Photocatalytic activity of erbium-doped TiO2 nanoparticles immobilized in macro-porous silica films

A macro-porous silica film served as mechanical support to immobilize TiO2 nanoparticles, which were doped with erbium. The films and the nanoparticles were prepared by sol–gel route. The nanoparticles exhibited photocatalytic activity under visible light. We obtained a degradation rate of methylene blue that followed first order kinetics. The sensitization of the nanoparticles to visible light was attributed to a red shift in the band-gap of the TiO2 due to the addition of erbium ions.

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► Erbium-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were immobilized on macro-porous silica films.
► The films were obtained by a phase separation process.
► The samples exhibited photo-catalytic activity under visible light.
► The sensitization of TiO2 was attributed to a red shift in the TiO2 band-gap.