SYNTHESIS AND PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF CERIUM-DOPED AND CERIUM-BORON CO-DOPED TiO2 NANOPARTICLES

Cerium-doped and cerium-boron co-doped titanium dioxide photocatalysts were synthesized by non-aqueous sol-gel procedure. Titania samples were prepared from TiCl4 and benzyl alcohol, Ce(III) nitrate and boric acid were used as cerium and boron sources. All synthesized samples had anatase phase with an average crystal size of 12 - 20 nm. The photocatalytic efficiency of pure or doped titania was tested by degradation of dye malachite green (MG) under ultraviolet (UV) and visible (Vis) irradiation. Doping with cerium and co-doping with cerium-boron did not lead to significant improvement of the photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation. Under Vis light, the cerium-boron co-modified preparations containing 0.5 % and 1 % cerium showed improved photocatalytic activity compared to pure TiO2 . The most effective photocatalytic action under visible light irradiation showed the boron single-modified titania sample.