Sol-gel microwave assisted synthesis of Sm-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Methyl Orange under sunlight

Samarium doped TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by microwave assisted sol-gel method. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by various techniques such as XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, UV-DRS, UV-Vis. spectrophotometer. XRD pattern of nanomaterials indicates Sm doped TiO2 primarily consist of anatase phase with spherical shape. It is also found that the crystallite size of Sm doped TiO2 is much smaller than undoped TiO2 (10 nm). The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 and Sm doped TiO2 were also investigated on the photocatalytic degradation of MO under UV and solar light irradiation. Sm doped TiO2 shows 96 and 84 % degradation of MO in 120 min under UV light and sunlight respectively. This indicates about 10 % increment in the photocatalytic activity. The effect of operational parameters such as catalyst loading, pH of dye and irradiation sources on photodegradation of MO was also investigated.