Enhanced photocatalytic properties of N–P co-doped TiO₂ nanosheets with {001} facets

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) co-doped anatase TiO₂ nanosheets were realized by low-temperature self-doping N–TiO₂ followed by high-temperature P doping with foreign precursor. It is found that P doping process can maintain good TiO₂ nanosheets morphology with exposed {001} facets. Chemical state of dopants indicates that N and P atoms replace O on O sites in TiO₂ lattice. Compared with pure TiO₂ and N-doped TiO₂, N–P co-doped TiO₂ nanosheets exhibits stronger optical absorption and higher degradation rate of dye molecules in visible light regime. The enhanced photocatalytic properties are attributed to two factors. On one hand, N–P co-doping can effectively reduce band gap of TiO₂ from 3.20 to 2.48 eV, leading to an enhancement of the absorption in visible light regime. On the other hand, the presence of exposed {001} facets of TiO₂ nanosheets can induce the effective separation of photogenerated electrons and holes in reaction.