Tuning of heterostructured nanomaterial from Sr and P co-doped TiO2 mediated by beta-cyclodextrin – A visible light sensitized photocatalyst: For dyes and microbial degradation

Abstract

A heterostructured Sr and P-doped TiO₂ nanomaterial was fabricated using a beta-cyclodextrin-mediated sol–gel approach for the Rose Bengal dye and microbe degradation. The characterization results of the synthesized semiconductor nanocatalysts indicated that the twin doping of Sr and P in TiO₂ led to a reduction in the band gap, as analyzed by UV–Vis DRS, and confirmed the presence of the anatase phase, as analyzed by P-XRD. The band gap energies of the synthesized catalyst were measured by UV–Vis DRS, with values of 2.76 eV for SPT-3 and 2.52 eV for SPT-3BC-2. The particle size of the sample SPT3-BC-2 (4.6 nm), surface area 178.87 m²/g, pore volume (0.2206 cm³/g), and size of the pore (29 nm) were determined using TEM and BET surface area analyzers, respectively. The substitutional doping of Sr and P dopants into the TiO₂ lattice was also assessed simultaneously by FTIR and XPS. SEM-EDX and XRF were utilized to assess the morphology and composition of the SPT-3-BC-2 catalyst elements. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and VB XPS were used to fix the flat band potential at the low energy valence band and the high energy conduction band to fix the reduced band gap. Photoluminescence was also implied to assess the formation of OH radicals and reduced e⁻-hole recombination. Finally, evaluated the efficiency of SPT-3-BC-2 by degradation of Rosebengal dye and studied its antimicrobial activity.