Modified sol-gel process for synthesis of molybdenum oxide-doped titanium dioxide

A modified sol-gel method was developed for the synthesis of pure and transition-metal-doped titanium dioxide. The process involves the hydrolysis of titanium tetraisopropoxide, which was used as a catalyst precursor, and molybdenum chloride, which was used as a doping agent. The shape and size of the final product were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and the catalyst activity for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solutions was tested. The results indicate significant improvements in both the morphology and performance of the catalyst synthesized by the proposed method when compared to those obtained via the conventional approach using the same materials and quantities.center dot The main highlights of the proposed method are as follows. center dot Utilization of a double-jacketed cooling system to control and prevent temperature fluctuations during hydrolysis.center dot Ultrasonication during the reaction minimizes particle agglomeration during nanoparticle formation.center dot The use of two different alcohols and separation into two mixtures were experimentally demonstrated to delay gel formation, and hence, morphologically homogeneous catalyst nanoparticles were achieved.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Automated summary

A modified sol-gel method was developed to synthesize pure and transition-metal-doped titanium dioxide, resulting in improved morphology and performance of the catalyst.