In,V-codoped TiO2 nanocomposite prepared via a photochemical reduction technique as a novel high efficiency visible-light-driven nanophotocatalyst

Abstract

In the current study, a series of novel, high efficiency photocatalysts of In,V-codoped TiO₂ were developed. The TiO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by sol–gel and hydrothermal methods and different molar percentages (0.1–1%) of vanadium (V) and Indium (In) nanoclusters were deposited over the TiO₂ nanoparticles via photochemical reduction. XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM, XPS and UV-vis DRS analyses were carried out to characterize the prepared In,V-codoped TiO₂ nanocatalysts, and methyl orange (MO) was used as the probe environmental pollutant to test the photocatalytic performance of the prepared catalysts under UV and visible light irradiation. Our study demonstrated that In and V nanoclusters were successfully deposited over TiO₂ particles via a photochemical deposition technique and the metal doping slightly suppressed TiO₂ crystal growth. The optical analysis showed a red shift in the light absorption spectrum and decrease in the band gap of In,V-codoped TiO₂ catalysts compared to that of parent TiO₂. XPS study revealed that the doped elements In and V are in oxidation state of 3 (In^III), 4 (V^IV) and 5 (V^V). The photo-oxidative decomposition of MO showed that doping of In and V can considerably improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂. Thus, for the first time, we demonstrated that TiO₂ codoped with binary metals of In and V can serve as a high efficiency visible-light-active photocatalyst.