Improved photo-induced charge carriers separation through the addition of erbium on TiO2 nanoparticles and its effect on photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B.

Title Improved photo-induced charge carriers separation through the addition of erbium on TiO2 nanoparticles and its effect on photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B.
Authors D. J; C.Selvakumar J; P.Padiyan D
Journal Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc
DOI 10.1016/j.saa.2017.09.063
Abstract

ErxTi1-xO2 nanocomposites was prepared by a simple sol-gel method with various proportion of erbium viz., x=0.02, x=0.04, x=0.06, x=0.08 and x=0.10. The prepared nanocomposites were studied using XRD, UV-Vis DRS, Raman spectra, HR-SEM, EDS, TEM, PL and impedance spectroscopy. XRD revealed that modified TiO2 nanocomposites possessed only the anatase phase with crystallite sizes of about 8.1 to 12.7nm and which is well consistent with TEM analysis. It is seen that erbium ion exist in the nanocomposites based on the analysis of EDS. HR-SEM analysis revealed that the ErxTi1-xO2 nanocomposites are spherical in shape with size between 10 and 20nm. The amount of erbium remarkably affects the structural, optical and electrical properties. Loading erbium could produce 4f energy levels between valence and conduction bands thus narrowing optical band gap and generates visible absorption peaks. It was found that erbium modified TiO2 nanocomposites induced a shift in Raman. The enhancement of life time of charge carriers was observed on erbium inclusion.

Citation D. J; C.Selvakumar J; P.Padiyan D.Improved photo-induced charge carriers separation through the addition of erbium on TiO2 nanoparticles and its effect on photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B.. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2018;190:524533. doi:10.1016/j.saa.2017.09.063

Related Elements

Erbium

See more Erbium products. Erbium (atomic symbol: Er, atomic number: 68) is a Block F, Group 3, Period 6 element with an atomic radius of 167.259. Erbium Bohr ModelThe number of electrons in each of Erbium's shells is [2, 8, 18, 30, 8, 2] and its electron configuration is [Xe]4f12 6s2. The erbium atom has a radius of 176 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 235 pm. Erbium was discovered by Carl Mosander in 1843. Sources of Erbium include the mineral monazite and sand ores. Erbium is a member of the lanthanide or rare earth series of elements.Elemental Erbium Picture In its elemental form, erbium is soft and malleable. It is fairly stable in air and does not oxidize as rapidly as some of the other rare earth metals. Erbium's ions fluoresce in a bright pink color, making them highly useful for imaging and optical applications. It is named after the Swedish town Ytterby where it was first discovered.

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