Effect of Ni-doping on coloring and photocatalytic performance of MgTi2O5 nanoceramics

Abstract

The Ni-doped MgTi2O5 has been synthesized by sol–gel method and investigated the effect of sintering with %Ni content. The heat inspection of intermediate products was done at 1000–1400 °C. The structural properties of synthesized samples were studied by various methods viz. simultaneous thermal analysis (TGA-DTG), Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Zeta Sizer, and UV–Vis NIR spectroscopy. The crystallite size of the obtained samples was determined from PXRD analysis using Classical Scherrer formulae, modified Scherrer model, Williamson–Hall method, and size-strain plot equation. Unit cell parameter was determined precisely from PXRD data based on Rietveld refinement analysis, which confirmed insertion of Ni2+ ions into the MgTi2O5 structure by decreasing unit cell parameters. Particle size was measured using dynamic light scattering and laser diffraction techniques. Optical parameter analysis reveals that nano-pigments with narrow bandgap energy were suitable for photocatalysis. Ni0.6Mg0.4Ti2O5 sintered at 1400 °C exhibits highest photocatalytic activity (∼93%) within 120 min solar light irradiation. Color properties of the samples were determined from DRS measurement using CIE-L*a*b* software. The obtained outcomes confirmed that the optical, photocatalytic and color properties of prepared samples improved with increasing Ni-contents.