XANES study of vanadium and nitrogen dopants in photocatalytic TiO2 thin films

We report an X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) study of vanadium (V) and nitrogen (N) dopants in anatase TiO2 thin films deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Measurements at the Ti K and V K edges were combined with soft X-ray experiments at the Ti L2,3, O K and N K edges. Full potential ab initio spectral simulations of the V, O and N K-edges were carried out for different possible configurations of substitutional and interstitial dopant-related point defects in the anatase structure. The comparison between experiments and simulations demonstrates that V occupies substitutional cationic sites (replacing Ti) irrespective of the film structure and dopant concentration (up to 4.5 at%). On the other hand, N is found both in substitutional anionic sites (replacing O) and as N2 dimers within TiO2 interstices. The dopants’ local structures are discussed with reference to the enhanced optical absorption and photocatalytic activity achieved by (co)doping.