Solvothermal synthesis and characterisation of doped TiO ₂ nanocrystals for light scattering applications

Abstract

Mesoporous nanoparticles have a larger surface area and therefore, suitable for dye‐sensitised solar cells and photocatalytic applications. This Letter presents the analysis of solvothermal derived as‐prepared TiO 2 and doped TiO 2 nanocrystals by utilising acetone as the solvent. The as‐prepared and doped TiO 2 nanoparticles endorsed the presence of anatase phase along with the slightly deviated diffraction peaks with the reduced crystallite size as a result of doping. Surface morphology analyses evidenced the mesoporous microspheres of nanoparticles, whereas the stoichiometry study exhibited the elementary peaks in the as‐prepared and doped samples. The estimated optical bandgaps are found to be 2.68, 2.92, 2.48 and 2.88 eV in accordance with the doped TiO 2 with copper, tin, barium and zinc–magnesium as compared to 3.16 eV of TiO 2 . Doped samples evidenced the enhanced scattering capability, whereas tin and zinc–magnesium co‐doped samples demonstrated the highest diffuse reflectance in a broad wavelength range from 550 to 800 nm.