Characterization of titanium dioxide doped with nitrogen and sulfur and its photocatalytic appraisal for degradation of phenol and methylene blue

Abstract

The degradation of organic dyes in the presence of modified TiO2 is still under intensive investigation. We report here an evaluation of the photocatalytic activity of nitrogen- (N-) and sulfur- (S-) doped TiO2 for the degradation of phenol and methylene blue (MB). N-doped TiO2 (N–TiO2), S-doped TiO2 (S–TiO2), and N–S-doped TiO2 (N–S–TiO2) were prepared using the sol–gel method. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated in a batch reactor using phenol and MB as models of pollutants. In addition, this investigation was performed using a household lamp as the visible light source. Properties of the synthesized materials in terms of Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and photocatalytic ability were examined. Our study shows that N–S–TiO2 exhibits better photocatalytic degradation ability for all the considered dyes compared to the other doped TiO2 materials. In conclusion, we have successfully prepared and evaluated the photocatalytic activity of N- and S-doped TiO2 for the degradation of phenol and MB using an ordinary household lamp.