Preparation and characterization of titania photocatalyst co-doped with boron, nickel, and cerium

A type of visible-light-induced titania photocatalyst co-doped with boron, nickel, and cerium was prepared by the sol-gel route. The microstructure and optical property of the ternary co-doped photocatalyst were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-Vis diffusive reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Its photoactivity was evaluated by the degradation of phenol under visible light illumination. It was testified that boron doping led to the response to visible light and that nickel and cerium doping prohibited the recombination of the photo-generated electron-hole pairs, improving the photocatalytic performance. The results showed that the synergistic effects of boron, nickel and cerium co-doping played an important role in raising photoactivity. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.