Enhanced photocatalytic activity of mesoporous S-N-codoped TiO₂loaded with Ag nanoparticles

Mesoporous S-N-codoped TiO 2 photocatalyst loaded with Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via a facile photochemical deposition approach. The samples were characterized by using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and UV-visible spectra. TEM images showed that metallic Ag NPs were deposited on S-N-codoped TiO 2 NPs, which was further confirmed by EDS and surface plasmon absorption shown in UV-visible spectra. The samples possessed a homogeneous pore diameter and a high surface area of 153.3 m 2 g −1 for the Ag-loaded S-N-codoped TiO 2 -vis samples, which facilitated the great enhancement of adsorption capacity for dye methyl orange (MO) molecules. Compared with S-N-codoped TiO 2 , Ag-loaded photocatalysts exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic activity under visible irradiation (λ ⩾ 420 nm), which was more than 14 times higher photocatalytic activity for MO degradation than that of P25 TiO 2 under the same condition.