Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange on La-In co-doped TiO2

A modified sol-gel method was applied to prepare La and In co-doped TiO2 photocatalyst. The materials were investigated by XRD, XPS, SEM, and N2 adsorption-desorption methods. Photocatalytic activity of the material was evaluated using methyl orange as the pollutant. The results indicate that the materials containing different content of La are in anatase TiO2 structure. The doping of La inhibits TiO2 crystal formation, while La exists in TiO2 crystal lattice by substituting Ti. La doping in suitable amount results in shrinking pore size and increasing surface area of the material. The 0.3%La-3%In-TiO2 sample has the maximum photocatalytic activity, high adsorption capacity, and satisfactory reusability. Total methyl orange decoloration efficiency only decreases from 100% to 84.8% on 0.3%La-3%In-TiO2 after 6 reaction cycles.