Simple fabrication and photocatalytic activity of S-doped TiO2 under low power LED visible light irradiation

A series of S-doped TiO2 with visible-light photocatalytic activity were prepared by a simple hydrolysis method using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) as precursors. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrophotometer (UV–Vis DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). With the doping of S, photocatalysts with small crystal size, high content of anatase phase were obtained. The result showed that S-doped TiO2 demonstrate considerably high photoactivity under low power visible LED light irradiation, while undoped TiO2 and the Degussa P25 have nearly no activity at all. The possible mechanism of S-doped for the visible-light activity was discussed.