Morphological, optical and structural properties of pure, zinc and magnesium doped TiO2 nanoparticles for solar cell devices

Abstract

Zn2+and Mg2+ions doped Titanium dioxide had been synthesized using a hydrothermal method at 120°C with an annealing temperature at 450°C, including individual Zn2+and Mg2+ ions. In addition, impact of these doping metal ions on the crystallization and phase transition of the Titanium dioxide nanoparticles were discussed by X-Ray Diffraction spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy and Photo-Luminescence spectroscopy and also by photocatalytic measurements. The presence of anatase type structure in Titanium dioxide nanopowders with high crystallinity and high phase stability in spite of annealing at 450°C significantly specified that the dopants might prevent densification and crystallite growth in Titanium dioxide nanophase by on condition with different boundaries. Furthermore, with a suitable amount of Zn and Mg dopants, anatase grain size of Titanium dioxide powders was reduced. The band gap energy values of Zn2+ and Mg2+ ions doped nano-Titanium dioxide were lower than the pure nano-Titanium dioxide and they exhibited a red shift in the visible region