The influence of precursor's composition and concentration on cadmium doped TiO2 film

The purpose of this article is to emphasize that new nanomaterials offer a number of attractive alternatives for solar energy use in wastewater photocatalysis. The wastewater from the textile industry contains dyes and heavy metals. Thin films of cadmium doped TiO2 (Cd-TiO2) were coated by a doctor blade using TiO2 Degussa P25 and cadmium precursor (cadmium nitrate). The photocatalytic efficiency of cadmium doped TiO2 is strongly influenced by crystal structure, particle size, particle morphology, porosity and doping. The pore size distribution and the roughness analysis have been studied by the atomic force microscopy (AFM) of the thin films. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was tested in Methyl orange and Methylene blue photodegradation. Cadmium doped TiO2 catalyst does not significantly decrease the efficiency of photodegradation processes, and, in some situations, improves dye photodegradation.