Investigation on Degradation of Methyl Parathion Using Visible Light in the Presence of Cr+3 and N-Doped TiO2
Nitrogen (N) and Chromium (Cr) doped TiO2 was prepared by sol-gel process. A clear shift in the onset light absorption from UV region (<380) to visible region (>500 nm) was observed for the N-doped samples. The XRD results revealed the decrease in particle size with increasing N content in the lattice of anatase TiO2. Nitrogen doping does not alter the phase of anatase TiO2. The SEM and TEM images of N-TiO2 showed that the particle size is in the range of 20-25nm. The chemical nature of N in the N-TiO2 was evolved through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The presence of different types of N species have been observed corresponding to different oxidation states and the presence of Ti–N and O–Ti–N have been confirmed from the observed binding energy values. Photocatalytic decomposition of methyl parathion was carried out in the visible region and found that N-doped TiO2 showed better catalytic activity than Cr and Cr/N doped TiO2.