Carboxylated Carbon Species Sensitized Nano-TiO2 for Full Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysis

As a classical photocatalyst, nano-TiO2 has been widely investigated globally. However, achieving its photocatalytic activity within the spectral range of 400 to 740 nm through a facile approach remains a challenge. Herein, carboxylated carbon species sensitized nano-TiO2 was successfully synthesized by a low-temperature (300 °C) carbonization method using ethanol as carbon source and modifier and commercially available nano-TiO2 as titanium source. The obtained sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited excellent full visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation performance. The synthesized TiO2 samples were comprehensively analyzed using a range of characterization techniques. The results indicate that the sensitization of carboxylated carbon species endows the nano-TiO2 with full-visible light spectral response properties and facilitates the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which leads to excellent full visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation performance. This study presents a novel strategy for broadening the spectral response and facilitating the industrial scale-up of commercially available nano-TiO2.