Preparation and photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped mesoporous titanium dioxide nanocrystalline photocatalysts

Fe-doped mesoporous titanium dioxide nanocrystalline photocatalysts were prepared by the sol–gel method. The as-prepared samples were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N2 adsorption–desorption measurements. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by photocatalytic oxidation of acetone in air. It was found that a small amount of Fe dopant in mesoporous TiO2 powders could obviously enhance the photocatalytic activity, and when the atomic ratio of Fe/Ti was in the range of 0.05–0.25%, the photocatalytic activity of the samples was higher than that of Degussa P25 and un-doped mesoporous TiO2 powders. This was ascribed to the fact that a small amount of Fe dopant reduced the recombination of photo-generated electrons and holes in the mesoporous TiO2 powders during heterogeneous photocatalytic reaction.