Abstract:
Pure nano TiO
2 and La
3+-Pr
3+ co-doped nano-TiO
2(La
3+-Pr
3+/TiO
2) catalyst were prepared by a sol-gel method with TBT and distilled water as forerunner body, ethanol as solvent and glacial acetic acid as inhibitor. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, TEM and UV-Vis. The UV-light photocatalytic performance of the obtained materials was evaluated by methylene orange decomposition. The results show that the prepared samples are all pure anatase phase nano-TiO
2 and their diffraction peak broadens obviously after La
3+-Pr
3+ co-doped. Compared with pure TiO
2, the particle sizes of La
3+-Pr
3+ co-doped TiO
2 are smaller, its specific surface area is larger, and its absorption edge shifts more remarkably towards longer wavelength. The photocatalytic activity of La
3+-Pr
3+ co-doped TiO
2 is higher than that of TiO
2 or La
3+(Pr
3+)-doped TiO
2, which is enhanced with the La
3+ and Pr
3+ contents, reaching the maximum at the La
3+/TiO
2 and Pr
3+/TiO
2 molar ratios of 1.0% and 0.2%, respectively. The enhanced visible photocatalytic performance is attributed to the synergetic effect of La
3+ and Pr
3+ co-doped.