Synthesis of oxygen deficient tio2 for improved photocatalytic efficiency in solar radiation

Abstract

The photocatalytic activities of TiO2 have been limited mainly to absorbing in the ultraviolet spectrum which accounts for only 5% of solar radiation. High energy band gap and electron recombination in TiO2 nanoparticles are responsible for its limitations as a photocatalyst. An oxygen deficient surface can be artificially created on the titanium oxide by zero valent nano iron through the donation of its excess electrons. A visible light active TiO2 nanoparticle was synthesized in the current investigation through simple chemical reduction using sodium boro-hydride. The physical and textural properties of the synthesized oxygen deficient TiO2 photocatalyst was measured using scanning/ transmission electron microscopy while FTIR, XRD and nitrogen sorption methods (BET) were employed for its further characterizations. Photochemical decoloration of orange II sodium dye solution in the presence of the synthesized TiO2 was measured using an UV spectrophotometer. The resulting oxygen deficient TiO2 has a lower energy band-gap, smaller pore sizes, and enhanced photo-catalytic properties.