An Investigation on Photocatalytic Dye Degradation of Rhodamine 6G Dye with Fe- and Ag-Doped TiO_2 Thin Films

摘要

Transparent Fe- and Ag-doped titania thin films were developed on fluoride-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate via sol-gel dip coating process. Structural, basic morphological as well as optical attributes of the films were studied by X-ray beam diffraction (XRD), field emission SEM (FESEM) and UV-visible spectroscopy. XRD result depicts prevalent formation of anatase crystalline phase of TiO_2. In UV-visible spectroscopy, optical properties of the film like transmission, reflectance and absorption were studied over wavelength range of 300-800 nm. Some important parameters like band gap (E_g), thickness (t) and refractive index (n) of the developed films were calculated from the spectroscopic data. It was found that the optical and structural properties of the film were reliant on the type of doped material incorporated in the film. Acquired band gap of 2.78 eV and 2.85 eV, respectively, for Ag- and Fe-doped films reflects higher strained Ag-doped film compared to that of Fe-doped one. Higher activity of Ag assimilation over Fe toward Rhodamine 6G degradation is credited to Ag deposition on TiO_2 surface creating electron trap center which reduces the recombination probability and improves charge transfer process on the matrix.