Photocatalytic Properties of Sn-doped TiO2

The synthesis of Sn-doped titania nanoparticles (Sn content of 0, 3, 6, and 12 at. %) was carried out using sol-gel chemical route based on the common acid hydrolysis of titanium and tin tetrachlorides. Phase composition, morphology, particle size, pore size distribution and photocatalytic performance of obtained materials were systematically studied by various analytical techniques (XRD, HR-TEM, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption porosimetry, UV-Vis spectroscopy). An increase in the Sn dopant concentration causes a gradual decrease in the relative content of the anatase phase from 100 mol. % for undoped titania to about 3 mol. % for material with maximal doping concentration. Materials with a Sn atomic content of 3 and 6 at. % have the maximum values of the specific surface area (about 280-290 m2/g) that corresponds to the smallest (approximately 2.5 nm) anatase crystallite. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized Sn-doped TiO2 nanoparticles was analyzed by the method of methylene blue dye photodegradation in an aqueous solution under UV irradiation. The highest reaction rate constant and maximal methylene blue dye adsorption capacity were obtained for 3 at. % Sn-doped titania with the mixed anatase/rutile composition. The indirect optical transitions are characteristic for all synthesized materials. A decrease in the bandgap energy values with increasing Sn content from 3.21 eV for pure anatase to 2.82 eV for titania doped with 12 at. % of the Sn was observed. The growth in photocatalytic activity for the mixed-phase sample can be considered as a result of the increasing number of surface active centers due to the anatase-rutile phase transition.