Fe^3+-Doped Anatase TiO_2 Study Prepared by New Sol-Gel Precursors

Fe_xTi_1-xO_2 (x=0.00, 0.05, 0.10) nanocomposites are synthesized using a sol-gel method involving an ethanol solvent in the presence of ethylene glycol as the stabilizer, and acetic acid as the chemical reagent. Their structural and optical analyses are studied to reveal their physicochemical properties. Using the x-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis, the size of the nanoparticles (NPs) is found to be 18–32 nm, where the size of the NPs decreases down to 18 nm when Fe impurity of up to 10% is added, whereas their structure remains unchanged. The results also indicate that the structure of the NPs is tetragonal in the anatase phase. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis suggests the presence of a vibration bond (Ti–O) in the sample. The photoluminescence analysis indicates that the diffusion of Fe^3+ ions into the TiO_2 matrix results in a decreasing electron–hole recombination, and increases the photocatalytic properties, where the best efficiency appears at an impurity of 10%. The UV-diffuse reflection spectroscopy analysis indicates that with the elevation of iron impurity, the band gap value decreases from 3.47 eV for the pure sample to 2.95 eV for the 10 mol% Fe-doped TiO_2 NPs.