Investigation of pure TiO2 and BaO-loaded TiO2 nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activities

In this study, pure TiO₂ and 5 wt% BaTiO₃ nanocomposites were synthesized using the sol–gel method. The crystal structure, morphology, optical properties, and chemical composition of the synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by using XRD, SEM, HR-TEM, UV–vis spectroscopy, and XPS. The average crystallite sizes of the pure TiO₂ and 5 wt% BaTiO₃ were approximately 15.2 nm and 8 nm, respectively. Particle size is affected by the nature of the surfactant. Spherically shaped nanoparticles with aggregation and a homogeneous size distribution were observed using SEM and HR-TEM. The bandgap was determined to be 3.24 eV and was found to have excellent optical behavior. The chemical and electronic states of the BaTiO₃ nanoparticles were determined by XPS. The nanoparticles photocatalytically degraded the Congo red dye in an aqueous solution. Compared to pure TiO₂ nanoparticles, 5 wt% BaTiO₃ nanoparticles with surfactant assistance demonstrated better photocatalytic activity.