Fabrication of bimetallic (Mg-V)-doped TiO2 nanostructure via microwave-assisted sol-gel approach for enhanced electrocatalytic detection and photocatalytic degradation of hazardous tetracycline

Abstract

Nanocatalysts have emerged as powerful materials for environmental remediation, enabling both detection and removal of pollutants. In this study, magnesium and vanadium co-doped TiO 2 nanocatalysts were synthesized using a microwave assisted sol gel method and for the first time, employed as dual functional material for both the electrocatalytic detection and photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline in aqueous solution. The fabricated Mg-V co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized using various analytical techniques. The effects of dopant weight concentration and microwave irradiation power were systematically optimized, with the catalyst prepared at 0.25 wt% Mg and 1 wt% V under 540 W irradiation (MVT5M3) showed a lower band gap, smaller particle size, suppressed electron hole recombination than others. For electrochemical sensing, MVT5M3 was coated onto glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques. The catalyst enhanced sensitivity to 4.31 µA μM⁻¹ cm⁻² and a lower limit of detection (LOD) 0.3 µM for tetracycline detection using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) techniques. In addition, the MVT5M3 catalyst achieved 93.53% photocatalytic degradation efficiency of tetracycline within 60 min under visible light irradiation. These results underline the potential of the Mg-V co-doped TiO 2 nanocatalyst as a highly efficient and bifunctional material for pharmaceutical pollutant monitoring and removal.