Mg doped TiO2 thin films: Optical, dielectric, photocatalytic, magnetic and antibacterial studies

Abstract

The sol-gel dip-coating route was utilized to synthesize Mg-doped TiO2 thin films with Mg doping concentration (2,4,6,8 and 10) wt.%. The prepared films were transparent, homogeneous, and compact. The development of the anatase phase was confirmed by the diffraction peaks of XRD spectra. The size of crystallites was observed to be reduced from 12.08 to 11.82 nm when the dopant concentration was increased. The dielectric behavior of all thin films was standard. The AC conductivity was used to investigate the barrier height, the density of localized states at the Fermi level, and the hopping distance. Ferromagnetism was observed for Mg-doped TiO2 thin films. The antibacterial activity of Mg-doped TiO2 was optimal and can be applied in nanomedicines. According to the findings, Mg replaced Ti in the TiO2 lattice and produced new energy levels, lowering the bandgap of the doped films. Furthermore, increasing the Mg content caused the optical absorption of the films to shift from the ultraviolet to the visible range. The research indicated that doping a little amount of Mg into TiO2 thin film can increase visible light absorption, making it a promising material for use in solar cells to capture solar radiation. Mg-doped TiO2 exhibited favourable photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue at a concentration of 10 wt% Mg. Methylene blue was degraded in the presence of sunlight, making it a promising material for water treatment and environmental pollution. Mg-doped TiO2 thin films can also be used as CO gas sensors.