Influence of Gamma-Irradiation on Structural, Optical and Photocatalytic Performance of TiO2 Nanoparticles Under Controlled Atmospheres

The effect of gamma-rays on structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of TiO2 nanoparticles under controlled atmospheres are studied to further improve photocatalytic performance. The sol–gel TiO2 powders were deposited with spin-coating technique, annealed at 500°C then finally irradiated by gamma-rays. The structural and optical characteristics of samples were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and UV-visible spectroscopy (UV). The time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculation are used to determine ground geometries and electronic structures of TiO2 nanostructures. DFT calculations present an excellent conformity with experimental results, and a high anisotropy in stretched thermal and electrical conductivity TiO2 nanostructures was found. Structural and optical results show that gamma radiation did not change the crystallinity of TiO2 nanostructures and leads to an optical band gap reduction to 3.039 eV. The gamma radiation effect on photocatalytic performance was investigated by methylene blue degradation as a typical pollutant. Gamma radiation has been discovered to improve considerably the degradation of pollutants compared with unirradiated TiO2.