggregation, we reported the exploration of N-doped TiO_2 thoroughly mesoporous nanofibers with high purity in morphology via a foaming-assisted electrospin-ning strategy. The foaming agents and urea were introduced in the raw materials to create the mesopores and incorporate the N dopants into the conventional solid TiO_2 nanofibers, respectively, which could be accomplished simultaneously over one-step calcination process. The synergetic combination of N dopants and one-dimensional mesoporous nanostructure allow the TiO_2 fibers to exhibit significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity toward the Rhodamine B and hydrogen evolution, as compared to those of N-doped solid and intrinsic thoroughly mesoporous counterparts, suggesting their promising applications in water purification and energy supply.