Tuning the band-gap energy of TiO2-xCx nanoparticle for high performance photo-catalyst

We describe a method tuning the band-gap energy (Eg) of visible light sensitive TiO2-xCx nanoparticle. Eg tends to become smaller with the increase in the amount of carbon dopant in TiO2-xCx nanoparticle due to the increase in excess electrons. Photo-catalytic oxidative activity, however, did not depend on only the value of Eg, but also the energy level of valence band. TiO1.96C0.04 nanoparticle having Eg of 2.6 eV showed outstanding performance in oxidative decomposition of phenol under the irradiation of visible light.