Enhanced photocatalytic activity of europium doped TiO₂ under sunlight for the degradation of methyl orange

Europium doped TiO₂ nanomaterials were prepared by microwave assisted sol–gel method to enhance the photocatalytic activity. This method is eco-friendly and makes it possible for the preparation of low cost photocatalyst. The nanomaterials were characterized thoroughly by various techniques, such as XRD, EDS, FT-IR, FE-SEM, TEM, UV-DRS. The X-ray diffraction of Eu doped TiO₂ shows a reduction in crystallite size compared to bare TiO₂. The reduction in particle size was also observed from FE-SEM and TEM images. The photocatalytic activity of Eu doped TiO₂ was estimated towards degradation of Methyl Orange (MO) under UV and sunlight. The photodegradation efficiencies of MO using Eu–TiO₂ (0.025 mol%) and TiO₂ observed are 98 and 81% respectively under UV light. An increment of 17% in degradation efficiency was observed due to higher absorption and 4f electron transition of rare earth ions. The effect of operational parameters such as pH of solution and catalyst loading on photodegradation of MO were also examined. Additionally influence of H₂O₂ on degradation of MO was checked and succeeded for complete degradation of MO within 60 min at optimal conditions under UV light. The antimicrobial testing was also carried out for the synthesized Eu–TiO₂ which revealed that it has potential ability to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (NCIM-2654) and Escherichia coli (NCIM-2832).