Preparation of Yb-Er Doped with TiO2 Photo-catalyst in Microwave Ionic Liquids and Microwave Enhanced Photo-catalytic Activity

Yb and Er co-doped TiO2 photo-catalysts were synthesized by microwave drying method and sol-gel method with room temperature ionic liquid as a reaction medium. The purpose of the experiment was order to improve the photo-catalytic activity and accelerate the degradation of pollutants, for example methyl orange. The structure and morphology of TiO2-Yb-Er were characterized with XRD, IR and SEM. The photo-catalytic activity was respectively investigated by microwave irradiation (MW) and ultraviolet irradiation (UV) and microwave irradiation with ultraviolet irradiation (MW-UV) with the photo-catalytic degradation of methyl orange solution as simulated pollutants. The results showed that the TiO2-Yb-Er catalysts prepared at the optimum condition had higher photo-catalytic activity.