Preparation and photocatalytic activity of vanadium/silver doped TiO2 thin films obtained by sol-gel method

In our investigation, V/Ag doped TiO2 thin films were prepared on glass substrates. A thin film of SiO2 was prepared as a blocking layer by the dip coating sol-gel technique. A catalytic effect was investigated for obtained samples using Rhodamine B as a probe. Transmittances of the samples were characterized using a UV-VIS spectrophotometer. Subsequently band-gap energy (Eg) was estimated for these films. Chemical composition of the samples was studied by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Powders obtained from sols were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD).