Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dye by Sol-Gel-Derived Gallium-Doped Anatase Titanium Oxide Nanoparticles for Environmental Remediation

Photocatalytic degradation of toxic organic chemicals is considered to be the most efficient green method for surface water treatment. We have reported the sol-gel synthesis of Gadoped anatase TiO2 nanoparticles and the photocatalytic oxidation of organic dye into nontoxic inorganic products under UV irradiation. Photodegradation experiments show very good photocatalytic activity of Ga-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with almost 90% degradation efficiency within 3 hrs of UV irradiation, which is faster than the undoped samples. Doping levels created within the bandgap of TiO2 act as trapping centers to suppress the photogenerated electron-hole recombination for proper and timely utilization of charge carriers for the generation of strong oxidizing radicals to degrade the organic dye. Photocatalytic degradation is found to follow the pseudo-first-order kinetics with the apparent 1st-order rate constant around 1.3 x 10(-2) min(-1). The cost-effective, sol-gel-derived TiO2:Ga nanoparticles can be used efficiently for light-assisted oxidation of toxic organic molecules in the surface water for environmental remediation.