Photocatalytic degradation of the diazo dye naphthol blue black in water using MWCNT/Gd,N,S-TiO_2 nanocomposites under simulated solar light

A simple sol-gel method was employed to prepare gadolinium, nitrogen and sulphur tridoped titania decorated on oxidised multiwalled carbon nanotubes（MWCNT/Gd,N,S-Ti O2）, using titanium（IV） butoxide and thiourea as titanium and nitrogen and sulphur source, respectively. Samples of varying gadolinium loadings（0.2%, 0.6%, 1.0% and3.0% Gd3＋） relative to titania were prepared to investigate the effect of gadolinium loading and the amounts of carbon nanotubes, nitrogen and sulphur were kept constant for all the samples. Furthermore, the prepared nanocomposites were evaluated for the degradation of naphthol blue black（NBB） in water under simulated solar light irradiation. Higher degradation efficiency（95.7%） was recorded for the MWCNT/Gd,N,S-Ti O2（0.6% Gd）nanocomposites. The higher photocatalytic activity is attributed to the combined effect of improved visible light absorption and charge separation due to the synergistic effect of Gd,MWCNTs, N, S and Ti O2. Total organic carbon（TOC） analysis revealed a higher degree of complete mineralisation of naphthol blue black（78.0% TOC removal） which minimises the possible formation of toxic degradation by-products such as the aromatic amines. The MWCNT/Gd,N,S-Ti O2（0.6% Gd） was fairly stable and could be re-used for five times,reaching a maximum degradation efficiency of 91.8% after the five cycles.

Enhanced visible light photoactivity of TiO_(2)/SnO_(2) films by tridoping with Y/F/Ag ions

The Y,F,and Ag tridoped TiO_(2)/SnO_(2) composite nanocrystalline film(YFAg–TS)with prominent photocatalytic performance was prepared by the modified sol–gel method and was characterized by utilizing X-ray diffraction(XRD),differential thermal and thermogravimetric(DTA–TG)analysis,scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET)method,ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy(UV–vis DRS),and photoluminescence(PL).The XRD and DTA–TG results expose that the YFAg–TS catalyst is a mixed phase consisting of anatase,rutile,and chlorargyrite,which is beneficial to improving the photocatalytic performance of TiO_(2).The SEM,TEM,and BET results disclose that the YFAg–TS film has smaller nanoparticles,higher specific surface area,and narrower pore size compared with pure TiO_(2) film.The XRD and TEM results exhibit that a part of yttrium can enter the TiO_(2) lattice to induce lattice distortion.The XPS results confirm the presence of Y^(3+)state in the YFAg–TS sample,and Y^(3+)ions can act as the trapping site of electrons to expedite the separation of electrons and holes.The UV–vis DRS results reveal that the YFAg–TS film has an obvious absorption edge shift and a narrower bandgap(2.70 eV)compared with pure TiO_(2) film.The PL results show that the YFAg–TS film has the highest photogenerated electrons and holes separation efficiency and charges transfer efficiency among all samples.The photocatalytic activity of the YFAg–TS was assessed by monitoring the degradation of methyl green and formaldehyde solution.The results manifest that the YFAg–TS film has high stability and excellent photocatalytic performance.The possible synergistic photocatalytic mechanism of YFAg–TS films has been discussed in this paper.