Synthesis of phosphorus-doped titania with mesoporous structure and excellent photocatalytic activity

•P-doped TiO2 is prepared by hydrothermal method and sol–gel treatment.•P-TiO2 has porous structure, high surface area and photocatalytic activity.•P exists in a pentavalent-oxidation state (P5+) or as PO43− group.

In this paper, phosphorus-doped nanocrystalline titania (P-doped TiO2) with mesoporous structure has been prepared via hydrothermal treatment and sol–gel method respectively. The obtained samples are characterized by XRD, nitrogen adsorption, SEM, FT-IR and XPS analysis. The result demonstrates that P-doped TiO2 via hydrothermal treatment exhibits mesoporous structure, large specific surface area and excellent photocatalytic activity compared to those prepared by sol–gel method and commercial Degussa P25 TiO2.

Graphical abstractP-doped TiO2 is prepared by hydrothermal method, with porous structure, high surface area and good photocatalytic activity for methylene blue and HCHO.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide