Abstract
Uniform nitrogen-doped titania mesoporous microspheres were synthesized by a simple one-step solvothermal treatment. Urea was added as pH adjusting agent and the source of nitrogen for doping. The dual-role of urea helps the formation of meso porous structure and the doping of nitrogen into titania to be completed simultaneously during the solvothermal process. Mesoporous microspheres were formed through the random aggregation of nanometer-sized particles. The nitrogen doped titania mesoporous spheres shows higher visible light photocatalytic activity than the undoped titania or commercial Degussa P25. The amount of urea shows the crucial effect on the mesopore size and nitrogen doping amount in titania.
