Preparation of K-doped TiO2 nanostructures by wet corrosion and their sunlight-driven photocatalytic performance

[Display omitted] •Potassium-doped TiO2 nanowire networks were prepared by the corrosion reaction of Ti nanoparticles in an alkaline solution.•They were applied to sunlight-driven photocatalytic degradation of differently charged dye molecules.•The adsorption of the dye molecules on the photocatalyst surface is crucial for their sunlight-driven photodegradation. K-doped TiO2 nanowire networks were prepared by the corrosion reaction of Ti nanoparticles in an alkaline (potassium hydroxide: KOH) solution. The prepared nanostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Their sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity was also investigated with differently charged dye molecules, such as methylene blue, rhodamine B and methyl orange. The adsorption of the dye molecules on the photocatalyst surface would play a critical role in their selective photodegradation under sunlight illumination.