Synthesis of C,N,S-tridoped mesoporous titania with enhanced visible light-induced photocatalytic activity

C,N,S-tridoped mesoporous titania was synthesized via a combined sol–gel process with surfactant-assisted templating method using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the structure-directing agent. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), N2 adsorption–desorption measurements (BET) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red X-3B in aqueous solution. The results showed that the prepared titania was mesoporous structured and exhibited stronger absorption in the visible light region with red shift in the absorption edge. The prepared C,N,S-tridoped mesoporous titanias showed high photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. The high activity can be attributed to the synergetic effects of large surface area, red shift in absorption edge, strong absorption in visible light region and mixed phase structures of the C,N,S-tridoped mesoporous titania.