In this paper, TiO2 prepared with an aqueous sol-gel synthesis by peptization process is doped with nitrogen precursor to extend its activity towards the visible region. Three N-precursors are used: urea, ethylenediamine and triethylamine. Different molar N/Ti ratios are tested and the synthesis is adapted for each dopant. For urea- and trimethylamine-doped samples, anatase-brookite TiO2 nanoparticles of 6–8 nm are formed, with a specific surface area between 200 and 275 m2·g−1. In ethylenediamine-doped samples, the formation of rutile phase is observed, and TiO2 nanoparticles of 6–8 nm with a specific surface area between 185 and 240 m2·g−1 are obtained. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and diffuse reflectance measurements show the incorporation of nitrogen in TiO2 materials through Ti–O–N bonds allowing light absorption in the visible region. Photocatalytic tests on the remediation of water polluted with p-nitrophenol show a marked improvement for all doped catalysts under visible light. The optimum doping, taking into account cost, activity and ease of synthesis, is up-scaled to a volume of 5 L and compared to commercial Degussa P25 material. This up-scaled sample shows similar properties compared to the lab-scale sample, i.e., a photoactivity 4 times higher than commercial P25.

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A new type of highly basic catalysts is obtained by promoting Mg–Al layered double hydroxides with sodium aluminate. The Mg–Al mixed oxides obtained by the calcination of pristine hydrotalcites are poorly active in the synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate (DCM). Pure sodium aluminate on the other hand is highly active in this reaction, but it is also highly corrosive, making its handling problematic. Remarkably, promoting hydrotalcites with low amounts of sodium aluminate is sufficient to reach high yields. At 90 °C, with 3 wt % catalyst and with a DMC/glycerol ratio of 2:1, a glycerol conversion of 92 % was achieved after 30 min over the 10 wt % NaAlO2/hydrotalcite catalyst with almost 100 % selectivity towards glycerol carbonate. The texture and the crystallinity of the catalysts were strongly affected by the addition of NaAlO2. The high activity was clearly correlated with the boost in basicity brought about by sodium aluminate promotion. Whereas pristine hydrotalcites possess only weak basic sites, the basicity of the catalysts increased drastically upon promotion with NaAlO2, both in amount and strength. Diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy coupled with CO2 adsorption measurements revealed the presence of surface carbonates arising from strongly basic sites. Importantly, our study demonstrates that these basic catalysts are truly heterogeneous, stable, and reusable.

In this paper, several TiO2 materials doped with zirconia precursor (0.7, 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0 mol%) were synthesized by an easy aqueous sol-gel synthesis at ambient temperature. This method consisted in the peptization of the TiO2 colloid in presence of HNO3. The corresponding pure TiO2 material was also synthesized for comparison. The performances and the physicochemical properties of these materials were compared to the well-known Evonik P25 photocatalyst.The physico-chemical characterizations showed that nano-crystalline anatase-brookite particles were produced with the sol-gel process, with higher specific surface area than P25 (~ 200 m 2 g -1 vs. 47 m 2 g -1 ). All samples presented a higher visible absorption than P25. The XPS spectra showed that all the samples were doped with nitrogen and that mixed TiO2-ZrO2 oxide materials were obtained when doping with zirconia precursor.Photoactivity was evaluated through the degradation of p-nitrophenol in water. On the one hand, under UV/visible light, the ZrO2 doping increased the degradation efficiency of the pure TiO2 catalyst due to a better charge separation in the mixed TiO2-ZrO2 oxides. The activity of the sample with the highest dopant content was even higher than the one of P25. On the other hand, under visible light, all samples were much more efficient than P25. This activity shift towards visible range was due to the N-doping of the catalysts, with a slight improvement for the doped ones.Finally, the feasibility of producing films starting from an aqueous suspension of the photocatalyst was assessed on P25, pure TiO2 and the best doped material. The photoactivity of these films, evaluated on the degradation of methylene blue under UV-A light, showed that the sample with the highest dopant concentration had an efficiency 4 times higher than pure TiO2 and 20 times higher than P25.

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