Co-doped mesoporous titania photocatalysts prepared from a peroxo-titanium complex solution

•Peroxotitanium complex for the synthesis of doped photocatalysts.•Fabrication of N doped and N/Ag co-doped photocatalysts.•Characterization of photocatalysts by SEM, XRD, BET, DRS and XPS.•Bench scale photocatalysis under simulated solar light using crystal violet pollutant.

In this study, nitrogen doped and nitrogen/silver co-doped TiO2 photocatalsysts were fabricated using a sol–gel method at room temperature. The obtained gels were neutralized, washed with pure water, and calcined at 400 °C for 4 h. The photocatalysts were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and BET specific surface area. The results showed that spherical particles with anatase structure were produced after annealing at 400 °C. N 1s (400 eV) and Ag 3d (367.3 eV) states indicated that nitrogen doping and silver co-doping were in the form of NO bonds and AgO, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of photocatalysts was investigated using a batch reactor system exposed to artificial solar irradiation. Both nitrogen and silver/nitrogen co-doped materials were effective in the photocatalytic degradation of hexamethyl pararosaniline chloride.

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