N-Rich Doped Anatase TiO<sub>2</sub> with Smart Defect Engineering as Efficient Photocatalysts for Acetaldehyde Degradation
Mingzhuo Wei,
Zhijun Li,
Peijiao Chen,
Lei Sun,
Shilin Kang,
Tianwei Dou,
Yang Qu,
Liqiang Jing
Affiliations
Mingzhuo Wei
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center for Catalytic Technology, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Zhijun Li
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center for Catalytic Technology, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Peijiao Chen
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center for Catalytic Technology, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Lei Sun
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center for Catalytic Technology, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Shilin Kang
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center for Catalytic Technology, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Tianwei Dou
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center for Catalytic Technology, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Yang Qu
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center for Catalytic Technology, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Liqiang Jing
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center for Catalytic Technology, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Nitrogen (N) doping is an effective strategy for improving the solar-driven photocatalytic performance of anatase TiO2, but controllable methods for nitrogen-rich doping and associated defect engineering are highly desired. In this work, N-rich doped anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (4.2 at%) were successfully prepared via high-temperature nitridation based on thermally stable H3PO4-modified TiO2. Subsequently, the associated deep-energy-level defects such as oxygen vacancies and Ti3+ were successfully healed by smart photo-Fenton oxidation treatment. Under visible-light irradiation, the healed N-doped TiO2 exhibited a ~2-times higher activity of gas-phase acetaldehyde degradation than the non-treated one and even better than standard P25 TiO2 under UV-visible-light irradiation. The exceptional performance is attributed to the extended spectral response range from N-rich doping, the enhanced charge separation from hole capturing by N-doped species, and the healed defect levels with the proper thermodynamic ability for facilitating O2 reduction, depending on the results of ∙O2− radicals and defect measurement by electron spin resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atmosphere-controlled surface photovoltage spectra, etc. This work provides an easy and efficient strategy for the preparation of high-performance solar-driven TiO2 photocatalysts.
