Sol-Gel Synthesis and Characterization of Cu-TiO2 Nanoparticles with Enhanced Optical and Photocatalytic Properties

The present work reports a convenient approach with which to synthesize copper-doped titanium dioxide (Cu-TiO2) with desirable properties for heterogeneous catalysis in the presence of natural solar light. A series of Cu-TiO2 samples were essentially synthesized by a sol-gel process using titanium oxysulfate as a titania precursor and copper(II) nitrate trihydrate as a dopant source. The properties of the obtained samples were examined by XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, TGA, and UV-vis spectroscopy. It was found that the crystallite size of the obtained anatase particles was increased from approximately 9 nm to 11 nm, while the particle size decreased with an increase in the copper content. However, UV/Vis spectroscopy showed that powders with various amount of copper effectively extend the light absorption properties to the visible region.