International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Volume 119 No. 12 2018, 6345-6359

ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version)
url: http://www.ijpam.eu
Special Issue
ijpam.eu

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BISMUTH OXIDE DOPED TITANIUM

DIOXIDE AND ITS ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY

MAGESAN.P1, SVIARANJANI.A2,
1,2
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry,
BIST, BIHER, Bharath University,Chennai-73
magesan.che@bharathuniv.ac.in

Abstract

Bi2O3-TiO2 nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by Sol-Gel method using

CTAB as templating agent. The synthesized materials were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction

(XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Diffuse

Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FT-IR) and FT-

Raman Spectroscopy (FT-Raman). Visible light photocatalytic activity of the samples was

investigated by using Methyl orange dye. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of the

nanocomposites was tested against gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli).

Keywords: Composites, Sol-gel method, Semiconductivity, Antibacterial activity,

spectroscopical studies.

1. Introduction

In recent years, semiconductor photocatalysts have gained significant attention in the

degradation of environmental contaminants[1-5]. Various semiconductor photocatalysts such as

TiO2[6], ZnO[7] and CdS [8]

has been used for the environmental remediation process. Among the

various oxides semiconductor photocatalysts[6-11], TiO2 has been proven to be the most suitable

material due to its powerful oxidation strength, low cost, non-toxicity and chemical stability

against photo corrosion and chemical corrosion[9-11]. In spite of the search for the idyllic

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photocatalyst for more than a couple of decades, titania (TiO 2) in its anatase form, has persisted

as a touchstone photocatalyst against the activity of any emerging material is evaluated[12-21]:

Typically, the conventional TiO2 photocatalyst would predictably meet an obstacle when applied

in practical applications such as effective utilization of UV/solar light, large surface area

requirement for the adsorption of pollutant, that is, adverse recombination of electron and

holes[22-29]. Efforts have been made to extend the adsorption of light from UV to visible region

and to improve the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2[30-36]. Dopants like transition metals (Fe,

Al, Ni, Cr, Co, W, V and Zr) and metal oxides (Fe 2O3, Cr2O3, CoO2, SiO2, etc.,) being used to

improve its applicability[13-15]. Reviews of Zeleska [16]

has been discussed the method of

preparation of doped TiO2 with metallic and non-metallic species; as well as different types of

dopants and doping materials. Doping of visible light active material on TiO2 nanopowders may

shift the absorption threshold of TiO2 from UV to visible region and the photocatalytic

efficiencies can be higher than the pure TiO2 and Degussa P25[17-20]. And also doping or

deposition of nobel metals on titania influence the photocatalytic activity by extending the

excitation wavelength from ultraviolent region to visible region[37-42] Sol-gel synthesized

SnO2-TiO2 composite nanoparticles show larger photocatalytic activity to degrade rhodamine B

than TiO2[29]. This is due to the extended optical response, improved charge separation, etc. Also,

the sol-gel synthesized SnO2-TiO2 composite films exhibit higher surface hydroxyl group density

and photocatalytic activity than pure TiO2 under solar irradiation[30]. The photocatalytic

degradation of methylene blue by Sn-doped anatase TiO2 nanobelts, synthesized by a two-step

hydrothermal treatment, increases with Sn-content under visible-light illumination[31]. Sn-doped

TiO2 or SnO2-TiO2 composites have been obtained by sol-gel[32-34] or solvothermal[35] or

metalorganic decomposition[36] methods[43-45].

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In this work, we have synthesized 4 % Bi2O3-TiO2 by simple precipitation method and their

spectroscopical studies were carried out. Methyl orange dye was used as a pollutant to determine

the photocatalytic degradation of the prepared catalysts under solar light. Furthermore, the

antibacterial activities of the nanocomposites were tested against gram negative bacteria

(Escherichia coli) under dark condition.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Materials

Titanium Tetra IsoPropoxide (TTIP were purchased from Spectrochem, Tin Oxide (Bi2O3)

from SRL, Methyl orange from S.D. Fine Chemicals and Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) from RFCl

(RANKEM) were purchased and used as received. Freshly prepared de-ionized water was used in

all the experiments.

2.2. Photocatalysts synthesis

To synthesize TiO2, Bi2O3-TiO2 nanoparticles, a sonochemical method was

applied. The approach for sonochemical synthesis of the above said nanocomposites was as

follows: TTIP was dissolved in isopropyl alcohol at a volume ratio of 3:10, followed by the

addition of an appropriate amount of metal oxide (Bi2O3). The solution was sonicated for 1 hr in

bath type sonicator (EQUITRON) with frequency and a heating arrangement for the

sonochemical synthesis of Bi2O3-TiO2 nanoparticles. The alkoxide solution after ultrasonic

mixing was added drop wise to 200 ml of 0.3 M Nitric acid aqueous solution in an ice/water bath

under vigorous stirring to form a transparent homogeneous solution. Ammonia solution (0.3M)

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was added drop wise until the pH of the solution reached around 9. After aging for 12 hrs, the

resulting white gel thus formed was separated by centrifugation and washed thoroughly by water

followed by ethanol to remove the impurities. Finally, it was dried in an oven at 80 °C for 6 hr,

followed by sintering at 500 °C for 3 hr.

Instrumentation and Analysis

The following physiochemical techniques have been used to characterize the

prepared catalysts. To characterize the phase structure of the Bi2O3-TiO2 nanoparticles; a Bruker

D2 Phaser Desktop X-ray Diffractometer equipped with Ni-filtered Cu Kα radiation (λ=1.542 Å)

and operated at an accelerating voltage and emission current of 30 kV and 10 mA, respectively.

Data were acquired over the range of 2θ from 0° to 70 °C with a step size of 0.0017 and a scan

rate of 7°/min. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was performed to examine the surface

morphology of the prepared nanocomposites using DXS-10 ACKT scanning electron microscope

equipped with EXS, which was used to study the elemental composition. Besides, the obtained

SEM images were analyzed using manual microstructure distance measurement software to

determine the diameter size distribution of the nanomaterials. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

(DRS) spectra of the samples were recorded using Shimadzu 2100 UV-Visible

spectrophotometer in the range of 200-800 nm equipped with an integrating sphere and BaSO4

was used as the reference. For Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis, the KBr

pellets were prepared from Bi2 O3-TiO2 powders. FT-IR analysis was performed using a

spectrophotometer (Perkin Elmer RX1 instrument). Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy (FT-

RAMAN) spectra of the prepared nanocomposites were recorded by using BRUKER RFS 27

spectrometer. Thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) of the nanocomposites

was taken on WATERS SDT Q 600 TA model instrument.

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Determination of Antimicrobial activity

The antibacterial action of the prepared nanocomposites was examined using gram

negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922) by well diffusion method. The prepared

Nutrient agar was poured in the sterile Petri dishes and allowed to solidify. 24 h growing

bacterial cultures (E. coli) were swabbed on it. The 5 wells (10 mm diameter) were made by

using cork borer. The four different concentrations (250 µg, 500 µg, 750 µg and 1000 µg) of the

nanoparticle, one negative control (tetracycline) were loaded in the wells. The plates were then

incubated at 37 ºC for 24 hour. After incubation, the inhibition diameter was measured and the

percentage of inhibition was calculated by using the formula (Eq. 1)

I (Diameter of the Inhibited Zone)

% of inhibition= -------------------------------------------- X100 (1)
90 (Diameter of the Petri-plate in mm)

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. XRD analysis of Bi2O3-TiO2 nanocomposites

XRD pattern of the prepared nanocomposites are given in the Fig.1.

In all the synthesized nanocomposites, TiO2 exists in anatase phase show their sharp

characteristic peaks at 2θ= 24.8°, 37.3°, 47.3°, 53.4°, 54.3°, 62.2° and 68.5° corresponds to the

(101), (004), (200), (105), (211), (204), (116), (220) and (215) planes agree well to standard

JCPDS card No. 89-4921 and hence confirms that the nanocomposite have been predominantly

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crystalline in nature with anatase phase. The XRD patterns for Bi2O3-TiO2 show the peaks at

2θ=37.8°, 2θ=29.7° corresponding to Bi2O3 (78-1793). The average crystallite sizes of the

nanocomposites have been deduced from the half-width of the full maximum (HWFM) of the

101anatase peak of TiO2 using Scherrer equation (Eq. 2),

t = K/cos, (2)

Where t is the crystallite size, K is the shape factor of value 0.9,  is the wavelength of
the X-ray used.  is the Bragg’s diffraction angle,  is the corrected line broadening,  = b - s,
b is the broadened profile width of the experimental sample and  s is the standard profile width
of the reference (high purity silica) sample. According to the Eq. 2, the average crystallite sizes
of the doped TiO2 nanocomposite are listed in the table 1

3.2. FT-IR analysis

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The FT-IR spectra of the undoped and doped TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by

sonochemical method are shown in the Fig.2. The results of FTIR analysis show four main

absorption peaks located at 650-800, 1600-1700, 2360-2400 and 3450-3500 cm-1. The presence

of strong transmittance band at 3400 cm-1 is attributed to the stretching vibrations of the O-H

groups. A weak band at around 2300 cm-1 may be attributed to the vibrations of atmospheric CO2

and the band appearing at 1630 cm-1 can be assigned to the angular deformation of water δH-OH.

The appearance of band between 650 and 800 cm-1 are due to different vibrational modes of

TiO2. In addition to this rutile and anatase TiO2 phase absorption bands appear in the regions of

800-650 cm-1and 850-650 cm-1, respectively. Similar results have been matching with those

reported in the literature.

Scanning Electron Microscopy

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Fig. 5 shows the surface morphologies of the Bi2O3-TiO2 nanocomposites. As can be seen in

Fig. 5, the synthesized nanocomposites have non-uniform size, which may be a result of the

aggregation of the doped TiO2 nanocomposites with spherical shape and the growth of irregular

crystalline grains during synthesis. According to the SEM images and using Manual

Microstructure Distance Measurement software, the mean particle size of the doped TiO 2

nanocomposites were found and listed in the table 1. As can be seen, the diameter distribution of

most of the particles in the range of 30-60 nm.

Energy dispersive spectroscopy

The composition is very sensitive for the application; therefore the elements present in

the nanomaterials were scanned by EDS. The energy dispersive spectra of the prepared

nanocomposites were recorded in the binding region of 0-10 keV which is shown in the Fig. 6.

The signals and the atomic percentages from the spectrum reveal the presence of Ti, O, Bi, in the

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prepared nanocomposites. Though the peaks of Bi are insignificant in the Bi2O3-TiO2

nanocomposites owing to its content in TiO2 matrix, the atomic percentages indicate the Bi

particles present in the nanocomposite. There is no trace of any other impurities could be seen

within the detection limit of energy dispersive spectrum.

(b)

FT-Raman Spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy is a technique which is flexible and availed for studying the

different phases of matter. Raman scattering spectra of Bi2O3-TiO2 nanocomposites were

recognized and displayed in the Fig.7.

The frequencies of the raman bands observed for anatase TiO 2 (in the powder doped with

Bi2O3,) is at 140-150, 390-400, 510-530, 620-650 cm-1 are shown in the Fig.7. According to(b)
the

reported literature raman bands for anatase TiO2 are at 146, 198, 320, 398-448, 515, 640 and 796

cm-1[65]. As noted above, the band at about 146 cm-1 is the strongest of all the observed bands.

Group theory depicts six raman active modes for the tetragonal anatase phase: three E g modes

centered around145, 197 and 639 cm-1 ; two B1g modes at 399 and 519 cm-1; and one A1g mode at

513 cm-1[66]. From these results the bands at 198 cm-1 and 640 cm-1 are attributed to the Eg modes

and the one band at 400 cm-1 to the B1g modes and a doublet band at 520 cm-1 is assigned to A1g

and B1g modes. These observances are comparable with the reported literature

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Antimicrobial activity

The antibacterial activity of the Bi2O3-TiO2 and TiO2 nanocomposites was investigated

by adopting well diffusion method against E. coli bacterial strains under dark condition. The

zone of inhibition of the synthesized nanocomposites against E. coli is represented in the table 2.

From the results of zone of inhibition method, it is observed that the Bi2O3-TiO2 shows

significant inhibition around the films (Fig.10). TiO2 nanocomposites under dark condition.

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4. Conclusions

A sonochemical method was used to synthesize SnO2-TiO2 nanocomposites and

their spectroscopic studies were carried out. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of the

synthesized nanocomposites was tested against gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) by

varying the concentrations (250, 500, 750 and 1000 µg). Among them, Bi2O3-TiO2 shows

significant zone of inhibition around the films under dark condition.

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