Affiliation:
1. Department of Chemistry Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Roorkee 247667 India
Abstract
AbstractThe current study presents a simple and an efficient chemical method for the synthesis of TiO2@NiO core‐shell nanoparticles (CSNPs) as photocatalyst for effective degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) in an aqueous solution upon sunlight irradiation. First, TiO2 spheres were synthesized using a wet chemical method. Then, TiO2@Ni(OH)2 precursors were prepared via homogeneous precipitation and TiO2@NiO core‐shell nanoparticles were obtained on calcination of the precursors. The synthesized precursors and the TiO2@NiO CSNPs were analyzed using XRD, FT‐IR, FESEM and DRS. XRD data shows the presence of both TiO2 and NiO phases in the TiO2@NiO samples. FE‐SEM and TEM analyses confirm coating of NiO NPs on TiO2 spheres with varying shell thickness (40 nm to 170 nm). Optical studies reveal that TiO2@NiO CSNPs possess band gap of about 3.7 eV. Photoluminescence (PL) results show lower recombination rate of e− and h+ pairs in the TiO2@NiO CSNPs. XPS studies confirm the presence of different elements in the TiO2@NiO CSNPs. Magnetic investigations reveal ferromagnetic behavior of the core‐shell NPs at 5 K. The TiO2@NiO CSNPs were explored as photocatalyst for the degradation of rhodamine B in water under natural sunlight. The TiO2@NiO CSNPs exhibit better photocatalytic activity compared to TiO2 and NiO nanoparticles.
Funder
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Subject
Materials Chemistry,Energy Engineering and Power Technology,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Biomaterials