Characterization and Photocatalytic Efficiency of Palladium Doped-TiO2 Nanoparticles

The effect of modification of TiO2 with different palladium concentrations on its characteristics and photocatalytic efficiency was studied. Photo catalysts were prepared by the sol-gel method and were characterized by different techniques. A uniform distribution of palladium through the TiO2 matrix was observed. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the pure and palladium doped TiO2 were found to be quiet similar and the average particle size was not significantly changed. As a result of palladium doping, the UV-Vis analysis showed a red shift in the onset of wavelength of absorbance and the band gap was changed from 3.39 to 3.06 eV for the 0.3 wt% Pd/TiO2 sample. Photo catalytic removal study of formic acid showed that the 0.3 wt% palladium doped photocatalyst exhibits the highest efficiency among the different palladium doped photocatalysts using sun light as the radiation source.