Nanocrystalline brookite with enhanced stability and photocatalytic activity: influence of lanthanum(III) doping.

Metastable TiO(2) polymorphs are more promising materials than rutile for specific applications such as photocatalysis or catalysis support. This was clearly demonstrated for the anatase phase but still under consideration for brookite, which is difficult to obtain as pure phase. Moreover, the surface doping of anatase with lanthanum ions is known to both increase the thermal stability of the metastable phase and improve its photocatalytic activity.