Synthesis of TiO2 and Ag/Cu doped TiO2 nanoparticles in green approach and assess their structural, morphological, and photocatalytic applications
Dnyaneshwar G. Mali, Sandip P. Patil, Gunvant H. Sonawane, Bhagwan S. Bhadane, Vilas K. Mahajan
Abstract
For environmental protection, developing efficient materials and techniques for pollutant elimination is vital. In the present study, the economically cheap, sustainable, green TiO 2 and Ag/Cu doped TiO 2 nanoparticles synthesized were using mulberry plant leaf extract. The Morphological characterization of TiO 2 nanoparticles, including undoped and Ag/Cu doped TiO 2 nanocatalyst was conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Their functional group characterization will have done by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and band gap study done by UV–visible spectroscopy. Photocatalytic performance was assessed by monitoring the degradation of methylene blue sample solution under sunlight radiation. Investigations were conducted into the effects of different experimental factors on photocatalytic degradation such as variable pH, dye concentration, contact time, and catalyst dosage. The kinetics study shows that first order reaction . While comparing 1 %, 2 %, and 3 % Ag/Cu doped TiO 2 nanocatalyst and undoped TiO 2 nanocatalyst, it was shown that the latter exhibited the maximum degradation under sunlight radiation while using methylene blue as an organic pollutant. The greenly synthesized 3 % Ag doped TiO 2 nanocatalyst shows the maximum photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue reached a remarkable efficiency of 98.55 % after 90 min of exposure to sunlight radiation according to photocatalytic degradation because of a low band gap compared to Cu doped TiO 2 and undoped TiO 2 , according to photocatalytic degradation analysis. The degradation percentages are 3 % Ag-doped TiO 2 - 98.55, 2 % Ag-doped TiO 2 - 95.78 %, 1 % Ag-doped TiO 2 - 93.33 %, 3 % Cu-doped TiO 2 - 93.54 %,2 % Cu-doped TiO 2- 87.33 %, 1 % Cu-doped TiO 2 - 79.00 % and undoped TiO 2 - 77.75 % respectively. The reusability of the catalyst also studied up to 4 cycles. TiO 2 and Ag/Cu doped TiO 2 nanocatalysts demonstrate effective activity, which is beneficial for water purification and environmentally friendly applications.