Methylene blue photocatalytic mineralization under visible irradiation on TiO2 thin films doped with chromium

Abstract

We studied changes in structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of TiO2 thin films due to doping process with chromium. Powders of undoped TiO2 and chromium-doped TiO2 (Cr:TiO2) were synthesized by sol–gel method and, thin films were deposited by doctor blade method. The properties of the thin films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and diffuse reflectance. The XRD patterns indicated that doping process changed the crystalline phases radio of TiO2 thin films, furthermore, the optical analysis showed that band gap value of Cr:TiO2 thin films was 31% fewer than undoped TiO2 thin films. Along, Langmuir–Hinshelwood model was used to obtain kinetic information of the photo-mineralization process; results indicated that photocatalytic activity of Cr:TiO2 thin films were four times better than undoped TiO2 thin films; finally the synergic effect was tested by addition of the H2O2, photocatalytic yield was improved from 26% to 61% when methylene blue photo-mineralization was assisted with slightly amount of H2O2.