Ag/Co/B tri-doped TiO₂/SiO₂ film for enhancing photocatalytic degradation

Ag/Co/B tri-doped TiO₂/SiO₂ film was prepared by the sol–gel method, and the structure and properties of this film were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) test method, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetry (DTA-TG), photoluminescence (PL), and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectrum (UV-vis DRS). XRD results indicated that the film structure of this film conforms to the anatase single crystal form. The presence of SiO₂ can inhibit the formation of brookite and prevent the conversion of anatase into rutile. BET and FE-SEM results revealed that the film had a higher specific surface area and smaller grain size compared with pure TiO₂ film. DTA-TG results exposed that the film had excellent thermal stability at 450[Formula: see text]C. Due to the spectacular adsorption capacity of SiO₂ and the Schottky barrier formed between Ag and TiO₂, this film improved the h[Formula: see text]/e[Formula: see text] separation efficiency and optical absorption performance showed by PL results. UV-vis DRS results displayed that the band gap energy (2.47 eV) of the film was clearly lower than that of pure TiO₂ film, due to the intermediate energy levels generated by Co and B ions doping. The photocatalytic activity of the film was verified by ultraviolet and visible light degradation experiments of two different organic pollutants. The experimental results exhibited that the film had excellent photocatalytic degradation ability and stability. Ultimately, a possible synergistic mechanism of photocatalysis was proposed in this paper.