A new method for preparation of rutile phase titania photoactive under visible light

New preparation method of rutile phase TiO2 revealing photocatalytic activity under visible light is described. The photocatalysts were prepared using sol–gel synthesis followed by a flash combustion at 850 °C. As found, addition of glycerol to the titanium isopropoxide during sol–gel synthesis strongly influences size of TiO2 crystallites. Rutile-type TiO2 obtained showed ability to degrade photocatalytically phenol under visible light. Effectiveness of the mineralisation of phenol was comparable or insignificantly higher than these of commercial TiO2 samples: Evonik P25 and R-001.

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► A new method of preparation of rutile-TiO2 photoactive under visible light was proposed.
► The glycerol as solvent on sol–gel step and very short time of combustion process (10 min.) are advantages of this new method of rutile preparation.
► XRD, TEM, UV–vis, FT-IR measurements were used to catalysts characterization.
► Mineralisation of phenol under visible light with prepared rutile-TiO2 was somewhat higher than on P25 and R-001 samples.