Influence of boron doping on the photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities of TiO₂

Full text: In this work, TiO₂:x B (x = 0 and 0.04) was synthesized in a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method (MAH) in one-step for 10 minutes. The powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV Vis) and the photocatalytic activity was measured against methylene blue (MB) dye illuminated by UV radiation. The XRD patterns show that the MAH is effective for B doped TiO₂ synthesis without the presence of secondary phases. The FTIR spectra showed, through the appearance of the bands related to Boron, that doping occurred ideally. SEM showed very small particles (mean diameter of 7 nm) and agglomerated. Through UV-Vis spectroscopy, the Egap values were estimated at 3.39 and 3.46 eV, for the pure and 4% Boron samples, respectively. The introduction of Boron atoms in the TiO₂ lattice proved to be efficient in the degradation of the methylene blue dye under UV radiation. The increase of the antimicrobial activity of TiO₂ is expected with the introduction of Boron atoms [1]. [1] Y. Wang, Y. Wu, H. Yang, X. Xue, Z. Liu, Doping TiO₂ with boron or/and cerium elements: Effects on photocatalytic antimicrobial activity, Vacuum, 131 (2016) 58-64. (author)