Synthesis, Photocatalytic Performance and Kinetic Study of TiO2/Ag Particles

Background: Titanium dioxide is the most suitable photocatalyst because of its biological and chemical inertness, cost effective and strong oxidizing power of its photo generated hold. Method: Both un-doped and Ag doped titanium dioxide were prepared by the sol-gel method. Tetraisopropyl orthotitanate was used as a precursor and calcined at 400°C for 3 h. The structural characteristics of the powders were studied by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and with a scanning electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The morphology was investigated by SEM imaging. The rutile phase was observed in XRD patterns in the case of 0.5% Ag doping. Result: The rutile phase was observed in XRD patterns in the case of 0.5% Ag doping. The results from photodegradation indicated that 0.1% and 0.5% Ag doped TiO2 exhibited higher activity than the un-doped TiO2 powder. Conclusion: The photocatalytic activity was enhanced to 72% by doping with Ag. The degradation kinetics were well described by a pseudo-second order kinetic model. Keywords: Photocatalytic activity, nanoparticles, UV irradiation, titanium dioxide, methylene blue, silver doped, kinetic model.