Effective electron-hole separation over N-doped TiO2 materials for improved photocatalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol using visible light

摘要

BACKGROUND Nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst was synthesized successfully by a low temperature microwave-assisted sol-gel method. Ethylenediamine was used as a source of nitrogen dopants to extend and improve the photoresponse of the materials to visible light. The photocatalysts were characterized by several techniques to determine the structural, textural and optical characteristics. The activity of the materials was tested in the photoreduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) under visible light.