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 TiO2photocatalysts from TiS2and HCl. Crystalline TiO2was formed and sulfur could be efficiently doped into the anatase lattice under hydrothermal conditions. When the initial TiS2concentration is increased, the content of S-dopant and optical absorption in the visible region also increase. The photocatalytic activity of the S-doped TiO2was evaluated through the degradation of 4-chlorophenol under visible light irradiation. Our results show that the S-doped TiO2prepared by this hydrothermal approach possesses much higher photocatalytic activity than that obtained by the traditional high-temperature thermal annealing method.