Visible-light photocatalytic properties of Mo-C codoped anatase TiO2 films prepared by magnetron sputtering

A range of different contents of Mo-C codoped TiO2 films were sputtered by using home-made Mo-C codoped TiO2 targets, which were sintered by mixing the Mo2C and TiO2 powder with different mole ratio. We found that the Mo and C ions were successfully incorporated into the lattice of TiO2 films. As a result, the band gap of TiO2 was reduced and the visible-light photocatalytic property was enhanced. The photocatalytic performance of Mo-C codoped TiO2 films was strictly relevant with the band gap and there was a best codoping concentration of 0.01% for the TiO2 film, which processed the smallest band gap and the best photocatalytic property. If the codoping concentration increased, the photocatalytic performance decreased dramatically. Our results suggest that sputtering technique is a convenient method to prepare Mo-C codoped TiO2 films with tunable doping content and high photocatalytic performance.