Doping Mechanism of N-TiO2/ZnO Composite Nanotube Arrays and Their Photocatalytic Activity

TiO2/ZnO and N-doped TiO2/ZnO composite nanotube arrays were synthesized by the sol-gel method using ZnO nanorod arrays as a template. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis) were used to characterize the samples. The nanotubes had a uniform hexagonal shape. The diameter and wall thickness of the nanotubes were about 100 nm and 20 nm, respectively. Some N dopants were substitutionally doped into the TiO2 lattice, while the N-O-x, N-C, and N-N were chemically absorbed onto the surface of the TiO2/ZnO composite nanotubes. Dopant-induced narrowing of the bandgap resulted from the doping of N ions into the TiO2 lattices. The surface N species enhanced the visible-light response and promoted the separation of photogenerated carriers. Compared with the TiO2/ZnO composite nanotube arrays, the N-TiO2/ZnO composite nanotube arrays exhibited higher photocatalytic activity.