LAUSR

Abstract The anion-modified titania finds extensive application in many solar energy-mediated processes. The current study addresses the generation of anatase homogeneously co-doped with carbon and nitrogen with the help of the polyaminocarboxylate backbone of EDTA complexed with titanium. Various physicochemical techniques were used to characterize the sample from the hydrothermally hydrolyzed product of Ti-EDTA. The anatase polymorph formed from this reaction was yellow in color and suggested a defective one. The crystallites had an average size of 12 nm. The tetragonal lattice dimensions showed deviation from the pure anatase, confirming the presence of oxygen vacancies. The electron microscopy experiments demonstrated the homogeneity and its tetragonal symmetry. The XPS analysis confirmed 9.5 and 1.5 % of carbon and nitrogen-doped in the anatase as Ti–O–C/N species. Raman spectrum indicated lattice disorder caused by the co-doping carbon and nitrogen. The oxygen vacancies showed paramagnetic signal in the EPR spectrum both at room temperature and at 77 K. Emission in the blue region in the photoluminescence spectrum confirmed the existence of oxygen vacancies. The sample showed absorption in the entire UV region extending up to the visible region and had an optical bandgap of 2.8 eV. The sample exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the visible light, promoted decolorization of crystal violet, rhodamine 6G dye solutions following pseudo-first-order kinetics. The sample also catalyzed 85 % of bisphenol (BPA) degradation under visible radiation, from which salicylaldehyde was identified as the major product by the GC-MS analysis. The catalyst retained its ability up to three times its reuse without undergoing any structural change. OH● radicals have been identified as the reactive oxidation species (ROS) involved in these experiments with scavenger experiments.