Cd/In-Codoped TiO2 nanochips for high-efficiency photocatalytic dye degradation

Abstract

Titanium dioxide has been widely investigated in the field of photocatalysis research. However, the wide bandgap (3.2 eV) greatly limits its practical applications because only ultraviolet light can be absorbed by bare TiO₂. Herein, we report a facile approach to prepare Cd/In-codoped TiO₂ nanochips with the capability of visible light absorption. Such bimetallic-doped TiO₂ was synthesized through a two-step process: Cd/In/S-TiO₂ gels were first synthesized by mixing the preformed Cd–In–S supertetrahedral nanoclusters with a titanium source, and the subsequent pyrolytic process effectively converted the gels into Cd/In-TiO₂ nanochips with a thickness of ∼2.19 nm and a uniform diameter of ∼10.60 nm. Interestingly, the absorption band of Cd/In-TiO₂ nanochips was adjusted by pyrolysis temperature, which further regulated the photocatalytic efficiency of dye degradation under visible light. Current research demonstrates that doping TiO₂ by multimetallic sulfide nanoclusters opens up a new door to further enrich the dopants in TiO₂ and broaden their potential applications.