Co-Cu-codoped TiO₂ nanoparticles for photocatalytic application under visible irradiation Available to Purchase

Cobalt & Copper doped Co_xCu_0.05Ti_0.95-xO₂; x = 0.04, 0.08 & 0.12 mol % nanoparticles have been prepared by sol-gel technique and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared and Field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The X-ray diffraction and EDXS measurements confirm the formation of anatase phase of TiO₂ nanoparticles. The average particle size of the prepared nanoparticles was calculated from X-ray diffraction using Debye Scherrer’s formula and found to be 16.4, 14.9, 13.1 nm respectively. The absorption edge in observed UV–Vis absorption spectra shifted to higher wavelength region correspond to blue shift indicates the decrease in band gap energy from 2.87eV to 1.90 eV on increasing cobalt concentration. The presence of strong chemical bonding and functional groups present at the interface of TiO₂ nanoparticles observed in FTIR spectra confirm the formation of stable anatase phase of TiO₂ nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activities of the prepared samples for methyl orange (MO) and congo red (CR) was investigated under visible light irradiation. It is observed that increase in dopant concentration enhance the photocatalytic activity is attributed to narrow band gap and increase in surface area of the synthesized nanoparticles.