Microwave synthesis of In-doped TiO 2 nanoparticles for photocatalytic application

The present work reports on pristine anatase TiO2 photocatalyst with different indium (In) content which is prepared via a controlled and energy efficient microwave-assisted method. The structural and optical properties of photocatalyst were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Average crystallite size of 12 nm with shape of pseudo-cube was obtained for In-doped TiO2 (optimum 0.10 mol%). The UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum shows the absorption edge which is shifted in the visible region and slightly decreased the band gap for In–TiO2 as compared to pristine TiO2. The present research work is mainly focused on the enhancement of degradation efficiency of methyl orange (MO) by doping of Indium in TiO2 using UV light (365 nm). A 98% efficiency of photodegradation was achieved by utilizing 0.10 mol% In-doped TiO2 (1 g/dm3) at pH = 5 within 90 min. Recyclability of photocatalyst was also studied and material found to be stable up to five runs.