Single-doped TiO2/FTO and co-doped TiO2-VO2/FTO thin films were prepared by sonochemistry and spray pyrolysis deposition on FTO substrates. The co-deposition of TiO2-VO2 on FTO significantly changed the morphological, structural, optical, and photocatalytical properties compared to the single-deposition. X-ray diffraction and HRTEM results showed polycrystalline film structures composed of SnO2-tetragonal from FTO, anatase-TiO2, rutile-TiO2, and monoclinic-VO2 phases. The co-deposition technique increases the particle size distribution by approximately two times compared to simple deposition. The single-doped TiO2/FTO thin film had a 15% higher bandgap than the co-doped TiO2-VO2/FTO thin film, and the electrical resistivity calculated from the van der Pauw method was 55.3 MΩ sq−1 for the TiO2-VO2/FTO co-doped thin film, 2.7 times lower than that obtained for the TiO2/FTO thin film. Single-doped TiO2/FTO and co-doped TiO2-VO2/FTO thin films presented pseudo-first-order reactions at pH 6.5, with kinetic constants of 0.026 and 0.015 min−1, respectively. This behavior is related to the production of inactive or less active aggregates by the addition of vanadium during the co-doping process, which led to lattice contraction, which encouraged the formation of the rutile phase rather than the anatase phase. However, the co-doped thin film can modify the metal-insulator transition compared to the single-doped TiO2/FTO thin film. Furthermore, co-deposition decreased the bandgap value by 16% compared to single-deposition thin film. In this sense, co-doped TiO2-VO2/FTO thin films inhibited the recombination of photogenerated carriers and the formation of reactive oxygen species involved in the photocatalytic degradation of naproxen.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.