Microwave synthesis of In-doped TiO2 nanoparticles for photocatalytic application

The present work reports on pristine anatase TiO 2 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 TiO 2 (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–TiO 2 as compared to pristine TiO 2 . The present research work is mainly focused on the enhancement of degradation efficiency of methyl orange (MO) by doping of Indium in TiO 2 using UV light (365 nm). A 98% efficiency of photodegradation was achieved by utilizing 0.10 mol% In-doped TiO 2 (1 g/dm 3 ) at pH = 5 within 90 min. Recyclability of photocatalyst was also studied and material found to be stable up to five runs.