SulfurGadolinium-Codoped TiO2 Nanoparticles for Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance

Abstract EN

A series of S/Gd3+-codoped TiO2 photocatalysts were synthesized by a modified sol-gel method.

The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)/energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).

Laboratory experiments with Indigo Carmine chosen as a model for organic pollutants were used to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of S/Gd3+-codoped TiO2 under visible-light with varying concentrations of Gd3+ ions in the host material.

XRD and Raman results confirmed the existence of anatase phase TiO2 with particle size ranging from 5 to 12 nm.

Codoping has exerted a great influence on the optical responses along with red shift in the absorption edge.

S/Gd3+-codoped TiO2 showed significant visible-light induced photocatalytic activity towards Indigo Carmine dye compared with S-TiO2 or commercial TiO2.

TiO2-S/Gd3+ (0.6% Gd3+) degraded the dye ( k a = 5.6 × 10−2 min−1) completely in 50 min.