Physical and photocatalytic properties of Nd codoped (Ag, Cu)TiO2thin films

Transparent co-doped TiO(2)thin films have been fabricated by sol-gel dip-coating. The doping is achieved using low concentrations of neodymium (Nd), silver (Ag), and copper (Cu). A significant effect of doping is noticed on the morphology and optical properties of thin films. XRD analysis confirms the formation of a pure anatase phase with a deterioration of the crystallinity upon doping. The co-doped TiO(2)thin films present larger crystallite size compared to other films. The surface roughness revealed by AFM increases from 0.9 nm for pure TiO(2)up to 5 nm for doped thin films. UV-vis spectroscopy shows that the bandgap energy slightly decreased for co-doped Ag-Nd/TiO(2)and Cu-Nd/TiO2. Photocatalytic degradation of MB significantly decreases upon doping. A mechanism based on combined effects of doping, annealing and nature of substrate is proposed to explain the photodegradation behaviour.

Automated summary

Transparent co-doped TiO(2)thin films were fabricated by sol-gel dip-coating using low concentrations of neodymium (Nd), silver (Ag), and copper (Cu). The doping significantly affected the morphology, crystallinity, and optical properties of the films, leading to larger crystallite size compared to pure TiO(2). Photocatalytic degradation of MB was significantly reduced upon doping, with a proposed mechanism based on the combined effects of doping, annealing, and substrate nature.