TiO2 doped with Sm3+ by sol–gel: Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of diuron under solar light

A simple method to synthesize highly dispersed Sm3+ on TiO2 by sol–gel which induced significant changes in the photocatalytic properties, Eg values, specific surface areas, and crystal size of pure TiO2, is reported. As is well known, thermal treatment of anatase TiO2 at 600 °C leads to the transformation to rutile phase, however for Sm3+ doped photocatalyst here reported, a significant amount of anatase phase remained even after thermal treatment at 800 °C, showing an interesting photocatalytic activity under sunlight degradation of diuron. TiO2 doped with 0.3 wt% Sm3+ and calcined at 500 °C showed the best performance for the photocatalytic degradation of diuron herbicide.