Open Access

Photocatalytic Degradation Analysis of Rhodamine B and Eosin Yellow Dyes using Ag-doped TiO2 Nanoparticles Synthesized via Sol-gel Method

Deepha R, deepha007@gmail.com
Department of Physics, Chikkanna Government Arts College, Tirupur, TN, India
Senthilnathan V zndl.goyeo.nath.vasu@gmail.com
Department of Physics, Chikkanna Government Arts College, Tirupur, TN, India



J. Environ. Nanotechnol., Volume 15, No 1 (March 2026) pp. 682-691

https://doi.org/10.13074/jent.2026.03.2612097

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Abstract

The sol-gel process was used to prepare Ag-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with Ag concentrations of 1–5 mol%, which were then calcined for 3 hours at 500 ℃. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy with EDAX, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy were used to study the structural, morphological, and optical characteristics. Following Ag incorporation, the optical study showed improved light absorption and a notable decrease in band gap energy from 3.32 eV to roughly 2.00 eV. The degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and Eosin Yellow (EY) under UV light was used to measure the photocatalytic activity. The 5 mol% Ag-doped TiO2 sample performed most effectively, reaching 99.07% degradation for EY and 98.15% for RhB. According to these results, a higher silver concentration enhances degradation by increasing light absorption and facilitating electron-hole separation. The incorporation of silver improves the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 under UV irradiation.

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