TiO2 doped with europium (Eu): Synthesis, characterization and catalytic performance on pesticide degradation under solar irradiation

In this work titanium dioxide (TiO2) band gap energy modification was performed, in order to increase its photocatalytic activity on the visible spectrum range of solar radiation. Europium (Eu) was incorporated on the surface of TiO2 at 0.2 wt% and 0.6 wt%, using impregnation method. The photocatalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen physisorption (N2-physisorption), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDXS) and UV-Visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis). The effect of Eu incorporation on TiO2 over photocatalytic degradation of pesticide methidathion (MD) in aqueous solution was also evaluated. Results revealed that for TiO2 modified with 0.2 wt% Eu, the band gap energy decreased from 3.30 to 3.10 eV. Solar light activation was enhanced, obtaining 64% degradation and 57% mineralization of methidathion with turnover frequency (TOF) of 713 h-1.

Automated summary

In this study, the band gap energy of titanium dioxide (TiO2) was modified by incorporating Europium (Eu) on its surface, resulting in increased photocatalytic activity in the visible spectrum range. The modified TiO2 showed improved degradation efficiency for the pesticide methidathion (MD), with a decreased band gap energy and high turnover frequency.