Photocatalytic Activity of Sol-Gel Derived Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ Nanocomposite

Abstract:

Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ nanocomposites were obtained by sol-gel method using tween 80 (T-80) or polyvinyl pyrrolidone-polyethylene glycol (PVP-PEG) as templating agent. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of both the composites reveal the crystal structure of Bi₂O₃ as primitive tetragonal and TiO₂ is in anatase phase. The energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra provide the composition of Bi₂O₃ in Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (T-80) and Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (PVP-PEG) as 3.8 and 20.4 mol. %, respectively. The average crystallite sizes of Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (T-80) and Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (PVP-PEG), derived from XRD, are 9 and 17 nm, respectively. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images show the spherical shape of Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (T-80) and the composites are polycrystalline. The diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) of the composites display faint absorption of visible light and strong absorption in UV-A region. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of both the composites are similar and the observed near band gap emission (NBE) and deep level emission (DLE) agree with those of TiO₂. The impedance spectra show that the charge-transfer resistances of the composites do not differ significantly. The visible light photoimpedance spectra display the photoconductance of Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (PVP-PEG) but not that of Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (T-80). Although the visible light-photocatalytic activities of the two nanocomposites to degrade dye do not differ significantly Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (T-80) under UV-A light degrades dyes faster than Bi₂O₃-TiO₂ (PVP-PEG).

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 712)
• Pages: 73-83
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.712.73
• Online since: February 2012
• Authors: C. Karunakaran, P. Magesan, P. Gomathisankar
• Keywords: Bi₂O₃-TiO₂, Nanocomposite, Photocatalysis, Sol-Gel Method

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