Abstract
The pure and Lanthanides (Eu(3+)and Sm3+) ions doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by the low-cost sol-gel method. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized in detail to reveal their structural, morphological, chemical and optical properties using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and UV-Vis spectroscopy techniques. The particle sizes were found to be decreased upon doping and agglomerations have been seen from XRD and SEM images, respectively. The band gap energy measurements confirmed that the addition of Lanthanides ions cause increase in the band gap energy of the nanocomposites from 3.34 eV to 3.50 eV (Delta E = 0.16 eV). The photocatalytic activities of these samples were investigated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under normal sun light. The TiO2:Sm3+ photocatalyst shows 89% degradation efficiency, which is several times higher compared to pure.