Fabrication and characterization of C-doped anatase TiO photocatalysts

Choi, Y.; Umebayashi, Tsutomu; Yoshikawa, Masahito

Carbon (C)-doped anatase TiO photocatalysts have been prepared by the oxidative annealing of TiC powders at 623 K for 50-100 hrs. From XRD and XPS analysis, it is clear that C is incorporated into O site of the TiO lattice. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) showed that the optical absorption edge of the C-doped anatase TiO shifted to lower energy compared with that of pure anatase TiO. The decomposition of methylene blue (MB) adsorbed on the C-doped sample was observed under a visible light range of 420-500 nm. We conclude that substitution of C for O in the TiO leads to a photocatalytic decomposition of MB under visible light irradiation.