Optical, Morphological and Microstructural Investigation of TiO2 nanoparticles for Photocatalytic application
Authors
- B. Manikandan 1
- K. R. Murali 2
-
Rita John
*
1
Abstract
Enriched characteristics like porosity, stability and specific surface area assist TiO2 to find extensive applications in photocatalysis, dye sensitized solar cell, and sensors. TiO2 semiconductor was prepared using titanyl acetylacetonate and characterized by XRD, FTIR, Raman, UV-Vis, FESEM, EDX, and DLS. XRD result confirmed the tetragonal structured anatase TiO2 semiconductor. Scherrer formula is used to calculate crystallite size and the obtained value is 6.81 nm. Microstrain, stress, energy density, and crystallite size are calculated using W-H model. The absorption peak of TiO2 is observed at 652.11 cm-1 from FTIR spectrum and authenticated the anatase TiO2 semiconductor. The UV absorption edge is identified at 365 nm and the bandgap is calculated from the Kubelka-Munk equation using Tauc plot. Raman spectrum show bands at 140,197, 395, 512, and 635 cm-1 and these peaks confirmed the presence of the anatase TiO2 stretching mode. FESEM micrographs exhibited agglomerated spherical morphology and the particle size was further analysed using DLS study. The elemental compositions were identified in the EDX analysis. The obtained spectrum showed 55.88 Wt% of O and 44.12 Wt% of Ti atoms. The prepared anatase TiO2 semiconductor indicated enhanced catalytic behaviour. The rate constants and half life time are related to crystallite size using mathematical relation. It is found that the degradation process varies with crystallite size.
