Controlled synthesis of mesoporous codoped titania nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activity

The photocatalytic (PC) activity of anatase titania nanoparticles can be improved through codoping with transition metals and nitrogen. In addition, the PC activity can also be improved by creating monodisperse, mesoporous nanoparticles of titania. The question naturally arose as to whether combining these two characteristics would result in further improvement in the PC activity or not. Herein, we describe the synthesis and photocatalytic characteristics of codoped, monodisperse anatase titania. The transition metals tested in the polydisperse and the monodisperse forms were Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu. In each case, it was found that the monodisperse version had a higher PC activity compared to the corresponding polydisperse version.