Thermal behavior of Cu-doped TiO2 gels synthesized by the sol-gel method

Abstract

The thermal behavior of Cu-doped TiO2 gels obtained by the sol-gel method was investigated by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTG/DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The comparative investigation of the structure and morphology of the as-prepared gels and of the nanopowders obtained by annealing them was realized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Significant differences were noticed depending on the amount of dopant (0.5 or 2.0 mol % CuO). A higher dopant concentration resulted in a more complex decomposition of the sample. This behavior was associated with the formation of various molecular species in the sol-gel solutions before gelation, determined by the different amount of the dopant used.

Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Properties of Doped TiO2 Nanopowders Synthesized by Sol−Gel Method

“…Some of these dopants, such as transitional metals (e.g., Fe, Cr, Ru, Cu, V etc) or non-metals (C, N, S etc.) [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] lead to an increase in photocatalytic activity due to the formation of a new electron energy levels inside the bandgap ( Figure 1 ).…”