N-doped TiO₂ with layered structure was obtained by solvothermal method using ethylene glycol as the sheet-structure linking agent, and pyridine as N source. N-doped TiO₂ showed good catalytic performance for photocatalytic degradation of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) owing to its high surface area, high Ti³⁺ ratio and abundant N in the layered structure.

Abstract

Layered TiO₂ sheets with high Cr(VI) photoreduction ability were prepared by template free solvothermal method using ethylene glycol (EG) as structure directing agent. EG linking function in the layered TiO₂ structure were confirmed by SEM, TEM, FTIR, XPS and so on. Moreover, the obtained large sized TiO₂ (20~50 μm in length, about 5~10 μm in width) were assembled by N-doped TiO₂ thin sheets with about 1.2 nm gap in between, resulting in very high surface area (327.5 m²/g) and abundant Ti³⁺ sites for Cr(VI) adsorption and reduction. This structure can not only have good performance during Cr(VI) photocatalysis reduction application (Cr(VI) removal rate: 0.84 mg*g⁻¹*min⁻¹), but also endow the material with good cycle ability.