Photosensitization of TiO2 with Copper for the Photodegradation of Organic Pollutants in Water

Titanium dioxide can be employed in different photocatalytic and solar energy conversion applications due to its abundance, non-toxicity, and chemical stability. Undoped and Cu-doped TiO2 powders were synthesized using the powder method. The characteristics of the prepared photocatalysts-material were determined by XRD, SEM, absorbance and chemical analysis. XRD analysis showed the formation of TiO2 in its anatase and rutile phases. Sphere-like shapes with sizes of 100 nm were inferred from SEM images. The photocatalytic tests revealed that the Cu-doped TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited high photocatalytic activity in degrading contaminated water. This enhancement can be attributed to the formation of oxygen vacancies, which promote the photodegradation of organic compounds.