Photocatalytic activities of C–N-doped TiO2 nanotube array/carbon nanorod composite

A C–N-doped TiO2 nanotube (NT)/carbon nanorod composite is fabricated by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Carbon nanorods are grown from the TiO2 NTs, and partly graphitized, while TiO2 is in the mixture of anatase and rutile. The C–N doping shifts the absorption edge of TiO2 NTs to the visible light region; the formed carbon nanorods promote the charge carrier transfer from the TiO2 surface to the electrolyte. Under the simulated solar light irradiation, the C–N-doped TiO2 NTs show higher photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methyl orange (MO) than the undoped TiO2 NTs.