Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dye by Sol-Gel-Derived Gallium-Doped Anatase Titanium Oxide Nanoparticles for Environmental Remediation

[摘要] Photocatalytic degradation of toxic organic chemicals is considered to be the most efficient green method for surface water treatment. We have reported the sol-gel synthesis of Gadoped anatase TiO2nanoparticles and the photocatalytic oxidation of organic dye into nontoxic inorganic products under UV irradiation. Photodegradation experiments show very good photocatalytic activity of Ga-doped TiO2nanoparticles with almost 90% degradation efficiency within 3 hrs of UV irradiation, which is faster than the undoped samples. Doping levels created within the bandgap of TiO2act as trapping centers to suppress the photogenerated electron-hole recombination for proper and timely utilization of charge carriers for the generation of strong oxidizing radicals to degrade the organic dye. Photocatalytic degradation is found to follow the pseudo-first-order kinetics with the apparent 1st-order rate constant around1.3×10−2 min−1. Thecost-effective, sol-gel-derived TiO2 : Ga nanoparticles can be used efficiently for light-assistedoxidation of toxic organic molecules in the surface water for environmental remediation.

[学科分类] 材料工程