Low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis of S-doped TiO2 with visible light photocatalytic activity

A one-step low-temperature hydrothermal route was developed for the synthesis of S-doped TiO2 photocatalysts from TiS2 and HCl. Crystalline TiO2 was formed and sulfur could be efficiently doped into the anatase lattice under hydrothermal conditions. When the initial TiS2 concentration is increased, the content of S-dopant and optical absorption in the visible region also increase. The photocatalytic activity of the S-doped TiO2 was evaluated through the degradation of 4-chlorophenol under visible light irradiation. Our results show that the S-doped TiO2 prepared by this hydrothermal approach possesses much higher photocatalytic activity than that obtained by the traditional high-temperature thermal annealing method.