Ionic liquid mediated synthesis of nitrogen, carbon and fluorine-codoped rutile TiO2 nanorods for improved UV and visible light photocatalysis

The application of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF4]) ionic liquid (IL) as a designer solvent for the synthesis of multiple nonmetal (N, C and F) codoped rutile titania (TiO2) nanorods is presented. The incorporation of multiple nonmetals within the TiO2 lattice was achieved by controlled heating of a semi-crystalline organic-inorganic complex formed via ammonia-driven hydrolysis of a titanium precursor in [BMIM][BF4]. These multiple nonmetal codoped rutile NCF-TiO2 nanorods showed a remarkable improvement in UV and visible light photocatalysis performance over commercial nanoparticulate Degussa P25 anatase TiO2.