Investigation on photocatalytic properties of RE-Doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles through sol - gel technique

Rare earth Ions (Y,Gd,Sm) doped TiO2 catalysts were prepared by the sol-gel method. Synthesized material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), SEM (Scanning electron microscopy) and TEM (Transmission electron microscopy). The increase in photo activity is probably analyzed by the shift transfer in UV-DRS and it was confirmed by the degradation of Methylene Blue in water under UV-light irradiation was used to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of prepared catalysts. The result showed that the Tri-doping of the rare earth ions can significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 doped rare earth compare with the pristine TiO2.