Zn²+-La³+ Co-Doped TiO2 Photocatalyst for the Purification of Air

The Zn²⁺-La³⁺Co-doped TiO₂ photocatalysts prepared by doping lanthanum ion and zinc ion into TiO₂ structure in a sol-gel process were shown to be efficient photocatalyst for the purification of Indoor air.The catalyst samples were then characterized by XRD and UV-vis analyses. The analytical results demonstrated that the lanthanum- zinc co-doping could inhibit the phase transformation of TiO₂ and enhance the thermal stability of TiO₂ structure. In addition, it was found that the lanthanum-zinc co-doping could reduce the crystallite size and increase the Ti³⁺ content on the surface of the catalysts with the increase of lanthanum doping. Their high photocatalytiy efficiency was due to the mechanisms for the enhancement of the activity of the Zn²⁺-La³⁺ Co-doped photocatalysts might be attributed to both the improvement of the adsorption of organic substrate and the separation of electron-hole pairs.