Structural and optical properties of TiO2 nanoparticles and their photocatalytic behavior under visible light

Abstract

TiO2 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using a facile and scalable sol-gel method and their structural and optical properties studied. XRD ad FTIR was used to identify the phase, crystallite size, and functional groups present in the nanoparticles. The prepared samples crystallize in the anatase structure with highly crystalline order. TEM/EDX shows that the nanoparticles are pure, spherical, and with an average particle size of 15 ± 2 nm. The bandgap energy was 3.59, 3.79, and 3.64 eV, respectively. PL emission is attributed to oxygen vacancies (Vo). The calcination temperature at 450 °C suggests a better photocatalytic performance under visible light compared with other sample's thermal treatments.