ABSTRACT

Pure TiO₂ nanopowders and doped with silver for 1% and 5% concentrations were synthesized by sol-gel method, using titanium tetra n-butoxide and silver nitrate as precursors. The obtained powders were annealed at 500 °C. The effects of silver incorporation on structural and optical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). XRD characterization showed that grain size decreases with Ag concentration. The absorption edge obtained by UV-visible is shifted to the lower energies for doped TiO₂. FTIR spectra indicated that all peaks are almost the same.

KEYWORD: Nanopowders; Sol-gel; TiO₂; Silver.