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Here we report a low-cost and facile synthesis approach for carbon-doped mesoporous anatase TiO2 by using Ti(BuO)4 as a source for both Ti and carbon through xerogel carbonization in a hypoxic atmosphere. The resultant mesoporous C-TiO2 with high crystallinity exhibits excellent photocatalytic activities for degradation of methyl orange (MO) and phenol under visible light irradiation.

Surface oxygen vacancy defects and acetate ligands can synergistically enhance the visible-light photocatalytic activity of nano-TiO2 for phenol degradation.

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Sulfated Ce‐doped TiO2 photocatalysts, with improved visible light photocatalytic activity, are prepared by sol‐gel method and via impregnation with diluted sulfuric acid. The synthesized samples are characterized by means of X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–Vis DRS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, temperature‐programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3‐TPD) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). To investigate the effect of Ce doping as well as acid sites on the photoactivity of the synthesized photocatalyst, photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B in an aqueous solution is used as a probe reaction to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the as‐prepared samples under visible light irradiation. It reveals that Ce doping can improve the photocatalytic response of TiO2 to visible light and the presence of Ce4+/Ce3+ redox process facilitates the separation of photo‐generated electrons and holes. In addition, the impregnation can create Lewis acid sites on the obtained catalyst surface. Lewis acid sites on the catalyst surface could increase the amount of adsorbed oxygen (Oad) and consequently improve the transform efficiency of Ce3+ to Ce4+. Thereafter an increase in the phtocatalytic activity of sulfated Ce‐doped TiO2 is achieved. The possible mechanism of RhB degradation by sulfated Ce‐doped TiO2 photocatalyst is preliminarily discussed. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 494–504, 2017