Facile and Scaled-Up Synthesis of Inorganic Metallic Ions Doped Nanoscaled Titanium Dioxides and their Enhanced Photocatalytic Property for Phenol Degradation

Photodegradation emerged as an effective technology for elimination of phenol and phenolic compound contaminants. In this paper, we developed an facile and scaled-up synthesis method for production of nanoscaled titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts doped with inorganic metallic ions of Sn, Zn, Fe, Cr, Mo, W, V, Ce, Au, Ag, Pt, and Pd. The obtained photocatalysts show relatively small sizes around 10 nm with highly crystallinity and narrow size distribution, and their efficiencies for photocatalytic degradation of phenol are greatly enhanced by doping the metallic ions. The photocatalytic efficiencies of nanoscaled TiO2photocatalysts for phenol degradation could be improved to 93.6%, 89% and 98% by doping 2 wt.% Cr, 10 wt.% Ce, and 10 wt.% Pd, respectively, compared with that of the undoped nanoscaled TiO2photocatalysts around 42.5%. The doped nanoscaled TiO2photocatalysts may find potential application in treatment of phenol and phenolic compounds contaminants in industrial waste water.