Doping of TiO2 nanopowders with vanadium for the reduction of its band gap reaching the visible light spectrum region

Abstract

Titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) were doped with vanadium using a novel, facile, and inexpensive method. The TiO2 NPs were dispersed in a vanadyl oxalate solution prepared by dissolving vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) in oxalic acid. A short heat treatment at 400 °C applied to the dried mixture resulted in the doping of TiO 2 with a net measured decrease of its band gap by about 0.5 eV, making this important semiconductor material usable in the visible light spectrum. © 2014 Materials Research Society.