REDUCING THE BAND-GAP ENERGY OF TiO2 AS A CRUCIAL OBJECTIVE IN GREEN PHOTOCATALYSIS
Date Issued
2025-06-12
Author(s)
Perica Paunović, Anita Grozdanov, Petre Makreski, Martin Stojčevski, Kiril Stoimčev, Gorazd Čepiševski
DOI
https://congress.sctm.mk/event/6/book-of-abstracts.pdf
Abstract
Green photocatalysis focuses on developing processes to address various environmental
challenges,
such
as
the
treatment
of
contaminated
water
and
air,
the
generation
of
renewable
energy,
biomass
management,
carbon
monoxide
oxidation,
and
organic
synthesis.
TiO2
nanoparticles
are relatively inexpensive, non-toxic, and chemically stable. They are available in diverse
structural forms and exhibit unique semiconductive properties, making them the most widely
utilized photocatalysts in this domain. TiO2 has a wide array of applications in green photocatalysis,
including i) photocatalytic remediation and ii) the development of alternative, sustainable
energy sources. A significant challenge in modern green photocatalysis is the reduction of the
band gap energy (Eg), which is essential for determining the suitability of materials for photocatalytic
activity. Decreasing Eg enables TiO2 to effectively harness visible light rather than being
limited to ultraviolet light. This study investigates the structural changes and subsequent reduction
in
Eg
resulting
from
two
types
of
TiO2
modification:
i)
ionizing
irradiation
and
ii)
the
incorporation
of carbon nanotubes. We synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles using our proprietary sol-gel
method, followed by thermal treatment at 400 °C. Structural changes were analyzed using X-ray
powder diffraction (XRPD) and Raman spectroscopy, while the band gap energy of the samples
was assessed through UV-Vis spectroscopy.
challenges,
such
as
the
treatment
of
contaminated
water
and
air,
the
generation
of
renewable
energy,
biomass
management,
carbon
monoxide
oxidation,
and
organic
synthesis.
TiO2
nanoparticles
are relatively inexpensive, non-toxic, and chemically stable. They are available in diverse
structural forms and exhibit unique semiconductive properties, making them the most widely
utilized photocatalysts in this domain. TiO2 has a wide array of applications in green photocatalysis,
including i) photocatalytic remediation and ii) the development of alternative, sustainable
energy sources. A significant challenge in modern green photocatalysis is the reduction of the
band gap energy (Eg), which is essential for determining the suitability of materials for photocatalytic
activity. Decreasing Eg enables TiO2 to effectively harness visible light rather than being
limited to ultraviolet light. This study investigates the structural changes and subsequent reduction
in
Eg
resulting
from
two
types
of
TiO2
modification:
i)
ionizing
irradiation
and
ii)
the
incorporation
of carbon nanotubes. We synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles using our proprietary sol-gel
method, followed by thermal treatment at 400 °C. Structural changes were analyzed using X-ray
powder diffraction (XRPD) and Raman spectroscopy, while the band gap energy of the samples
was assessed through UV-Vis spectroscopy.
Subjects
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