Synthesis and photocatalytic potential of Nd-doped TiO2 under UV and solar light irradiation using a sol-gel ultrasonication method

Sol-gel ultrasonication process was used to synthesize doped TiO2 nanoparticles. Nd-doped TiO2 nanoparticles sample structures were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), FTIR, Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The photo-catalytic efficiency of the prepared sample was confirmed by the degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution under ultraviolet (λ > 365) irradiation and solar light. According to XRD findings, virgin samples include anatase and rutile TiO2 (16.97 nm), while Nd-doped TiO2 (6.41 nm) samples contain anatase TiO2 solely. Doping of Nd on titanium dioxide resulted in a drop in the energy band gap from 3.23 eV to 3.16 eV. After modification, this transformation has resulted in a noticeable increase in photocatalyst activity. The photodegradation efficiency of Nd-doped TiO2 was found 99.11% under ultraviolet radiation in 60 min and 96.42% under solar light in 180 min, due to its smaller size, which provided a high surface area for the photocatalytic activity and enhanced the degradation efficiency of the photocatalyst.