Visible-light-driven titania photocatalyst co-doped with nitrogen and ferrum

Nitrogen and ferrum co-doped titania photocatalyst was prepared by the sol–gel route. The prepared photocatalyst was characterized by various techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis diffusive reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm. The photocatalytic activity of the co-doped titania photocatalyst was evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) from aqueous solution under visible light irradiation and was compared with that of the commercial TiO2 photocatalyst (Degussa P25). The results revealed that the nitrogen doping could lead to the response to visible light and that the ferrum doping could improve the photocatalytic performance. The effects of the component and the annealing temperature of the co-doped titania photocatalyst on the photocatalytic activity were investigated.