Investigation on degradation of methyl parathion using visible light in the presence of Cr⁺³ and N-doped TiO<inf>2</inf>

Nitrogen (N) and Chromium (Cr) doped TiO2 was prepared by sol-gel process. A clear shift in the onset light absorption from UV region (<380) to visible region (>500 nm) was observed for the N-doped samples. The XRD results revealed the decrease in particle size with increasing N content in the lattice of anatase TiO2. Nitrogen doping does not alter the phase of anatase TiO2. The SEM and TEM images of N-TiO2 showed that the particle size is in the range of 20-25nm. The chemical nature of N in the N-TiO2 was evolved through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The presence of different types of N species have been observed corresponding to different oxidation states and the presence of Ti-N and O-Ti-N have been confirmed from the observed binding energy values. Photocatalytic decomposition of methyl parathion was carried out in the visible region and found that N-doped TiO2 showed better catalytic activity than Cr and Cr/N doped TiO2. © (2010) Trans Tech Publications.