Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag doped TiO2 nanoparticles synthesized by a microwave assisted method

Pure anatase TiO2 photocatalyst with different Ag contents was prepared via a controlled and energy efficient microwave assisted method. The prepared material was further characterized by several analytical techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), surface area measurement (BET), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA). A 10 nm average crystallite size with nano-crystals of pseudo-cube like morphology was obtained for optimal (0.25 mol%) Ag doped TiO2. The present research work is mainly focused on the enhancement of degradation efficiency of methyl orange (MO) by doping of Ag in TiO2 matrix using UV light (365 nm). A 99.5% photodegradation efficiency of methyl orange was achieved by utilizing 0.25 mol% Ag doped TiO2 (1 g/dm3) at pH=3 within 70 min. Recyclability of photocatalyst was also studied, with the material being found to be stable up to five runs.