title: Nb, F-codoped TiO2 hollow spheres with high visible light photocatalytic activity.
abstract: Nb, F-codoped TiO2 hollow spheres (NFTSs) were successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method with niobium oxide, hydrofluoric acid, and tetrabutyl titanate. The obtained spheres were hollow, with a diameter of about 2 μm, and the sphere wall was made up of nanorods arranged close together. The NFTSs presented anatase phase with more {001} facets exposed, which could be mainly attributed to F ions which were preferentially adsorbed on the {001} facets during the crystal growth process. Ti3+ states in NFTSs were increased due to Nb, F-codoping, resulting in the decrease of the band gap and the red shift of the absorption edge of the NFTSs. The NFTSs exhibited 20.1% higher photocatalytic speed compared to P25 on the degradation of methylene orange.
authors.forename: Mingqi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education & International Center for Dielectric Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China. ylxu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Youlong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiao