Structural, optical and photodegradation properties of pure and Fe-doped titania nanoparticles probed using simulated Solar light

Abstract

We report the successful, low temperature synthesis of pure and Fe-doped titania nanoparticle (NP) powders, using organic Ti- and Fe-precursors. The properties of the synthesized titania based materials were obtained using XRD, UV/vis and EPR spectroscopy and BET measurements. The doping of TiO2 induced a shift in the absorption threshold towards the visible spectral range, compared to pure titania. The process of annealing induced an increase in crystallinity and particle sizes in the obtained materials. The photocatalytic activity, using simulated Solar light (Vitalux lamp), of our samples was checked by following the photodegradation reaction of Rhodamine B and trichlorophenole as model compounds.