Synthesis and Study of Doped Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is effective materials in wastewater treatment. It is commonly used as a photo catalyst due to its relatively high photocatalytic efficiency,biological and chemical stability, cost effectiveness, and non-toxicity. However, two main variables limit its application; the quick recombination of photo generated electron-hole (e-/h+) pairs in TiO2 that reduces its effectiveness, and the wide bandgap (3.0-3.2 eV) of TiO2 located in the UV region that causes the absorption of onlya small fraction of solar light (less than 5% of solar energy is emitted as UVirradiation). Hence, numerous efforts have been made to amplify the light absorption edge to the visible region. Various strategies have been used in the region of visible light-active TiO2 by consolidating distinctive dopants into the crystal lattice,including metal (Fe, Cu) and nonmetal elements (N, P). Doping with metals and nonmetals diminishes the energy band gap of TiO2 while at the same time decreases therecombination rate of the photo generated electron-hole pairs. The structural, optical properties of the materials are investigated thoroughly by various spectral techniques (XRD, EDAX, FT-IR, and UV-DRS)