Study on preparation and properties of Y-TiO2 photocatalyst

Yttrium doped TiO2 photocatalysts were synthesized by sol-gel process using yttrium nitrate and tetrabutyl titanate as precursors and characterized by XRD, DSC-TGA, FT-Raman, UV-Vis and PL methods. The influences of different preparation condition on properties were studied. The photocatalytic activity of Y-TiO2 was investigated by measuring the degradation rate of methylene-blue (MB) under the irradiation of fluorescent lamp. The results show that yttrium doping can not only inhibit the phase transition of anatase to rutile but also broaden the absorption region to visible light and inhibit the recombination of the photo-generated electrons and holes. The photocatalytic activity of the sample with molar ratio of Y:TiO2 =0.6% and sintered at 500°C for 4 h was the best under the irradiation of fluorescent light, it was 97.32% within 3 h and significantly higher than that of Degussa P25(58.62%) under the same experimental conditions.