Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic performance of Cu/Y co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles

Abstract

Cu and Y co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared with an acid-catalytic sol-gel process. XRD and Raman spectroscopy confirm the single anatase phase in all samples with a reduced crystallite size upon doping. SEM observations reveal uniform nanospheres (20–40 nm) being synthesised under the proposed processing conditions. The absorption edge shifts to the visible light region, as indicated by bandgap energy reduction. XPS results demonstrate that the Cu and Y dopants exist in the state of Cu+ and Y3+ ions, respectively. The dopant elements might have been doped into TiO2 lattice by substituting Ti4+ and generating oxygen vacancies for charge compensation. The photoactivity of the Cu/Y co-doped TiO2 is better than that of the undoped one, with the optimum doping concentration being 1.0 mol%. The improved photocatalytic performance is attributed to the effective separation of photon-generated electron-hole pairs, increased formation of active radicals, and increased surface area in the co-doped photocatalysts.