Nanotubular titanic acid obtained by hydrothermal method was selected as a precursor to prepare platinum decorated TiO2-xNx via a facile one-pot route. Photocatalytic activity of Pt/TiO2-xNx for visible-light induced degradation of propylene was evaluated in relation to the synergistic effect among single-electron-trapped oxygen vacancies and dopants N plus Pt. It was proposed that oxygen vacancies induce a new sub-band between the valence band and conduction band of TiO2 resulting in visible light response of Pt/TiO2-xNx; the synergistic effect among oxygen vacancies and dopants leads to enhanced photocatalytic activity of as-synthesized Pt/TiO2-xNx. Moreover, the effect of chemical state of dopants on visible light photoactivity was discussed in detail.

Facile Synthesis and Photocatalytic Activity of Platinum Decorated TiO2-xNx: Perspective to Oxygen Vacancies and Chemical State of Dopants. Y.Wang, M.Jing, M.Zhang, J.Yang: Catalysis Communications, 2012, 20, 46–50