Enhanced visible light-driven photodegradation of rhodamine B by Ti3+ self-doped TiO2@Ag nanoparticles prepared using Ti vapor annealing

In recent years, Ti 3+ self-doped TiO 2 (B-TiO 2 ) exhibits great potential as a photocatalyst. In this work, Ti vapor-assisted annealing is first demonstrated for Ti 3+ doping and improving the visible absorption of TiO 2 . TEM results exhibit the formation of disordered layer, indicating the successful fabricating of B-TiO 2 . The absorption increase in TiO 2 caused by Ti vapor annealing reaches nearly 50% in the visible wavelength range. Benefiting from the absorption increase, the photocatalytic performance of TiO 2 after Ti vapor annealing increases by 60–70%. Surface modification of Ag onto B-TiO 2 is also carried out to further improve its optical property. Ag-modified Ti 3+ self-doped TiO 2 (B-TiO 2 @Ag) exhibits great visible photodegradation behavior to RhB. The RhB degradation rate reaches 97.76% after 60 min of visible light irradiation. Electrochemical performance tests demonstrate that as-prepared TiO 2 @Ag has lower resistance than W-TiO 2 . The results indicate that B-TiO 2 @Ag has great potential in solar photocatalytic degradation of pollutant.