Flash sintering enhanced co-doping TiO2 with Fe and Cu to improve photocatalytic efficiency

Nanoparticles of TiO2 doped with a transition metal are known to be effective photocatalysts. Fe and Cu co-doping in TiO2 using flash sintering and its enhanced photodegradation efficiency for methylene blue (MB) are discussed here. The properties of synthesized material have been evaluated using various characterization techniques, including XRD, TEM, SEM, BET, XPS, FT-IR, and UV–visible spectroscopy. The XRD confirmed complete co-doping by using flash sintering, which was also corroborated by TEM. XPS analysis showed that the flash sintered catalyst had more defects like Ti3+ and oxygen vacancies than the conventionally sintered catalyst. UV-Vis spectroscopy and dye degradation experiments showed that co-doping in TiO2 with Fe and Cu narrowed the band gap, which in turn boosted its visible light sensitivity by enhancing the trapping rate of photogenerated electrons and holes. Tested on MB, flash sintered co-doped TiO2 showed a higher degradation efficiency under the visible range of LED white light.