Abstract
Titanium/carbon nanomaterial thin film nanocomposites are important components for green advanced technologies and the sustainable future. The aim of this research is to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the titanium dioxide/carbon nanoparticles derived from oil fly ash (TiO2/COFA) nanocomposite as an eco-friendly photocatalytic material. Herein, the structural, morphological, and optical properties of TiO2/COFA thin films were investigated. Carbon-rich oil fly ash waste has been used as a precursor of carbon nanoparticles synthesised by high-energy ball-milling in nitric acid medium. TiO2/COFA thin films were fabricated by the spin-coating method. The doping of COFA with ratios of 4, 7, and 10 wt % in the TiO2 host were explored for the first time. The obtained results of these films successfully confirmed the presence of carbon nanoparticles in the TiO2 films. The surface morphology of the doped thin films improved as compared to that of the undoped films. XRD confirmed that the doped TiO2 films had a weakly crystalline structure. In addition, doping with COFA decreased the optical bandgap energy of the films from 3.6 to 3.3 eV, whereas it increased the refractive index and the extinction coefficient and significantly enhanced the optical conductivity to reach a value of 5 ? 1014 S-1. The photoluminescence intensity of the doped films decreased drastically as the COFA content increased. The results indicated the enhancement of the light conversion and photocatalytic efficiency of doped films in the visible range, and their possible use as solar energy materials.