Silver/carbon codoped titanium dioxide photocatalyst for improved dye degradation under visible light

Abstract

Herein, we report the synthesis of quartz supported TiO2 photocatalysts codoped with carbon and silver through the hydrolysis of titanium tetrachloride followed by calcination at 500°C. The prepared samples were characterized by UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Codoping of TiO2 with Ag and carbon resulted in an increase in the surface area of the photocatalyst and altered the ratio of the anatase to rutile phase. The absorption edge of all the doped TiO2 photocatalysts redshifted and the band gap was reduced. The lowest band gap of 1.95 eV was achieved by doping with 0.5% Ag. Doping TiO2 using carbon as the only dopant resulted in a quartz supported photocatalyst that showed greater photocatalytic activity towards methyl orange than undoped TiO2 and also all codoped TiO2 photocatalysts under visible light irradiation.