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In this study, the preparation of anatase TiO₂ nanocrystals via a facile non-aqueous sol–gel route and their characterization are reported. The 3–4 nm particles are readily dispersable in aqueous media and show excellent photoreactivity in terms of rhodamine B degradation. The catalytic performance can be further increased considerably by doping with iron and UV-light irradiation as a pre-treatment. The effect of surface ligands (blocked adsorption sites, surface defects etc.) on the photoreactivity was thoroughly probed using thermogravimetric analysis combined with mass spectrometry. Photoelectrochemical characterization of thin-film electrodes made from the same TiO₂ nanocrystals showed the opposite trend to the catalytic experiments, that is, a strong decrease in photocurrent and quantum efficiency upon doping due to introduction of shallow defect states.

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.