Characterizations of lanthanum trivalent ions/TiO2 nanopowders catalysis prepared by plasma spray

Lanthanum trivalent ions (La(3+)) doped titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) nanopowders in the range of 20-60 nm were prepared successfully by plasma spray in the self-developed plasma spray equipment. The photocatalytic activity of samples at different doping concentrations in photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange was discussed. The nanopowders prepared were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible spectra, photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that La(3+) doping increased the photocatalytic activity of TiO(2) greatly, the optimal doping concentration was 0.5 at%. The La(3+) doping decreases the particle size and the distribution of particle sizes becomes more uniform. The doped powders were the mixture of anatase and rutile phase. The contents of anatase phase decreased firstly and then increased with an increase in the contents of La(3+). The intrinsic absorption band of La(3+) doped TiO(2) nanopowders appears red shift from that of pure TiO(2) nanopowders. The intensity of PL spectra increases and then decreases with increasing the content of La(3+). The PL spectral intensity reaches its peak when the ratio of La(3+)/TiO(2) is 0.2 at%. There are O, Ti, C and La elements in the prepared La(3+) doped TiO(2) nanopowders, La element still exists in trivalent and Ti element always exists in tetravalent.