article · Journal of Applied Physics
Anatase titanium dioxide xerogels were synthesised using a sol-gel method to study how dopants with different atomic radii affect photocatalytic performance. Copper, cobalt, and cadmium were added to the material, which was annealed at 550 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes to achieve a pure anatase crystalline structure. Incorporating these metal dopants decreased the material grain size from 24.01 to 9.78 nanometres and lowered the bandgap energy from 3.44 to 3.19 electronvolts. Testing the degradation of methylene blue dye showed that all doped variants outperformed undoped titanium dioxide, which degraded 71.65 percent of the dye. Performance increased to 79.29 percent with copper, 86.54 percent with cobalt, and 94.13 percent with cadmium. The cadmium-doped material proved the most active and durable, maintaining over 90 percent of its photocatalytic activity across six test cycles with only a 4 percent capacity loss.
Photocatalysts use light to break down harmful pollutants such as dyes in wastewater. By adjusting the material structure using different metal dopants, the efficiency and light absorption of titanium dioxide can be improved. Demonstrating that these modified materials remain stable over repeated cycles shows a path toward more durable water treatment solutions.
This research could support the development of enhanced catalysts for industrial wastewater treatment and dye remediation. Chemical processors or environmental engineering organisations developing advanced oxidation systems would be the primary users. Because the findings are based on laboratory synthesis and dye degradation tests, the technology remains at an early stage of research and requires scale-up testing before practical deployment.
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This study investigates the influence of the atomic radii of copper, cobalt, and cadmium on the photocatalytic activity of anatase TiO2 xerogels synthesized via the solgel method. All samples were annealed at 550 °C for 20 min and crystallized into the pure anatase phase, as confirmed by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Dopant incorporation into the TiO2 matrix reduced the grain size (from 24.01 to 9.78 nm) and decreased the bandgap energy (from 3.44 to 3.19 eV). Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) revealed enhanced activity for doped samples, with degradation rates increasing from 71.65% for undoped TiO to 79.29%, 86.54%, and 94.13% for 2 at. % Cu-TiO2, 2 at. % Co-TiO2, and 2 at. % Cd-doped TiO2, respectively. Among the dopants, 2 at. % Cd-TiO2 exhibited the highest photocatalytic efficiency and the fastest degradation rate. Furthermore, the 2 at. % Cd-TiO2 sample demonstrated excellent stability, retaining more than 90% of its photocatalytic activity over six cycles with only a 4% loss in capacity.
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DOI: 10.1063/5.0252183
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