Sol–gel synthesized lithium–cobalt co-doped titanium (IV) oxide nanocomposite as an efficient photocatalyst for environmental remediation

Abstract

Abstract In this study, lithium cobalt co-doped titanium oxide (Li:Co-TiO 2 ) was reported via the sol–gel method in a one-pot synthesis approach and their potential applications were evaluated for the photodegradation of organic dye as photocatalysts. The structural and optical properties of the photocatalysts were respectively elucidated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The morphological and elemental composition of the Li:Co-TiO 2 was established by high-resolution field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) coupled with EDX, which confirmed a successful preparation of the photocatalysts. The modification of TiO 2 with Li:Co changes the optical properties of the pristine TiO 2 with a reduction in the bandgap (3.26–2.8 eV) of the resultant photocatalysts. The photocatalytic activity of Li:Co-TiO 2 composites was examined for their efficacy through the degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye. The photodegradation revealed an improved performance of Li:Co-TiO 2 in the degradation of MB compared to pristine TiO 2 . The total amount of the degraded MB dye within the total time interval of the irradiation was recorded to be 72 % and 87 % for TiO 2 and Li:Co co-doped TiO 2 respectively. The enhanced results obtained from the photocatalytic activity of Li:Co-TiO 2 to degrade MB, suggest that the composite is a potential candidate for environmental remediation and photocatalysis applications.