Titanium dioxide doped with transition metals (MxTi1-xO2, M:Ni, Co): synthesis and characterization for its potential application as photoanode

This study presents the synthesis of TiO2 doped with different amounts of Co and Ni, starting from a simple metallic titanium powder. A successful electrophoretic deposition of these materials on ITO electrodes was achieved for its potential application as photoanodes. EDX, diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy, and XRD measurements gave information on the chemical composition of the material and the location of the Ni or Co within the crystal structure of TiO2. Raman spectroscopy suggests that for a higher content of doping metal above a defined percentage, the formation of metal oxide is promoted. A preliminary study of photoelectrocatalytic orange dye degradation shows higher color removal efficiency as compared to the commercial TiO2 material.