Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of copper and nitrogen co-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Cu–N co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using the sol-gel method at different Cu concentrations (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 wt%). The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (FESEM/EDS), and UV–vis spectrophotometry (UV–vis). The synthesized spherical nanoparticles were grouped into large clusters. Pure TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited the anatase phase, while Cu–N co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles showed both anatase and rutile phases. In addition, Cu–N co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles showed higher light absorption than pure TiO2 nanoparticles, which affected the photocatalytic efficiency. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) was tested under UV and visible light. Under UV light, pure TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited a maximum photocatalytic efficiency of 88.62% within 90 min. While 0.1 Cu–N co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles tend to be effective in photocatalytic efficiency under visible light, they were able to degrade MB up to 56.33%.