Controlled iron-doping of macrotextured nanocrystalline titania

Titanium dioxide, despite its rather simple summation formula, is a material with widespread applications. Fe-doped TiO2, because of its photocatalytic properties, is employed in devices for water detoxification, water splitting, and air purification, as well as for solar cells. For each application, its functionality can be optimized by adjusting the crystal modification by the degree of Fe doping and by structuring on atomic to macroscopic length scales. We have developed a flexible and inexpensive butanediol sol-gel synthesis for Fe-doped titania which allows us to control the material properties on atomic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic scales with respect to structure-morphology property relationships, i.e., to generate a tailor-made functional material. A kinetic phase diagram of TiO2:Fe based on this synthesis pathway, in particular with respect to Fe incorporation, has evolved as a result of the application of a large set of complementary means of investigation.