Photocatalytic Efficiency of Potassium Doped TiO2 Nanowire–nanoparticle Hetero–structures Films Coated on Glass Substrate Under Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

TiO₂ nanowire-nanoparticle hetero-structured films were prepared via sol-gel method, and coated on the glass substrates by the dipping method for the photocatalytic activity. The one-dimensional TiO₂ nanowires (NWs) were prepared by hydrothermal treatment with TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) commercially available. Different methods were used to characterize prepared nanowire-nanoparticle hetero-structured films including XRD, FESEM, XPS, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The PWKT films were the highest photocatalytic activity on the degradation of methylene blue (MB). The PWKT films had about 4.5 fold degradation rate relative to undoped TiO₂. Factors that affected the photoactivity of PWKT films were high crystallinity (NPs), small crystallite size (KT), narrow the energy band gap (WKT) and thickness of the films.