The role of NH3 atmosphere in preparing nitrogen-doped TiO2 by mechanochemical reaction

NH3 atmosphere in ball milling plays an important role in preparing TiO2−XNX by a simple mechanochemical reaction. The results show that the structure transformation of titania milled in NH3 is greatly delayed compared with that in air. The specific surface area of titania milled in NH3 for 2 h is two times larger than that in air. It was also found that titania prepared in NH3 has obvious absorbance for visible light. Mechanochemical milling in NH3 atmosphere offers a new route to prepare TiO2−XNX with high surface area.