y A simple synthesis way to obtain iron-doped TiO2 nanoparticles as photocatalytic surfaces

Mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles synthesized by the sol-gel method were impregnated with different iron contents (0.0125, 0.025, 0.1, 1.0 wt%). The samples were characterized by XRD, UV-Vis DR, N-2 adsorption/desorption, SEM and TEM. Their photocatalytic activity was evaluated in terms of the degradation and mineralization of acid orange 7 (AO7) in aqueous solution under UV-Vis and visible radiation. An iron loading of 0.1 wt% allowed enhance the photocatalytic performance. This behavior is attributed to the Fe3+ ions finely dispersed on the titania surface, whose presence decrease the band gap and could stabilize the separation between the photo-generated electron-hole pairs.