Preparation and characterization of Fe–TiO2 films with high visible photoactivity by autoclaved-sol method at low temperature

A series of uniform and transparent Fe-doped TiO2 films were prepared by autoclaved-sol method at low temperature. The as-prepared films were characterized by XRD, DRS, EPR and AFM. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated based on the degradation of Rhodamine B solution under visible light. It was found that all the films were composed of mixed-phase crystal of anatase and brookite. Fe3+ ions have been successfully doped into the TiO2 crystal lattice by substituting Ti4+, thus inducing significant absorption shift toward visible region compared with the pure TiO2 films. EPR result further illustrated the doped Fe ions entered into the TiO2 lattice. AFM reveals that doping of Fe ions increases the mean roughness and secondary particle size. The 0.5% Fe–TiO2 films demonstrated the highest photocatalytic activity under visible light due to the interaction of active sites, impurity energy level and contact surface area.

Graphical abstractFe3+ ions have been successfully doped into the TiO2 crystal lattice by substituting Ti4+, thus inducing significant absorption shift toward visible region compared with the pure TiO2 films and higher photocatalytic activity.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide