UV- and visible-light-driven TiO2/La2O3 and TiO2/Al2O3 nanocatalysts: synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic activity

The hydrothermal method was used to make the anatase phase of TiO2 nanoparticles, TiO2/La2O3 and TiO2/Al2O3 composites. FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the crystal structure, shape, and optical characteristics of TiO2, TiO2/La2O3 and TiO2/Al2O3 nanomaterials. The photocatalytic studies were comparatively analyzed by degrading the textile dyes methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV). The degradation process was carried out in both UV light and visible light irradiation. The efficiency achieved by TiO2, TiO2/La2O3 and TiO2/Al2O3 was 87, 95, 45% and 80, 92, 29%, respectively, for MB and CV dye under UV light while under visible light it is 34, 27, 84%, and 29, 24, 81%, respectively, for MB and CV dye.

Automated summary

The hydrothermal method was used to synthesize TiO2 nanoparticles and TiO2/La2O3, TiO2/Al2O3 composites. The crystal structure, shape, and optical characteristics were studied using FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and SEM. Photocatalytic properties were evaluated by degrading methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV) dyes under UV and visible light. TiO2/La2O3 exhibited the highest photocatalytic efficiency, while TiO2/Al2O3 showed the lowest efficiency.