Cobalt doped TiO2: Preparation, characterization and efficient degradation of methyl orange

TiO2 nanoparticles containing different amounts of cobalt were synthesized by hydrothermal method using titanium (IV) isopropoxide and cobalt chloride as titanium and cobalt precursors respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data showed prepared samples include pure anatase phase. The presence of cobalt in TiO2 nanoparticle was established by XRD, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDX) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) techniques. The increase of cobalt doping enhanced red-shift in the diffuse reflectance spectra. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples was tested for degradation of methyl orange (MO) as a model of dye. Our results showed the amount of cobalt doping has effect on the photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples. The presence of 0.63% cobalt dopant in TiO2 nanoparticles resulted a photocatalyst with the highest activity under visible light. We achieved 100% degradation of MO in the presence of Co-TiO2 samples after 30 min irradiation under visible light

Keywords:

Cobalt , TiO2 nanoparticles , Degradation , Methyl orange