The role of Cerium, Europium and Erbium doped TiO2 photocatalysts in water treatment: A mini-review

Near-infrared to visible and ultraviolet upconversion in TiO2 thin films modified with Er and Yb

“…This mismatch has an impact on lattice distortion of TiO 2 . 20,32,33 Therefore, substitution of Ti 4+ in its lattice site is less probable than interstitial incorporation or segregation of Ln 3+ ions at the grain boundaries. 20 The EDS elemental analysis results (Fig.…”

“…20,32,33 Therefore, substitution of Ti 4+ in its lattice site is less probable than interstitial incorporation or segregation of Ln 3+ ions at the grain boundaries. 20 The EDS elemental analysis results (Fig. 1), considering the semi-quantitative character of this technique, correlate well with the composition of the targets used for the sputtering.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, the application of upconverters in photoelectrochemical cells for water splitting, contrary to well-developed upconverters for photovoltaic cells or photocatalysts, is still an unexploited research area. 17,19,20 Moreover, most of the investigated UC materials are in the form of powders 21 or bulk materials, 22 like optical fibers, while upconversion thin film materials remain a challenge. To achieve upconversion and maintain good photoelectrochemical performance in case of a few hundred nanometers thick TiO 2 film photoanode, it is important to find a balance between introducing a high amount of activator and sensitizer ions, their distribution in the host, and obtaining proper structure and microstructure of TiO 2 .…”

Studying the structural and optical properties of Er3+ doped TiO2 powders synthesized by the sol-gel process

“…Among them, the sol-gel method exhibits some advantages such as ease of synthesis, high homogeneity, and purity [26,27]. In our knowledge, the previous reports have mainly focused on the thin films of TiO 2 doped RE ions [17,[28][29][30] and there are a few of publications on TiO 2 :Er powders [30][31][32]. In addition, the studies of the effect of excitation wavelengths on optical properties and the dual-model up/down-conversion luminescence of TiO 2 :Er have not been reported in the literature.…”

Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Nanoflower Thin Films under UV Irradiation

“…Despite this, TiO2 has been widely employed as a photocatalyst for dye degradation due to its strong photocatalytic activity, nontoxicity, chemical stability, photostability, and economic viability [9,15]. The energy gap of TiO2 in anatase phase is equal to 3.2 eV, therefore it is photoactive in the UV region (λ< 388 nm) and its application is limited by a very poor response to visible light [16]. The UV band has accounted for 3-5% of total solar energy used.…”