Comparative study on visible light photocatalytic activity of Fe-modified TiO₂ powders

Abstract

Titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) powders with equal specific surface area but with different crystalline phase (rutile and anatase) were modified with Fe using FeCl 3 or Fe(acac) 3 with two modification techniques: metal cluster grafting (MCG) and chemisorption calcination cycle (CCC). Then, visible-light photocatalytic activity of the obtained powders was evaluated by the decomposition of gaseous 2-propanol (IPA). The modified powders possessed almost identical morphology and specific surface area. Visible light photocatalytic activity was increased remarkably by the Fe-modified rutile-phase TiO 2 prepared using both techniques. The photocatalytic activity, action spectra, and the binding energy shift of oxygen suggest that these two techniques provide different mechanisms for visible light photocatalytic activity.