One-step hydrothermal synthesis of nitrogen and tungsten codoped TiO2 nanorods with high visible light photocatalytic activity

N,W codoped \(\mathrm{TiO}_{2}\) nanorods were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method using ammonium metatungstate as the nitrogen and tungstate sources. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the N,W codoped \(\mathrm{TiO}_{2}\) nanorods exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation compared with P25 and undoped \(\mathrm{TiO}_{2}\), because the codoping of N and W ions not only extended the visible light absorption but also promoted the separation of the photogenerated electrons and holes.