Effect of gamma radiation on the photocatalytic properties of Cu doped titania nanoparticles
- Institut Préparatoires aux Etudes d’Ingénieurs d’El Manar, Université Tunis El Manar, Campus Universitaire Farhat Hached d'El Manar 2092 El Manar, Tunis (Tunisia)
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, UMR 8502 CNRS – Université Paris-Sud, Bât 510, 91405 Orsay Cedex (France)
- Laboratoire de Nanomatériaux et Systèmes pour les Energies Renouvelables, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l’Energie, Technopole Borj Cedria, Bp 95, Hammammlif 2050 (Tunisia)
Highlights: • Defective Cu doped TiO{sub 2} powders were prepared by sol-gel route and gamma treatment. • Nanoscale analysis show evidence of internal doping by Cu{sup 2+} in the TiO{sub 2} sublattice. • Catalyst surfaces defect sites improve significantly the photocatalytic efficiency. • (Cu{sup 2+}, V{sub O}{sup -}) cooperative effects promote the photoelectrochemical properties of TiO{sub 2}. - Abstract: The aim of this paper is to study the effect of gamma-rays on structural, physicochemical, optical and photocatalytic performance of TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles doped with different concentrations of copper ranging from 0 to 6 at.%. The powders have been prepared by sol-gel technique and annealed at 400 °C. They were irradiated by gamma-rays with doses varying from 14 to 60 KGy. These investigations confirm the formation of anatase TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles and Cu{sup 2+} ion substitution for Ti{sup 4+} sites within the TiO{sub 2} structure. This study also shows that, once the TiO{sub 2} structure is saturated with copper, a metallic copper segregation is formed at the crystallite surfaces. After gamma irradiation, samples present a crystalline core and a disordered shell structure as a result of the formation of oxygen vacancies. Such oxygen vacancies at the TiO{sub 2} nanocrystal surface lead to a remarkable enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of Cu-doped TiO{sub 2} catalysts.
- OSTI ID:
- 22805276
- Journal Information:
- Materials Research Bulletin, Vol. 107; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0025-5408
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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